$1M Rebrand, Repositioning & Rename / Laika to Thoropass

  • Brand Strategy & Positioning

  • Naming

  • Visual & Verbal Identity

  • Design System

  • Launch Campaign

  • Sales Enablement

Our own founders couldn’t pick us out.

Every company in compliance was telling the same story: automate it, get it done fast, move on. Laika had a better product, but a brand that sounded like everyone else’s, and a name that held back sales conversations. So we rebuilt it from the ground up, from the point of view to the name to every touchpoint.

Thoropass (formerly Laika) is the only complete compliance solution that combines smart software, expert guidance, continuous monitoring, and audit, so companies can do business with confidence.

Duration: 10 months (kickoff to launch)

Meet Oro

Oro is our new mascot, avatar, and best buddy. They represent our brand's confidence and helpfulness. Oro, like Thoropass, is always available and ready to assist, ensuring every interaction a positive experience.

CASE STUDY

From one of three to the only one

SITUATION
Laika had a superior product and an undifferentiated brand. Every competitor told the same story, “automate compliance,” and to buyers we sounded the same. I tested it by putting our homepage copy next to two competitors’, with no logos, and asking our founders to pick out Laika. They couldn’t. Research also showed the name itself was holding sales conversations back.

TASK

  • Give Laika a point of view no competitor could claim.

  • Decide whether the brand needed a refresh or a full rename.

  • Launch the new brand without slowing sales or confusing customers, candidates, or partners.

ACTION
1. Positioning. Built on stakeholder interviews, customer interviews, and a competitive audit. While competitors promised you could automate compliance away, we took the opposite stance: compliance done right takes expertise, and it helps you grow. The brand idea became “Compliance helps you move forward,” with a purpose to make it as easy to do the right thing as it is to check a box.

2. Naming. A rename wasn’t on the table at first. I brought the research to my VP, then to the CEO and founders, and won approval. Two rounds of naming and trademark screening led to Thoropass: thorough preparation, so you pass your audit.

3. Verbal identity. A voice that’s upstanding, transparent, and decisive, never slimy, manipulative, or wishy-washy, and a one-line promise: “We’re compliance experts so you don’t have to be.”

4. Visual identity. Logo, typography, an accessible color system, iconography, illustration, motion, and Oro, a brand character with its own expressions and animation guidelines. Built with Upperquad (identity) and Motionstrand (development), and carried into a modular Figma design system across 144 internal applications, 189 sales assets, and 60+ web properties.

5. Launch. Every asset, template, and script was ready before the switch, including a sales script on why we changed and messaging for the People team to use with candidates. We set baselines first and chose sales-qualified leads over MQLs as the measure of success.

Project Stats

In addition to building a new verbal and visual identity, a small team of ~ 100 employees also:

  • Updated 144 internal apps (SFDC, Hubspot, Clearbit, Snowflake, etc.)

  • Refreshed 13 employer talent/careers/hiring/jobs pages

  • Revised 189 PDFs (brochures, guides, sales leave-behinds, etc.)

  • Wrote ~4,000 new words for blog posts, landing pages, emails to customers, and more

  • Created 75+ new ads, including art, copy, and creative assets

  • Produced 26 new videos/animated clips

  • Developed 4 new partner training courses

  • Recreated 18 existing teaser/demo videos

  • Modified 15,417 lines of code

  • Deleted 10,807 lines of outdated code (big win here — woo!)

  • Streamlined 283 legacy colors across all web properties and web apps into a consistent palette of 36 colors (including gradients and shades)

  • Tested and validated colors and general accessibility across 60+ pages and 500+ actionable elements

Exceptional Performance
”Clarissa has been a valuable strategic partner in the rebrand and it has been great working together on this initiative.”

— Amber S., VP Marketing

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