Marketing the Future Before the World Is Ready for It
Project Details
COMPANY
Deloitte X SCADPro
ROLE
UX Designer
EXPERTISE
UX/UI Design
YEAR
2024
Project Description
Contracted by Deloitte through SCADPro to develop a marketing strategy for their emerging quantum computing services, this project required us to first understand a technology most people cannot explain, then design a system that makes it impossible to misunderstand. Across market research, consumer analysis, and UX-driven marketing strategy, we built the framework for how Deloitte enters one of the most consequential technological conversations of the decade.
Timeline
Market research through final marketing strategy and prototype, all in 10 weeks.
Background
Quantum computing it is being actively developed, sold, and integrated into enterprise operations. But the gap between what the technology can do and what most decision-makers understand about it is wide enough to stall adoption entirely. Deloitte, one of the world's leading professional services firms, was entering this space with a new suite of quantum computing services and needed a marketing strategy that could close that gap: not by oversimplifying the technology, but by meeting each type of decision-maker exactly where they were. The problem was not the product. It was the communication. Our job was to fix that.
Process
We moved through secondary market research, competitive analysis, stakeholder persona development, primary interviews, and UX-informed journey mapping before translating findings into a marketing strategy, microsite wireframes, and a prototype tested across multiple professional profiles for clarity and accessibility.
Research & Planning
Before we could market quantum computing, we had to understand it ourselves. We analyzed how IBM, Apple, and Meta make complex technology comprehensible to non-technical audiences, studying what made their campaigns land and why. From there we defined three distinct decision-maker personas: the Seeker, the Buyer, and the Influencer.
The Seeker is the executive layer: CEOs, CFOs, and Board Members responsible for expanding operations, managing financial health, and setting strategic direction. They don't need to understand quantum mechanics, but they need to understand what quantum computing means for their company's competitive position.
The Buyer is the innovation layer: Chief Innovation Officers, Chief Information Officers, and Chief Technology Officers who drive digital transformation and make the actual purchasing decisions. They need enough technical fluency to evaluate what Deloitte is offering and enough strategic clarity to connect it to the company's existing roadmap.
The Influencer is the engineering layer: Engineering Leads, Lead Architects, Data Scientists, and Project Managers who will implement, test, and ultimately determine whether the technology delivers on its promise. They speak the language and its gaps. Their buy-in is what turns a contract into a working partnership.
Our interview strategy probed each persona on their familiarity with quantum computing, their attitudes toward competitors, their preferred learning channels, the internal barriers they faced when introducing radical innovation, and how they communicate across teams. Personas who favored and used a specific platform for learning mentioned that algorithms helped them navigate the site better which lead to an overall better experience (highlighted pillars). The key insight is that because of the algorithm, they were able to more effecively navigate to what they like, so they developed a preference for that tool. Even if another platform had better content, without the navigation, it won’t be the go-to. Another important finding: every single interviewee could explain quantum computing in their own words but each one framed it through the lens of their own specialty. That told us the content strategy could not be one-size-fits-all. It had to speak the language of whoever was reading it.
Design & Prototyping
Since quantum computing is a technology people are still forming opinions about, the fastest way to lose a skeptical audience is to oversell a future they cannot yet see. So, our guiding principle was to invite rather than convince. We developed a user journey map from prospect to client. Prior to purchase, users are passively learning, actively searching, and evaluating competitors. After committing to a service, clients are at the stages of exploring capabilities, roadmapping implementation, and building internal fluency. We prototyped a microsite that functions as the central hub of Deloitte's quantum presence: an overview of the technology, a breakdown of its applications by industry sector, a team page establishing Deloitte's internal expertise, and a resource library of modules, articles, and webinars calibrated to different levels of technical familiarity.
Development & Implementation
After testing our initial microsite, we found that our quantum ecosystems page, mapping services across various industries, needed to be redesigned improve visual hierarchy and reduce cognitive load for non-technical Seekers navigating it for the first time. Since then, we develop 3 sections within the microsite:
The Engaging Video Series:
Moves through a range of global perspectives on quantum computing. Each video surfaces niche information, avoids overpromising on the technology's future, and closes with a question designed to send the viewer deeper rather than wrap things up.
The Newsletter:
Tracks milestone developments in quantum hardware and surfaces the conversations already happening about quantum within each industry. Built with SEO schema markup, natural keyword integration, and content structured to drive interaction, it is designed to make Deloitte the most credible ongoing voice in a space where credibility is still being established.
The Summit:
Is the physical entry point into Deloitte's quantum ecosystem. Quantum Immersion is designed as an experience, not just a standard conference, using large-scale walkthrough visualizations that are unforgettable for positioning Deloitte as the firm that knows how to communicate a revolutionary technology.
Testing & Optimization
We tested across multiple professional profiles to identify where jargon created confusion, where the visual hierarchy broke down, and where the narrative lost different types of users. Post-testing adjustments included color corrections for accessibility, a full redesign of the quantum ecosystems page layout, and refinements to the prototype animation. If someone who had never heard of quantum computing could navigate this without feeling lost, and someone who had spent years in the field could navigate it without feeling talked down to, the design was working.
Solution
Our solution was a system to make the complex easy to understand, set Deloitte apart as the expert partner in a new era of technology, and build a digital presence that invites early adopting clients into an evolving conversation.
An Engaging Video Series Built for Curiosity
A multi-perspective video series that showcases the breadth of thought around quantum computing without oversimplifying or overpromising. Each video ends with a food-for-thought intended for the user to sit on.
A Newsletter That Tracks the Conversation in Real Time
Milestone updates, industry-specific developments, academic papers, and conference coverage all organized to position Deloitte as the most informed and most readable voice in the quantum space.
Quantum Immersion Summit
A flagship live experience using awe-inspiring visualizations to make quantum computing feel real, relevant, and possible for every type of decision-maker in the room. It's more than a conference, it's an unforgettable moment that changes how someone thinks about what is coming next.
Results
We measured comprehension, navigability, and engagement across professional profiles because what a person does inside a product tells you more than what they say about it. What we found confirmed the strategy and sharpened what still needed work.
Invite Clients Into an Ever-Evolving Journey
Participants responded most strongly to content that treated quantum computing as an ongoing conversation. They wanted to feel like they were being brought in early, not sold something already finished.
Make the Complex Easy to Understand
Participants navigated confidently when content was visual, layered, and framed in the language of their own field.
Set Deloitte Apart as the Expert Partner in a New Era
The firms that win in emerging technology categories are not the ones who got there first, they are the ones who made other people feel most prepared for what was coming. Every element of this strategy positions Deloitte as the partner a company trusts to help them think through what those services actually mean for their future.
