CASE STUDY 03 / BRAND STRATEGY + CREATIVE DIRECTION + PRODUCTION
Splunk Platform Rebrand
A full rebrand and category creation for one of enterprise software’s most ambitious go-to-market moments.
The Challenge
The Splunk Brand team was tasked with one of the most ambitious briefs in the company’s history: category creation and a full rebrand. The goal was direct. Answer the question every prospect and customer was quietly asking: WTF is Splunk?
After months of research, exploration, and iteration, we launched September 18, 2019 with a rebrand event featuring President Barack Obama as keynote speaker.
I was brought on as lead designer for the launch event before I knew President Obama would be our keynote speaker. Working closely with the Global Events team, Corporate Communications, and multiple vendors (including Secret Service), I was responsible for ensuring Splunk’s first impression in market was sophisticated and high-impact. This rebrand and launch remains one of the most rewarding projects of my career.
President Barack Obama, Keynote Speaker
The invitation-only event brought together visionaries and industry leaders to hear about the future of data, innovation, and organizational transformation. Obama joined Splunk CEO Doug Merritt for a fireside chat that covered technology's role in addressing climate change and health care, the nature of leadership, and what it means to build something that lasts.
One of the most memorable moments came when Obama reflected on a leadership lesson drawn from raising his daughters. Children, like trees, each grow on their own timeline and in their own way. The job of a parent, and maybe any good leader, is to understand what each one needs rather than expecting them all to grow the same.
$1.44B ARR, up 53% YoY.
Outcomes at a Glance
Named #1 Best New Enterprise Software Marketing of the Year, Constellation Research. Beat out SAP, Oracle, and Google Cloud.
+40% software revenue increase post-launch
Brand survived intact through Cisco’s $28B acquisition in 2023.
Stage, Environment, and Portrait Direction
The launch event at August Hall in San Francisco brought together an exceptional lineup alongside President Obama, including Aaron Levie, CEO and Cofounder of Box; Dr. Athina Kanioura, Chief Analytics Officer at Accenture; Tal Broda, Head of Architecture at Citadel Securities; Jennings Aske, CISO at New York Presbyterian Hospital; Christopher Lochhead, Author and Podcast Host; and Cristina Junqueira, Co-founder of Nubank.
My responsibilities spanned stage design and art direction, vendor and fabricator coordination, and all environmental asset design and execution.
“Doug [Merritt, Splunk CEO] told me it was the best event he’s ever been to. Be proud of that because you had a huge hand it making this the BEST event ever!”
As part of the rebrand, we needed a robust portrait library that reflected Splunk’s values and international markets. I sourced and cast models for five all-day photoshoots, working with photographer Eric Millette and his team. I art directed every session, shaping portraits and interactions that would carry across websites, presentations, and environmental activations. These images remain integral to the Splunk brand today.
The Brand, at Scale
The final invitation was designed around a reveal mechanic: recipients opened to discover the event name, creating a moment of anticipation before the brand landed. Bold, interactive, and deliberately theatrical for an event of this scale.
Inspired by die-cut interactives, the invitation was designed to reveal the brand through physical interaction.
“You absolutely crushed it and I loved our partnership. It has been a complete pleasure working with you and I’m so happy how it all came together.”
Splunk mascot, Buttercup.
From sales collateral and slide templates to social branding and full campaign flows, the identity scaled across every format and function. A shared effort across the Brand team, built to hold at every touchpoint.
Billboard, banner, and print anthem rolled out across domestic and international markets, with localization spanning Japanese, German, and French.
The brand showed up everywhere. From I-80 in San Francisco to Ogilvie Station in Chicago, the identity held at every scale and surface.
The Outcome
The rebrand was named Best New Enterprise Software Marketing of the Year by Constellation Research, beating out SAP, Oracle, and Google Cloud. The launch drove a 40% increase in software revenues and ARR of $1.44B, up 53% year over year.
Constellation Research noted it as one of the most sophisticated launches of the decade, citing flawless execution as the driver behind the results.
The launch event drew over 11,000 customers and partners across the broader .conf19 week, with the brand debuting to one of the largest audiences in Splunk’s history. The identity held through multiple acquisitions and remained the foundation of Splunk’s market presence through Cisco’s $28 billion acquisition in 2023.
Scope of Work
Branding
Mood boards
Identity Development
Color Research
Typography
Hierarchy
Collateral
Guidelines
Strategy
Concepting
Engagement
Research
Design
Art Direction
Direct Mail
Social Graphics
Environmental
Presentation
Stage + Set
Lighting
Photography
Mood boards
Model Casting
On-set Art Direction
Post-Production
Retouching
Activation
Event Experience
Presentations
On-site Engagement