When I first saw the news that nThrive is soon to be rebranded to FinThrive, I knew I had to learn the rest of the story behind the rebrand. I was able to connect with Cheryl Alden, Chief Marketing Officer at nThrive, to learn why they decided to do the rebrand. She also shares some of what it takes to do a rebrand and what their thinking was with the new logo and website in the following interview.
If you’re considering a rebrand, you’ll enjoy learning from Alden.
What went into the decision to rebrand from nThrive to FinThrive? What was the overarching goal?
Many factors went into the decision to rebrand from nThrive to FinThrive. When the technology division of nThrive was acquired by Clearlake Capital Group in 2021, enabling nThrive to focus solely on revenue management technology for healthcare, some confusion remained in the market. Is nThrive a technology company? Are they a services company? Both? We felt it was important to mark our new beginnings and sole focus as a SaaS-based technology and solutions company. Rebranding made sense so we could more effectively tell our vision story and provide clarity that we are a technology company.
Second, for modern healthcare to realize its true potential, we realized that revenue cycle management needed a new vision. We’re bringing that vision to life with FinThrive, by breaking down the silos associated with traditional revenue cycle management (RCM) technology to instead create a connected revenue management (RM) platform that works for the modern healthcare economy. We want to help health systems avoid the inefficiencies of just managing the “cycle” and instead focus on proactive revenue strategies that build a stronger, more sustainable healthcare system for providers, payers and patients.
nThrive has done a number of large acquisitions. Are you planning to maintain some of those acquired brand names under the FinThrive umbrella or will everything switch to FinThrive? What went into that decision?
We’re extremely fortunate to have brought some leading brands into our portfolio as of late, most recently with the addition of Transunion Healthcare and PELITAS. But integrating multiple brands can be confusing to customers, so it was important that we focused on simplicity and clarity with our brand work, ultimately unifying the organizations under a single brand.
The company will be known as FinThrive across the industry and around the world. As a combined force built on nThrive, TransUnion Healthcare and PELITAS foundations, FinThrive will free our customers from the inefficiencies of traditional approaches to RCM so they can focus on informed revenue management.
How did you come up with the new FinThrive logo and branding? What is the thinking behind it and what were the goals?
Much of the drive behind the new logo and branding was powered by our commitment to do something different that really captured the essence of the new brand we were designing. To fully grasp what we wanted to accomplish, our team went through extensive brand foundation exercises that involved an analysis and in-depth look at various archetypes, narrative pillars, customer feedback and competitive positioning. Ultimately, we broke this out by driver, solution and outcome.
The driver was the opportunity to deliver on a new vision for healthcare revenue. The solution is revenue management, and the outcome is a frictionless revenue experience. I believe our logo and visual identity is a fantastic reflection of the innovation and creativity we’re bringing to our industry while also giving a nod to our depth of experience and heritage in RCM. There are layers in the visuals that work together quite nicely – the stability, experience and trust represented by the teal green, mixed with the immersive nature of the mint and peach-colored circles that seem to connect everything and everyone. We love how it all came together.
As you switch over to the new brand, what are some of the challenges of changing brands? Are there any changes or challenges that you didn’t think about?
I would definitely add the naming process to the top of the list of challenges. Put simply, it’s just incredibly difficult to find a name that everyone falls in love with right away! If I could offer advice to anyone about to embark on a rebranding initiative that involves a name change, it would be to ensure they allocate enough time for this stage. It may take several (or 4, or 5, or 6) proposals before you find something your teams like and will approve.
Additionally, having a nimble, competent and dedicated team helps a lot – I was lucky to have both a fabulous marketing team and brand agency partner, so I am grateful for that. The rebrand journey gets bumpy – surrounding yourself with great people will soften the impact.
What was one lesson you learned that would help others in the HITMC community who may be considering their own rebrand?
A new brand affects every aspect of the organization. No area is left untouched. Accounting for all the critical pieces is quite a challenge, particularly when you are up against the clock to bring it all to together. Ensuring teams take their time at the early stages of the foundational brand work is incredibly important. It may take a little longer to get things like your brand essence, positioning, and differentiation to the point where you’re really happy with them, but it will save you much time and re-work down the road. The message here is that you need to slow down a bit to go fast.
Does the rebrand to FinThrive indicate a broader vision for the company or is that reading too much into the rebrand?
It most certainly does indicate a broader vision! Our team, which is 1,600 and growing, is completely focused on rethinking the way healthcare manages revenue. To date, we have recovered more than $8 billion in cash for our clients, and that number will continue to soar as 2022 unfolds. We believe RCM needed a new vision and a more modern approach – FinThrive is the representation of this new vision. We are driven to break the cycle of inefficiency associated with traditional Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) software and pave the way for a new kind of Revenue Management that meets the needs of healthcare today. Stay tuned for more because we’re just getting started. Follow along with us at https://finthrive.com.
About Cheryl Alden
Cheryl Alden is responsible for the company’s overall marketing strategy. With more than 25 years in enterprise software marketing, she has spent the last two decades leading global marketing teams with a focus on developing high-impact marketing and brand strategies to drive growth, improve the customer experience and optimize enterprise value. She believes technology innovation is the answer to making healthcare effective and sustainable. For Cheryl, being part of an organization that enables providers to deliver great experiences for both their patients and team members is a rewarding opportunity.
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