
Strategy Brand
Digitalisation UI/UX
Talking about finding the heart in tech and how less can mean much, much more
How to grow
better together
Tell us about the company.
DNIV Group started in 1995 as an integrated solutions provider for SMT or surface-mount technology equipment and machinery. So: semiconductors, aerospace, manufacturing batteries, electronics, that sort of thing.
When we first met, they had an impressive 80-90% repeat business rate across all four subsidiaries: DNIV Electronics Trading (Shanghai) Pte Ltd, DNIV Test Service Pte Ltd, DNIV Systems Pte Ltd, and ABC Link Pte Ltd.
That’s pretty impressive.
Any problem areas?
Despite doing very well, like many others in this space, they were seen largely as “just” a distributor. Middlemen.
And they had clear objectives: to get into the automotive and medical industries and to move beyond existing markets, with China as a primary target.
So the situation was, with so many seemingly similar players, a super saturated market, how will we help the company achieve their aim of regional expansion?
Despite doing very well, like many others in this space, they were seen largely as “just” a distributor. Middlemen.

They needed to stand out.
Exactly. When it came to the four subsidiaries—functions were similar, and areas of service overlapped. Were they engineers? Distributors? Tech support? It was hard to tell them apart and what each one did.
So what did you do?
Those are great insights.
The first thing we did was speak with people who’ve known the group for years: longtime brand partners and repeat customers making up DNIV’s client base.
We found that this group trusted DNIV completely, like in a very extreme way. They felt very strongly that DNIV always acted in their best interest: clients loved them for brand-agnostic solutions, and brands loved them for acting “as if they owned the products themselves.”
This became the foundation for the new brand strategy: the heart of the brand was people.
Anchored on the essence “Better together”, we shone a spotlight on what makes DNIV, DNIV: stewardship and specialist knowledge, their way of taking care of both clients and product brands.
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We shone a spotlight on what makes DNIV, DNIV: stewardship and specialist knowledge, their way of taking care of both clients and product brands.


How was this new positioning rolled out?
We worked from the inside out. For the subsidiaries, we adopted a master brand approach, dropped the descriptors, and consolidated them into one DNIV brand.
Once consolidated, we streamlined resources, processes, and areas of business into an end-to-end service.
Externally?
Of course, communications reinforced this positioning and worked to make the brand stand out.
We made the deliberate decision to veer away from the industry standard of showing “cold” machinery and technology. The design strategy implemented a colour system of future-ready orange and stable, technical blue, using bold messages and fluid shapes to set the brand apart.
Using imagery of people in action, animated shapes fusing into a bigger whole—everything felt personal and collaborative in a creative, organic way.
What was the response?
Highlighting DNIV as specialists and collaborators was the right way to go.
As a more efficient, high-frequency brand with strong recall, they developed deeper partnerships with quality brands and businesses and attracted investment.
Better together!
It was! Everything came together smartly, and it all just clicked.
After the rebrand, business took off.
DNIV went on to expand and diversify companies in Indonesia and the Philippines. In 2022, they were acquired by DKSH Holding AG. Perfect example of a project that set out to make a change, make a difference, and they did.
