Telecommunications provider Primus has debuted new branding that it hopes can help it compete against the big three providers in Canada.

Led by Cundari, the new brand features all lowercase letters, which were present in its previous logo but are now rounded off, with the dot on the “i” featuring the shade of blue it previously used. In addition to being a more modern look, the logo is meant to make the brand more approachable for consumers.

“What we identified in research was that consumers were looking for something simple, accessible and consumer-friendly,” says Dean Martin, CD, branding and design at Cundari. “In this sector, you have the big three providers [Rogers, Bell and Telus] that are these big behemoths, so we’re coming at consumers with the same degree of credibility, but also some humility and approachability.”

In April, the purchase of Primus by Atlanta-based Birch Communications was finalized, which expanded the company’s customer service capabilities and expanded its portfolio of products and services.

Primus has roughly 250,000 consumer and business customers in Canada, but Martin says research showed there was very low awareness of the Primus brand or what it offered, with some believing it to only offer niche services, like long distance. Primus’ previous branding also didn’t immediately convey the kinds of things the company’s target were looking for in a company that could potentially draw them away from one of the big three providers.

“We did a lot of research into where [Primus’] target market was and where they were dissatisfied with their existing choices,” Martin says. “Their choices are one of the big three, or a very niche carrier, and the old brand felt very much like a niche player itself, or potentially a discount carrier. There’s a huge marketplace here to start to take customers from the big three, but only if you can build your credibility.”

Martin adds that the new branding had to “straddle the line” between appealing to residential and small business customers, and couldn’t go overboard with elements that appealed only to the consumer-facing side of Primus’ business.

“We see a tremendous market opportunity among Canadian small and medium-size businesses,” said Brad Fisher, general manager of Primus, in a press release. “Too many of our larger competitors are focused on servicing large companies without considering the distinct and important needs of the thousands of small businesses driving Canadian economic growth.”