BrandKit

Branding tools often assume users already have design experience or the time to configure everything themselves. Ours couldn’t.

We needed to create an experience that felt approachable to non-designers, yet powerful enough to support polished, scalable content creation. And it had to plug seamlessly into the broader Constant Contact platform—auto-applying branding across templates, landing pages, and more—without overwhelming the user.

Legacy systems: Our design had to integrate with an existing email editor, which came with technical limitations around how brand assets could be applied.
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Shared backend: The BrandKit needed to work across web and mobile, which meant building within a shared infrastructure without duplicating logic.
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AI complexity: We incorporated AI-assisted color mapping and asset detection, but had to account for edge cases where websites didn’t yield usable results.
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Progressive enhancement: Not every user would upload a logo or have a scannable website—so the experience had to be flexible, not brittle.

We reviewed behavioral data from users setting up campaigns without brand assets. Many defaulted to generic templates or skipped brand setup altogether. This often led to off-brand, inconsistent content, and less engagement.

We saw clear opportunity: users who branded their emails (even with just a logo and colors) had stronger open and click rates.

We spoke to small business owners who were actively sending emails but not using design tools. Most said they wanted their emails to “look more professional,” but didn’t know where to start. They were open to automation, as long as it felt accurate and didn’t override their creative control.

As a user, I want my emails and pages to reflect my brand, without having to design from scratch.

As a user, I want to pull in my branding automatically, so I don’t have to upload everything manually.

As a user, I want confidence that my brand will stay consistent across all my content.

The initial version of BrandKit focused on simplicity: upload a logo, choose brand colors, and preview how they would be applied.

As we learned more, we added smart defaults (like automated color suggestions), streamlined asset scanning from websites, and improved how users could preview branded templates in context.

We also designed fallback experiences for users without a logo or website, so they could still benefit from BrandKit without hitting dead ends.

Users immediately responded to the time-saving value. Many said the ability to scan their site and auto-apply branding “felt like magic.”

Even those who didn’t complete the full setup felt the tool gave them a better understanding of how branding would influence their content, and how much easier it was to get started with something that looked polished.

After launch, we saw measurable results:

• Trial users who interacted with BrandKit were 21% more likely to convert to paying customers.
• Branded templates were adopted at a higher rate, and users reported increased satisfaction with early campaign results.
• Engagement teams noted fewer support tickets related to wanting brand integration and setup systems.

This validated that brand confidence leads to deeper engagement, and that ease of setup was key to building that confidence.

Branding can’t be a chore. When it’s effortless, users are more likely to complete setup and feel proud of their content.

‍Default choices shape behavior. Intelligent suggestions (not just options) helped users make decisions faster—and feel good about them.

‍Consistency builds trust. Not just with the user, but between the user and their audience. Giving them tools to reinforce their brand gave them more than a better email—it gave them legitimacy.