Flute Builds Internal Alignment and National Market Visibility Through Dual-Phase Rebrand Campaign

Overview

Flute (formerly Aurora Payments) partnered with PANBlast to execute a comprehensive rebrand communications campaign. The initiative aimed to redefine the company beyond traditional payment processing and establish its new identity as a modern platform focused on eliminating friction for everyday businesses. Through a synchronized internal launch and a multi-phase external communications strategy powered by proprietary research and content syndication, Flute successfully established its market positioning, built internal brand advocacy, and drove widespread media visibility.

Challenge

As Aurora Payments transitioned to Flute, the company needed to shift market perception from a legacy payments processor to an operational partner built on ownership, control and simplicity. Flute specifically targeted the “missing middle” (growing businesses often overlooked by enterprise solutions and too big for Main Street) by helping them avoid the time, revenue and customer trust losses caused by fragmented payment systems.

To execute a seamless rebrand comms, the strategy required:

• Aligning internal stakeholders and employees around the new visual identity and brand values.
• Differentiating Flute in a crowded fintech sector dominated by massive legacy institutions and established players.
• Expanding external visibility beyond narrow payment trade media into national business outlets, regional daily news and vertical publications.

Strategy

PANBlast executed a phased communications plan that combined an internal employee enablement program with a data-led external campaign.

Internal “Day Zero” Launch

To build authentic internal advocacy before revealing the new identity to the market, PANBlast coordinated an employee rollout dubbed Day Zero:

• Brand Champions & Teaser Campaign: Knowing that Slack is the primary space where Flute employees collaborate and digest new information, PANBlast used the platform instead of traditional email to launch an internal countdown campaign. This approach, alongside the creation of a cross-functional “Brand Champions” network, allowed employees to congregate around the upcoming news and build community ahead of the launch.
• Town Hall & Brand Unveiling: To help leadership tell the brand story effectively, PANBlast supported a focused, one-hour company-wide Town Hall, providing messaging scripts and presentation assets to introduce the new identity.
• Employee Experience: Following the Town Hall, the team reinforced the messaging through an internal newsletter and FAQ. Additionally, an employee store was launched, pre-loaded with employee credits for new Flute gear.  
• Feedback & Adoption: Slack was established as the home base for urgent support and questions, while leadership AMAs were hosted to ensure clarity and measure brand understanding across teams.

External Rebrand Announcement

Following internal alignment, Flute and PANBlast introduced the brand publicly through a coordinated rollout:

• Distributed press releases via PR Newswire and 1:1 outreach to fintech, business and vertical trade publications.
• Established distinct spokesperson lanes: CEO Derek Dean owned macro-economic and business positioning narratives, while engineering and product leaders led discussions around embedded finance and commerce technology.
• Issued LinkedIn posts with video from Flute’s leadership team

Proprietary Data Campaign & Stacker Syndication

To validate Flute’s market positioning with hard evidence, PANBlast launched a proprietary research campaign centered on payment friction, surveying both consumers and retail operators.

• Research Findings: The survey revealed that 54.7% of consumers would reconsider or stop shopping at a local business after a poor payment experience, and 38.1% of operators felt their payment tools had directly cost them a sale.
• Earned Media Outreach: Pitching focused on news hooks related to consumer loyalty, merchant operations, and cash-flow management, securing features in outlets such as PYMNTS, American Banker, Retail Customer Experience, Digital Transactions, DevPro Journal, and Tire Review.
• Stacker Syndication: To reach local business owners directly in the markets where they operate, PANBlast syndicated a data-driven contributed story titled “Payment friction doesn’t show up on a P&L, but it costs small businesses customers“ via Stacker.