a clear course logo on a white background

Cymba: a new look for a new chapter

Nov 30, 2022

Here at ClearCourse, we love businesses that have a real, very genuine sense of purpose. 


Businesses that contribute positively to not only their customers but the world around them, too. And one business that certainly typifies that is Cymba


Cymba, a small business that primarily works with charities to help increase fundraising and donations, joined ClearCourse in 2021 after almost 20 years helping the likes of Macmillan Cancer Support, UNICEF, RSPCA and Marie Curie increase donations via mobile payments and messaging. 


The business also works with household brand names – think Uncle Ben’s, Cadbury, Heineken, M&M’s, and Marvel – to generate competition entries and generally engage their audiences. 


Cymba’s tech platform, where clients can manage their campaigns and access real-time data, is just one part of the Cymba proposition. 


The Cymba team has always prioritised customer service – and, as a long-serving team, it’s those one-on-one relationships, strategic advice and invaluable guidance that clients value more than anything else. 

Cymba Actionaid mobile screenshots

The value of people


Businesses that joins ClearCourse undergoe a branding refresh. It’s good to revisit the key messages that we want audiences to understand. It’s important to sense-check the brand proposition and how the visuals connect with the audience. 


After all, brands and the products and services they offer often evolve and mature organically, but branding, websites and other marketing collateral rarely evolve at the same pace. 


When working with the Cymba team, one thing became abundantly clear. 


The business is about people. 


The people within Cymba and the charities and businesses they work with. 


The people who the brand connects with via text-to-win competitions. 


And crucially, the people – and causes – that are helped because the brand has worked to increase charitable donations. 


That’s why, across the new Cymba website, people feature heavily – not only in the imagery used but also in the library of case studies you’ll now find. 


The faces of the Cymba team are all on the site too. They’re there because these are the people clients will be working with – clients won’t be outsourced to a call centre where it’s potluck who they speak to; they get to connect directly with members of that small team. 

Cymba mobile messaging platform

Creating relevancy for today


Of course, people are just one aspect of a brand – the product has to stand up to scrutiny, and keep on innovating. 

With the cost of living crisis, rising costs and other financial pressures, the vast majority of people have less disposable cash than a year or two ago – so creating a compelling case to donate to charities, and make it as simple as possible, is more important than ever before. 


And that’s where Cymba really comes into its own. 


The brand has been at the forefront of mobile giving technology for two decades, helps charities get a direct response from TV commercials, display advertising and billboards. The new logo, website and brand positioning reflects the confidence and knowledge that this experience brings. 


It also reflects the backing and scale Cymba now has as part of ClearCourse. 


In an increasingly challenging market for charities, Cymba’s incredibly well placed to help them achieve whatever they need to. 


And it certainly looks the part as it enters the next chapter of its evolution.


Dan Barber, Director of Brand Strategy at ClearCourse, commented:

 

"We’ve created an overarching brand identity for ClearCourse, built from a foundation of clean lines, space and execution of typography. Cymba has adopted this brand architecture. Additionally, we’re slowly collating our image library to showcase real people in real situations, be that our customers or our teams - and it’s that inclusion of people-led imagery that helps us connect. Many people support our software and payment solutions, and those solutions give power to the people who use and interact with them. Cymba is a benchmark in terms of people - they’re a great team, and we’re proud to have worked together to produce their new go-to-market messaging, brand identity and website."


a man and a woman are playing tennis on a tennis court at night.
07 Feb, 2024
London, 7 February 2024 – ClearCourse, a leading provider of industry-specific software and embedded payments for SMEs and targeted enterprises, announces the acquisition of ThinkSmart Software (“ThinkSmart”), an independent software-as-a-service (“SaaS”) provider delivering an innovative technology for businesses that offer clubs and classes in the UK and Australia as well as other global markets. This strategic acquisition will be integrated as part of ClearCourse’s growing Business Services division. Founded in 2008, ThinkSmart is a scheduling and customer management platform for businesses that conduct classes and take bookings. Today, ThinkSmart serves approximately 2,500 customers predominately within the children’s activities sector, offering a user-friendly, intuitive product which helps “class-based” businesses with managing all day-to-day administration. Its award-winning software helps clients across the tennis, swimming, gymnastics, dance, music and sports sectors automate processes so that they can spend more time managing their business and working with their customers. ThinkSmart’s innovative technology streamlines several business admin tasks, including class scheduling, customer management and communications as well as invoicing and payments systems. Christina Hamilton, Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are extremely pleased to announce ThinkSmart as the latest software business to join our group. We look forward to welcoming the ThinkSmart team, led by founder Andy Leigh and UK Managing Director George Bentley, and working with them to enhance their offering across the growing, class-led activities sector. This investment is a further milestone in the growth of ClearCourse which continues to expand in the UK market as well as internationally.” Andrew (Andy) Leigh, Founder and Managing Director of ThinkSmart, commented: “In ClearCourse we have found a likeminded, customer-focused partner that will support a new phase of growth for ThinkSmart. As part of ClearCourse, we will be focused on continuously improving the industry-specific software solutions we offer our customers across the world, as well as looking for opportunities to expand our services.” George Bentley, UK Managing Director said: “ClearCourse has built a unique and compelling group of software companies and payments capabilities, and we are excited to continue growing our business supported by the rich experience and infrastructure now available to us. In particular, working with ClearCourse will enable us to offer our UK growing customer base market-leading, embedded Direct Debit and card payment solutions which will make accepting and managing payments quicker and easier.” Established in London in 2018, ClearCourse is a leading software and embedded payment specialist servicing SMEs and targeted enterprise customers. The group’s vertical software solutions provide essential, market-leading technology to help their customers manage and grow their businesses. Since inception, the company has undergone rapid growth by acquiring 40 leading software and payments solutions in the market verticals in which it operates: Retail & Hospitality, Golf & Leisure, Business Services and Membership Services. Christina Hamilton added: “ClearCourse is a growth company with a clear ambition to help our customers build great businesses with our industry-specific software and embedded payments solutions. We acquire small- and medium-sized businesses and integrate them into the ClearCourse group of companies to benefit their growth and development, while delivering the same for our customers with their own growth aspirations. Our acquisition of ThinkSmart is our first investment in 2024 and marks a successful start to what we expect to be a year of continued growth for ClearCourse.” The terms of the deal are undisclosed.
Nathan Best ClearCourse Chief Operating Officer
04 Jul, 2023
ClearCourse, a leading provider of industry-specific software and payments for UK SMEs, announces the appointment of FinTech veteran Nathan Best as Chief Operating Officer.
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