NEX Group was the name adopted by ICAP plc in 2016 after the company sold its global hybrid voice broking business to Tullett Prebon. As part of that transaction, the ICAP brand transferred to Tullett Prebon, requiring the remaining electronic markets and post-trade business to develop a new name and corporate identity.[1]
Design and History
The NEX brand was created by strategic branding and creative campaign agency Thinkfarm, which had worked with ICAP since its 2006 rebrand.[2] The brief called for a name reflecting the culture of the new company as fast, agile and innovative, and its organisation as lean, efficient and growing.[3]
The new identity was unveiled in May 2016. The logo featured white lettering on a black background, a combination that drew immediate parallels with Next, the UK fashion chain. Chief executive Michael Spencer acknowledged the similarity, saying it was “highly improbable that there would be confusion with a well-known high street chain” and that the company wanted “something new, contemporary.”[4]
Thinkfarm deliberately kept the identity typographic. The agency noted that the name was “so strong and characterful” that the identity should make the most of it “as opposed to add symbols and additional elements.” The resulting logo was described by the agency as “very different from many others in the sector” with “a unique form which is contemporary without being ‘fashionable’.”[3]
NEX Group launched officially on 30 December 2016, with four business lines: NEX Markets, NEX Optimisation, NEX Opportunities and NEX Exchange.[5] The work won three Transform (Europe) Awards in 2018, including Silver for Best financial services visual identity.[3]
In November 2018, CME Group completed its £3.9 billion acquisition of NEX Group and retired the NEX name and brand, while continuing to operate its Markets and Optimisation businesses as sub-brands including BrokerTec, EBS, Traiana and TriOptima.[6]
Meaning and Symbolism
The NEX name was chosen from more than 300 suggestions submitted by employees, friends, customers and the public, plus 600 other suggestions. According to the company, the name “encompasses the spirit of an agile and innovative company that is robust, resilient and trusted” and was intended to convey the business as “ambitious, cutting edge and able to compete in the fintech space.”[1]
Thinkfarm’s naming work focused on the future, with the NEX name containing ideas that could be worked through into campaign themes and brand messaging, including being ready for what’s next, operating as an exchange, extending reach globally and market connections.[3] Nathalie Burdet, former marketing director at ICAP and NEX, described the name as “very future-facing” with “a sense of momentum.”[2]
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