ReBrand ReView: Maxwell TEC

Vivek Mathew, Vice President of Marketing at Maxwell TEC sat down to chat about the company’s rebrand. Stick around for a teardown and peek behind the curtain to see how this brand refresh went from concept to go-live. 

About the company: Maxwell TEC enables care at home through technology and strategic solutions, blending decades of clinical expertise with innovative approaches designed to empower people and processes. With a suite of tech-enabled products, data-driven solutions, and consulting services, Maxwell TEC equips care providers with the tools and strategies necessary for success in the digital era. Learn more at www.maxwelltec.com. 

Before the rebrand

Maxwell Healthcare Associates, founded in 2016, has established a nearly decade-long legacy of advancing the home healthcare and hospice industries through consulting services combined with technology. Despite their reputation and notoriety as subject matter experts and thought leaders in the industry, something was left to be desired as it relates to the company’s depth and breadth of services. 

“The foundation of our work began with our core beliefs and vision for the industry's future. Our COO, Jay Duty, recognized this from the moment he began attending health and healthcare conferences. Back then, people would say: ‘technology is a nice to have,’” Mathew shared. “More recently, on the other hand, he's seeing the conversation shift to where people are saying it's a ‘need to have.’ Noticing this sea change in the dialogue around health technology, this prompted the need to pivot as an organization so that we can focus our solutions in a much more tech-forward manner.” 

They also wanted to use the rebrand as a platform to gain brand visibility and traction over the coming months. “Our first priority was to generate momentum for two significant post-rebrand events: a product launch and our THRIVE conference in August,” Mathew shared. 

A screenshot from the Maxwell website.

How the brand transformed: verbal identity

Not only was the brand noticing the tide shifting toward a more tech-forward angle, but they also met the moment and needed more visibility to get there. “Our venture into building technology products two years ago marked a philosophical shift, and we wanted our organizational structure to reflect that change,” Mathew added. 

“The rebranding was conducted entirely in-house, with the marketing department leading the initial brainstorming sessions. We then engaged our executive team to help select a name that would truly represent our organization's identity and future direction. We landed on the name, Maxwell TEC (which stands for Tech-Enabled Care).” 

“These brainstorming sessions enabled us to swiftly define our core objectives and streamline our workflow, allowing us to focus on what was most essential to meet the firm deadline,” Mathew added. 

Not only did the brand look at other competitors in the space, but it was also important to audit their own legacy against their end goal. “Despite our focus on technology, we have always remained a people-centered organization. This deep understanding of our audience allows us to effectively position our messaging and shape our entire brand,” Mathew shared. “We wanted to ensure our audience resonated with both our strategic shift and our core organizational values. That stems from the values as well. We even had a brainstorming session on the values of this new organization.”

Sometimes when you rebrand, it’s like starting over from a blank slate. For Maxwell, it was a natural part of the brand’s maturity. “The rebrand represents a natural evolution rather than a complete departure. It acknowledges our enduring commitment to consulting while signifying our company's progression into its next phase,” Mathew shared. “We are now primarily focused on leveraging technology to enhance operations, streamline clinician workflows, and ultimately improve patient care.”

A screenshot from the new Maxwell TEC website, showing their different solutions that power home health and hospice agencies. 

The name change definitely underscores this commitment to technology. The former name, Maxwell Healthcare Associates conveys the consulting feel, predominantly led by people. The new name: Maxwell TEC, hits home on their consulting roots while building in and layering on the technology component that healthcare stakeholders want and need. 

The new change also helped to shape and form their current mission statement—while honoring the company’s roots: “Enabling care at home through technology and strategic solutions, with a commitment to empowering people and processes.” This isn’t a departure for the brand either, if you look at their old materials, you’ll see this phrase: People. Process. Technology.

A screenshot from Maxwell’s previous brand refresh from 2022.

How the brand transformed: visual identity

“We analyzed other brands in our space, including our partners, not to emulate their strategies but to identify opportunities for greater differentiation,” Mathew shared. “We drew design inspiration from major tech brands like Apple, aiming to capture their tide rather than emulate them directly. This approach extended to the finest details, from landing page layouts to the shape and color of individual buttons.” 

Here is a comparison of their old website to their current website.

Aside from the logo and name change, the new headline showcases the depth of research that the Maxwell team did, adopting rounded call-to-action buttons in their new color palette, and more concise copy that succinctly shares their value prop and offer. The website also shows the hero imagery in a better light, that shows tech-enabled care in action. 

Recent academic research shows that rounded buttons out-perform sharp-cornered buttons. The click-through rate of sharp versus rounded buttons can be as drastic as 17% and 55%, respectively. 

From an identity standpoint, the new Maxwell logo features a unique M shape made up of three disconnected parts, conveying a tech-forward feel. They moved from a red and blue color palette to a green and blue palette, with gradients and a subtle Apple feel on the website. 

Put the word out about your rebrand ahead of launch.

The team placed a lot of emphasis into teasing the rebrand before launch, putting out a series of videos and sneak peeks of what was to come. 

They also adopted the new look on their social media before the official launch, giving their community a sense of anticipation for what was to come. From a style perspective, they also introduced on-off toggle-based icons that people with mobile devices are familiar with. 

Lessons learned from a successful rebrand.

One of the key pieces that made the Maxwell rebrand successful was driving toward a deadline—and prioritizing assets that were going to be client-facing. 

“Faced with a tight deadline, the management of a conference, and an upcoming product launch, we had to prioritize and streamline our internal processes. This strategic approach enabled us to meet our immediate objectives while also planning for our post-rebrand initiatives.”

When thinking through a brand’s new identity, it’s important to weigh your legacy, history, and if your audience will recognize you. “Will they still know you? Will they still recognize you as a name brand within your space and within your industry,” Mathew shared. “I believe a rebrand should be an evolution, not a complete revolution. It's crucial to maintain your brand's core identity so that even with changes to your name or visual branding, your audience can still recognize you and remain connected.” 

“Bearing those key points in mind, that’s one of the main reasons we kept the name Maxwell. People still know the name Maxwell, and they have that equity with us,” Mathew added.

And don’t forget to keep your team’s morale up when undertaking a large project like a rebrand! “The team was, of course, a key part in making this rebrand successful. We have an exceptional team and they deserve a lot of recognition. Andrew Martin and Jena Wallace—as well as our two interns—were really exceptional in ensuring that we were successful in rolling this out.”

To learn more about Maxwell TEC, check out their website: http://www.maxwelltec.com 

Interested in seeing how a marketing partner can help you bring your healthtech company’s rebrand or brand vision to life? Get in touch with Jenn today.