AVALARA

Avalara was rolling out agentic AI throughout their tax and compliance platform – keeping pace with partner and investor demands, but threatening the confidence of their core user base who were AI skeptics. We needed to cut through the AI buzzwords to create real meaning.

Among tax pros, the Avalara brand had an “orange halo of trust” built on getting sales tax calculations right every time. Northbound used customer conversations to identify an opportunity segment for whom growth and assurance go together. 

We leveraged the trusted legacy of Avalara as a differentiator while scaling toward agent-facilitated services. The result equally engaged futurist analysts and investors as well as conservative tax customers.

At this pivotal moment in the company’s growth, Avalara needed to convey a product vision to investors who wanted to see innovation. At the same time, Avalara needed to reinforce that their approach wouldn’t compromise the trust their customers had in getting things right.

Northbound crafted positioning and messaging that could flex to speak to investors and customers, along with taglines that could be selectively used to both define and distinguish the brand. The resulting messages are being rolled out across company communications.