The SQLI rebrand: in the words of Carlsberg ’Worth Waiting For'.
As the pandemic began to sweep across the globe in the early months of 2020, Redbox Digital reached an important milestone in its history. It joined SQLI Group, part of an ambitious growth strategy offering greater fire-power - with benefits for clients including wider global reach, greater expertise and unrivalled support capabilities.
Now, the partnership is taking its next steps, with Redbox reaching another milestone as it rebrands to SQLI Digital Experience.
But what does this mean exactly and what can clients look forward to in the future?
In 2017, European digital agency Osudio joined forces with SQLI Group, completing its own journey earlier this summer to take the name SQLI Digital Experience.
For COO Luc Box, it was a natural strategic step in the company’s evolution.
He explained: “From a customer perspective, we are much stronger, have more capacity and have such reach that we are always likely to have offices nearby - there’s a lot of positives. We are a more compelling proposition for brands, overall.
“If you work for the company, nothing has to change. You are on the same desk, with the same clients. However, if you want to grow in the company and want to work on international projects or learn new skills or technologies, the possibilities are there. We have offices in Paris, Barcelona, Valencia, Berlin, London, Amsterdam, Dubai and all over the world. If our employees want to work in another country, the opportunity is there.”
The Osudio story began as an IT-focused agency called Softlution in 1997 with a creative and tech-minded team building the first e-Commerce solutions. It quickly grew, although a merger with Strawberries in 2013 and change of name to Osudio, proved the major turning point.
Luc continued: “When we merged, we truly took off. We won major brands like Carlsberg, Phillips, Adidas and Goodyear - big platforms that were investing heavily.
“We had a big vision, a bigger offering, offices in multiple countries and while there was still a focus on creativity and technology, we built a strong retail portfolio. When you’d walk through the Dutch, Belgium and German high streets, one in three brands were a client either then, or in the past.
“We were true e-Commerce specialists with a great track record, using technology that was at the forefront of our success. We then opened offices in Denmark and Spain and further afield.
“The success of the merger was embodied by the world-famous brewery Carlsberg. We completed a project without being present in the country. From a customer point-of-view, they wanted all services we considered relevant – digital strategy, implementation and managed services. From our perspective, we delivered anything they needed and it was the first true collaboration from all subsidiaries of the merger – we had people working from Belgium, Amsterdam and colleagues in Spain, it was a true one-team project. It was like ‘wow, this is why we merged!’
“It brought many things together. ‘Yes, we can win projects in other countries’ and ‘yes, we can deliver in multiple areas.’
“We got great feedback and they’re still one of our biggest clients. But further than that, these learnings and takeaways go some way to explaining what happened next in our evolution.”
The ‘what happened next’, was a merger with the SQLI Group in 2017.
Luc continued: “The merger between Strawberries and Softlution paved the way for Osudio joining SQLI. It is about having a bigger reach and providing better opportunities for everyone.
“Coming together as one group, with offices and people in all these countries opens up so many avenues. One voice, one offering, with thousands of heads and skill-sets.
“It was a huge move for Osudio, like it is now for Redbox. But our clients were more excited about the wider possibilities – this full, talented group of two-and-a-half thousand professionals. There are no negatives when you look at the huge scope that is created.”
...keep an eye out for part two.