LinkedIn Is Rebranding To Be Warmer and More Inclusive

Whatever you’re in it for, we’re in it together.

That’s the new LinkedIn tagline, which is part of the rebranding that has been two years in the making by the LinkedIn team.  

This herculean effort is an attempt by LinkedIn to externally portray the warm and inclusive persona that it’s always felt internally.

Part of that is branding, part of that is storytelling.

By telling real stories of real people, LinkedIn is giving a voice to the thousands of people in the constant “rat race” that is job searching.

VP of LinkedIn brand marketing and corporate communications Melissa Selcher told Adweek:

“We really understand what our members and customers need from us. They want us to be telling the stories and doing the things we’re doing in the world. For 16 years, we’ve had the same vision and the same mission. They wanted us to tell that story in a more human, more consistent, more approachable way.”

A Little Nip Here, A Little Tuck There

Linkedin is not only telling real stories, but it’s also updating its whole brand system, including logo, typography, colors, and shapes.

Illustrations

The company is  introducing a new, fun style of illustration that show people having everyday connections and interactions.

Logo

The logo has been updated to a more modern, one color version (right).

Color Palette

The color palette is now warmer and more accessible. Blue is no longer the overwhelmingly dominant color.

Custom Font

LinkedIn has a new custom font called “Community” that has rounded, organic letterforms.

Shapes

Inspired by the ‘i’ in the LinkedIn logo, a circle and a rectangle are used throughout all materials as design elements.

The Key To Accessibility is the Photography

LinkedIn traveled the world documenting real people at work to develop a library of thousands of photos.

These images are the backbone of the rebranding.

Executive Creative Director Kevin Frank says:

“There’s nothing more powerful than a picture of a person. Stock photography all looks the same—happy smiling people in conference rooms, high-fiving in ways that don’t feel natural. It’s not that people don’t experience moments of joy at work, but we really wanted to make sure we portrayed those moments authentically and showed moments of anxiety and stress and disappointment.”

LinkedIn is doing a great job trying to connect with people on a visceral level, and there’s nothing more visceral than the pain and joy of trying to find a job. If job seekers can see themselves in the photography, the rebrand is working.

In It Together

In It Together is an integrated marketing effort originally intended to debunk the myth that LinkedIn was only a place for white-collar businesspeople. It debuted in a spot during the 2018 Golden Globes and now features actual members from all job sectors.

It’s part of a full-fledged marketing effort, including digital display, paid social media, online video, outdoor/out-of-home, radio, podcasts, search-engine marketing, and other partnerships.

It continues LinkedIn’s overall branding effort to be accessible to everyone in the job market and everyone wanting to be in the job market.   

The Perfect Storm for Advertising

LinkedIn is one of the 10 fastest-growing brands in the U.S.

As LinkedIn continues to expand its advertising opportunities including video ads, interest targeting, and lookalike targeting, this is the perfect time to advertise on the platform.  

The brand refresh is not only appealing to job seekers, but also for advertisers. What Facebook has going for it with its advertising is the sheer number of people that visit the website daily. However, LinkedIn is slowly creeping up. With over 575+ million users and more than 260 million monthly active users, LinkedIn is leveraging those good numbers for more engagement on their site.  

LinkedIn’s goal with this rebrand is accessibility and, judging by the firm’s continued growth, it seems to be working.

All photography and artwork credited to LinkedIn.