Lexicon Branding Helps Isis Wallet Becomes Softcard

SAUSALITO, Calif., Sept. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- What happens when an extremist group known for committing brutal acts of violence uses the same name as your company? According to David Placek, the founder of Lexicon Branding, "You make the tough decision to rebrand and move forward." Isis Wallet retained Lexicon Branding to work directly with the executive team and create a new name – fast. The result: a newly coined term and original idea for the industry: Softcard.

Isis Wallet – a mobile payments start-up – said in July that it would be rebranding to avoid association with the Islamic militant group known in English by the acronym ISIS. In a statement, Softcard Chief Executive Officer, Michael Abbott said, "…we have no desire to share a name with this group and our hearts go out to those affected by this violence."

Softcard captures the company's founding vision: "to use the power of the mobile phone to help consumers find a safer and better way to shop, pay and save." Rather than letting an internal committee select the start-up's next major asset, Isis engaged Lexicon Branding for its corporate rebranding expertise. Working with Lexicon Branding, Isis realized this circumstance presented an opportunity to elevate the conversation by creating a great brand that delivers on the promise to provide consumers power, flexibility and simplicity.

Commenting on the assignment, Lexicon Branding founder, David Placek remarked, "The name Softcard matches the breadth of the company's vision to define the mobile payments category. It goes beyond a label and creates a long-term strategic marketing asset. I look forward to watching Softcard's rapid growth."

To create the new brand, Softcard, Lexicon Branding combined small, creative teams in its California headquarters and worked with more than 18 linguists in 12 countries to ensure the name would travel across the globe. To accelerate the assignment, Lexicon Branding's in-house trademark clearing teams worked around the clock to assess the trademark strength of dozens of candidates.

Given that Lexicon Branding created Softcard so swiftly, small traces of Isis Wallet will be visible for a short time. The updated Softcard app will be available via iTunes and Google Play in the coming weeks and can be downloaded here.

About Lexicon Branding
Lexicon Branding is an independent branding and strategy firm based in Sausalito, California. With more than 3,500 projects completed across 18 countries and more than 30 years of experience, Lexicon Branding has contributed to some of the world's most recognized brands, including Intel's Pentium, Coca-Cola's Dasani, Toyota's Scion, Apple's PowerBook, General Motor's OnStar, Research In Motion's Blackberry, as well as Febreze and Swiffer for Procter & Gamble. With more than $350 billion products carrying a Lexicon name sold; the firm's mantra is "yes to new ideas". To learn more about Lexicon Branding, visit www.lexiconbranding.com.

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SOURCE Lexicon Branding