At Campaign Middle East, the first introduction to Udora’s rebrand did not come through an announcement or campaign film. It arrived as a PR package.
The delivery immediately sparked conversation across the office. Instead of a standard bouquet, the package came as an elaborate display: flowers arranged on a patch of grass alongside a collection of keepsakes designed to extend the interaction beyond the unboxing itself. The standout element was a personalised Udora newspaper tucked into the arrangement, complete with a crossword puzzle that kept the team occupied for close to an hour.
The package reflected the wider thinking behind the company’s transition from Flowwow to Udora, a rebrand that the company describes as less about visual change and more about evolving the platform’s role across markets.
“The creative direction started from a strategic observation rather than an aesthetic one. Gifting is the rare digital category itself. In our case, Udora gives users a wide choice for different scenarios, and our strategic pillar is to make the platform an entire point to bridge physical distance through flowers, cake, or a wrapped box arriving at someone’s door,” says Irina Tatarinova, brand director at Udora.
According to Tatarinova, one of the biggest challenges was ensuring the rebrand functioned operationally across multiple audiences and regions.
The rollout was built around what the company describes as an umbrella communication strategy, with messaging adapted for both B2B and B2C audiences. While the broader narrative centred on the move from Flowwow to Udora as a regional platform with global reach, the messaging was adjusted depending on who was receiving it.
“Looking back, I would say that communication strategy is the most difficult part of the rebranding. Often companies treat this process as visual renovation, but it’s far from just a new identity, and you need to put elements such as a visual language and communication messages all together in one consistent rebrand strategy,” says Tatarinova.
For marketplace sellers and partners, the focus was on continuity and reliability. For customers, the emphasis remained on preserving the same experience throughout the transition.
The localisation process also extended beyond language.
“We operate in 50+ countries, and you can’t land one communication strategy on all of them. Tone of communication, the values transmitted in each message, and the visual support — including the models and characters in the photography, who need to feel native to each market — have to be adopted,” says Tatarinova.
The creative system itself was developed alongside Shuka Brand Bureau and built around the idea of a kaleidoscope, intended to represent the different combinations of people, occasions, and emotions connected to gifting.
Part of the system included a custom generator built in Figma that algorithmically transforms product photography into patterns and graphic elements. According to the company, the intention was to create a framework flexible enough for local teams to adapt independently while maintaining consistency across markets.
The structure was divided into four campaign types: brandformance, iconic, occasional, and evergreen campaigns. This allowed teams in markets such as the UAE and Spain to adapt visuals and colour systems depending on cultural moments or seasonal campaigns without losing the wider brand identity.
A significant part of the rebrand strategy focused on preserving recognition for existing users.
“This was one of the most challenging parts of the rebranding. Entering this process, we clearly understood that familiarity of brand, especially in a gifting — such an emotional category — doesn’t live in a logo,” says Tatarinova.
Instead of introducing an entirely new visual language, the company retained certain recognisable elements from Flowwow, including its coral colour palette, which was adjusted rather than replaced outright. The updated shade was designed to work more effectively across formats such as print and outdoor advertising while still remaining familiar to existing users.
The communication tone also remained largely unchanged throughout the transition.
“While communication tone was also a part of rebranding process, we preserved the same voice and style through the transition itself — warm, personal, close to the moment of giving,” says Tatarinova.
Operationally, the transition was phased gradually. Marketplace partners were informed in advance, while customer migration to the new app began earlier to allow for testing before the wider rollout.
The company monitored different metrics depending on channel type throughout the launch period.
Performance campaigns were measured through funnel conversion rates to assess whether the new creative identity maintained effectiveness, while brand channels focused primarily on reach and awareness. Social media engagement and follower retention were also tracked to measure audience response following the transition.
“We expected to lose some part of our traffic in the transition. Fortunately, we came through that stage with better numbers than we’d planned for,” says Tatarinova.
The company says the rebrand process is still ongoing, with plans to continue rolling out the updated identity across seller branding, the app, and the website in the coming months.
