Strategic Brand Consolidation for Established Consultancies

Project Overview

Orca Consulting came to us with a challenge that many growing financial services companies face, but few handle well. They had two successful brands operating under one roof – Orca Risk and Orca Finance – and they needed to merge them into a single, powerful entity that would offer their clients one comprehensive financial and investment solution.

This wasn't just about updating a logo or combining two websites. This was about preserving years of trust and client relationships while creating something entirely new that could attract fresh audiences and drive real business growth.

The Merger Challenge

When Pieter, Diana, and Albert first walked us through their vision, the complexity became immediately clear. They had built solid reputations in their respective areas – risk management and financial planning – but their clients were starting to ask for more integrated solutions. The market was demanding it, and they were ready to deliver it, but they needed a digital presence that could support this transformation.

The challenge wasn't just technical. How do you tell existing clients that the trusted advisors they've worked with for years are now part of something bigger? How do you attract new clients who need comprehensive financial solutions without losing the specialised expertise that made each brand successful in the first place?

"We needed to feel fresh and new, but not so different that our existing clients felt like we'd abandoned what made us special," Diana explained during our initial strategy session.

Starting with Strategy, Not Design

Before we touched a single design element, we knew we needed to understand exactly what we were building and why. That's where our half-day strategy workshop became the foundation of everything that followed.

We spent those crucial hours digging deep into Orca's market position, their existing client relationships, and their vision for the merged entity. We mapped out their target audiences – from emerging professionals just starting their financial journey to established enterprises needing sophisticated risk management solutions.

The workshop revealed something powerful: Orca wasn't just merging two brands, they were creating a new category of financial advisory service. They were positioning themselves as the go-to firm for clients who wanted both the safety of risk management and the growth potential of strategic financial planning, all from one trusted team.

Building for Independence and Growth

One of Orca's key requirements was simple but crucial: they needed to be able to manage their website content themselves. As a growing financial services firm, they couldn't afford to wait for developers every time they wanted to update team information, add new services, or publish fresh insights.

This led us to choose Framer as our development platform – a decision that would prove transformative for their business. Framer's no-code capabilities meant that Orca's team could maintain complete control over their digital presence while still having a website that looked and functioned at the highest professional level.

We designed a sophisticated content management system that included individual pages for each team member, eight different solution pages targeting specific client personas, flexible product showcasing capabilities, and a full blog and resource management system. This gave Orca the agility they needed to respond to market changes and client needs in real-time.

The Design Philosophy: Familiar Yet Revolutionary

Creating the visual identity for the new Orca was like walking a tightrope. We needed something that felt completely fresh and modern – something that would attract new clients and reflect their expanded capabilities – while maintaining enough familiarity that existing clients felt secure in the transition.

Working primarily in Figma before moving to Framer, we crafted a design approach that honoured the legacy brand elements clients already trusted while introducing modern, approachable patterns that would resonate with new audiences. The result was a website that felt both established and innovative – exactly what a financial services firm needs to inspire confidence while demonstrating forward-thinking capability.

We structured the entire site around clear user journeys for different types of clients: individuals seeking personal financial advice, businesses needing corporate solutions, and prospects trying to understand what made Orca's unified approach special.

Real Results That Matter

The transformation has been remarkable. Within months of launch, Orca successfully expanded their audience while maintaining the brand equity from their previous brands – something that's particularly challenging in financial services where trust and recognition are everything.

The strategic approach to user experience design has positioned them to achieve their goal of converting 5-10% of website visitors into qualified enquiries, with an average viewing time that demonstrates genuine engagement rather than quick bounces.

But perhaps the most significant result is operational. Orca now has complete independence over their digital presence. They can update team information as they grow, add new services and solutions as they develop them, maintain fresh and relevant content, and respond quickly to market changes – all without technical dependencies.

Why Strategy-First Website Development Works

The Orca project perfectly demonstrates something we see again and again: a new website can be incredibly powerful when it's built on strategic foundations rather than aesthetic decisions alone. By investing in proper discovery and strategy upfront, Orca now has a digital platform that serves as a genuine business development tool.

Their website is now an active part of their business growth strategy that reflects their unified brand positioning accurately, providing flexibility for future expansion and maintaining the trust they've built with existing clients while attracting new ones.

The success of Orca's transformation shows what's possible when strategy, design, and technology work together with a clear understanding of business goals. They received a powerful platform for growth that supports their vision of becoming the premier integrated financial advisory firm in their market.

Today, when potential clients visit Orca's website, they encounter a firm that feels both established and innovative, specialised yet comprehensive, trustworthy yet forward-thinking. It's exactly the digital presence they needed to support their ambitious growth plans while honouring the relationships and expertise that got them there.