I Tried to Modernize a Brand — Here's What Worked (and What Didn't) at the 20-Year-Old Company Rebranding meant shedding outdated perceptions and boldly embracing a modern identity. The key: balance innovation with trust and communicate the "why" clearly.

I joined RXNT in 2019 to lead a rebranding effort, inheriting two decades of ground-breaking corporate history and an aging brand identity that no longer reflected the company's story or lofty goals. The company was celebrating 20 years of innovation, but needed a refresh.

After launching as an electronic prescribing software in 1999, the company was saddled with a narrow perception despite expanding into a broader range of solutions over time. The e-prescribing specialization did serve us well with the market exploding in the early 2000s, but as competition stiffened and expanded, our brand's limited perception held us back.

It didn't take long to realize that to change our perception and stand out in a sea of stale, antiquated identities, we had to be bold.

Overcoming outdated perceptions

Every established organization faces an inflection point: you've built a track record, earned industry trust, and your name is well-known, but familiarity is working against you. In our case, doctors knew RXNT primarily as an e-prescribing solution, which limited our growth. Potential customers looked at us through a narrow lens and assumed we only offered one piece of the puzzle.

We'd spent years developing a perception of affordability, ease-of-use and support, which were all incredibly valuable. However, a focus on intangible qualities overshadowed how much our products and features had expanded and developed. In a crowded marketplace full of established players with big venture-capital budgets and bigger teams, being "safe" meant blending into the background.

Without any real transformation, there was a risk of stagnation in a quick-moving industry: in short, evolve or be left behind. The solution was a positioning shift with our language, strategy and identity.

From the initial beta launch of e-prescribing in 2000, new practice solutions were added periodically — electronic health records, then medical billing, mobile applications, patient portal and more. To combat outdated consumer perceptions, our entire brand strategy was re-envisioned during the rebranding process. We focused on RXNT as a complete, integrated solution in contrast to many competitors who offer only siloed or specialty-specific solutions.

We needed to stop being viewed as an add-on, instead becoming the backbone for a healthcare practice's entire day-to-day. Why use many mismatched puzzle pieces from vendors across the health IT industry when providers can add RXNT and run their entire practice from intake to payments?

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A fresh, energetic look with trust as foundation

The medical space — from practices, to insurance, to software — often takes a conservative approach to branding. Blue is by far the most dominant color across the space, used to evoke stability, trust and professionalism. Again and again, we encountered patterns of safe, clinical, monotonous brands. Even RXNT's dominant color was blue, and to break away from our outdated image, we needed to differentiate ourselves from the same-old approach.

Choosing a vibrant color palette was our first bold step. We landed on a bright combination of orange and blue, a purposeful departure from the conservative standard in the industry. Blue still has a place in our palette, but the combination felt youthful, fresh and exciting.

By rethinking everything from our website to our campaign visuals, we carried the identity throughout the brand experience. We refreshed our iconography, opting for more dynamic, modern visuals that spoke to innovation instead of the usual compliance or functionality. We also chose authentic imagery that was more likely to resonate, rather than generic stock images of happy-looking doctors.

Of course, differentiation is not nearly enough by itself. In healthcare, trust is everything, and if the rebrand came across as all flash and no substance, we'd risk pushing away clients who valued our stability.

We were careful to balance bold visuals with messaging that showcased our proven track record and dedication to stable, secure solutions. In other words, we used color, design and tone to signal new energy without compromising the trust we had spent years building.

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Navigating the change

With two decades of innovation already behind us, many of our customers were well-established and had been with us for many years. Any kind of sweeping change always carries a risk that your customer base will no longer identify with you — with a rebrand, the perception they've built about your brand may no longer match the story you're telling. But the reality is, if you're growing and staying relevant is important to you (as it should be), it's necessary to embrace change while keeping your brand history in sight.

We navigated that balance by sticking to our roots of integrity and honesty, making sure customer service continued to be a core part of our values, and making decisions for the long term rather than the cash grab. We also communicated our vision for the rebrand early and explained why it was time for change, making sure to highlight the benefits and the "why" using real data and customer feedback as highlights.

Our past did follow through into the rebrand — we kept the company name and wove in hints of our original identity to strike a balance between a fresh look and familiarity. It pays homage to our history as one of the first medical software solutions on the market, using three colors to reflect the overlap between health and technology.

Playing it safe is the biggest rebranding risk

Ultimately, rebranding isn't just about your look. It's about strategic positioning, shaping perceptions for your ideal customer and committing to a long-term vision that aligns with broad company goals.

More than 5 years on, letting go of the safe choice was the backbone of this transformation. By pushing for energy and distinction — and getting the rest of the team on board — we fundamentally changed how the market viewed us, which opened the gates for future innovation and growth.

For businesses considering a rebrand in an established industry, dare to go boldly. You may ruffle some feathers, but staying put in the safe lane poses a far greater threat to your future.