Press:
Brand & Rebranding – What’s in a Name?
Published by: Time Evershed, POSTonline.co.uk
Featuring: Steve Payne, Managing Partner, Dublin.
In February, Royal Bank of Scotland Insurance became the latest in a long line of insurance firms to undergo a rebrand. RBSI, now Direct Line Group, unveiled its new name and logo to make it more attractive ahead of its divestment.
It is a road more travelled by insurers. Aviva, Chartis and Ageas are all relatively new names to the industry but are the monikers of storied companies. Other rebrands are more subtle involving only a partial name change or a slow evolution of how the business trades.
So, how important is brand for insurance firms and how does rebranding affect the wider industry?
“A good brand is one that delivers on its promises; it is not just about words but about actions. That is the heart of it – absolutely delivering and sometimes exceeding on its promises. That is really important,” says Steve Payne, managing partner at The Brand Union.
“Branding is about doing business brilliantly, and getting the marketing strategy right can support that. If you see great advertising but the guy on the end of the phone does not back it up, then there’s a gap.”
Unsurprisingly, Payne believes that reputation and trust are absolutely crucial in building and maintaining a successful brand.
“If you haven’t got trust you can’t build anything. Brands need to build on trust, integrity and reputation. Without these it’s very difficult,” he says….
Payne says: “When Hibernian became Aviva in Ireland, because of the climate at that time, it immediately had a negative perception. That got worse when they sponsored the Lansdowne Road stadium. You have to understand the sense of history and cultural context around what you’re doing.”
He continues: “The successful rebrands are those that work from the inside out. If a brand is clear about its reasoning and what it means for customers, stakeholders and employees, it stands more chance of success.
“If it’s not clear from an employee perspective, it will not be clear to customers as staff are often customers too. If you can get employees aligned first it will help get the message across to customers.”
However, what if a company needs to change its name to polish a tarnished image? Can a rebrand successfully turn around an ailing company?
Payne says: “Many organisations believe a change of name or logo will jettison a negative history but that is a bad assumption. If organisations are using it for that reason the pitfall is that the market won’t accept it.”
Andy Millington
Junior Designer
London
“You don’t have to be mad to work here, but we do ask you to complete a medical questionnaire to ensure that you are not.” (David Brent, The Office)
Joking aside, I enjoy the work and love London as a city. I will never get bored of my walk to work over the Millennium Bridge and past the beautiful St Paul’s cathedral.
News:
SENIOR LEVEL HIRES & INTERNAL PROMOTIONS AT THE BRAND UNION LONDON
The London office of global brand agency The Brand Union has bolstered its senior team with a number of significant new hires and internal promotions.
A demonstration of the agency’s committed to investing in its people, the London office has promoted Mark Chatelier to Creative Director, and Nick Thomson to Principal Consultant. Mark and Nick have both been with The Brand Union for a number of years and have been integral to the growth and development of the business.
Clare Styles joins the business as Creative Director, bringing a reputation and industry profile developed at Wieden+Kennedy, Exposure and Fitch. Mark Smith and Chris Drew further bolster the team, joining as Design Directors.
These key appointments come after a year of significant change and continued success for The Brand Union, both in London and around the world. During the course of 2011, the London business gained new leadership and won several new client relationships including Sony, GSK, Fidelity, Statoil, and Qatar National Bank. The agency has continued to grow existing key client relationships around the network.
Toby Southgate, CEO UK and Ireland, said: “Our agency is at a revolutionary point. We are evolving in engaging and innovative ways, driven by our people and fuelled by the belief that we can and should do things differently. The caliber of talent we are attracting and developing is indicative of this new approach. These appointments and elevations give us even greater momentum and immediately benefit the agency, our clients and our partners.”
Rupert Shafe
Design Director
Dublin
I grew up in Scotland but I’m not Scottish. I live in Ireland but I’m not Irish. I am older than I look (so people tell me, which is nice). I have been at The Brand Union since 2005, around about the same time I became a dad. Which changed things. Forever.
There are now three of these little people (all girls). I am outnumbered. I escape to work every day where I like working on branding, especially at the corporate end of the spectrum.
Long ago in Scotland I was a designer of Annual Reports and have done lots of work at TBU for Vodafone as well EBS, ESB and Stena Line. I like words and type and design that make me smile.
I still think Liverpool can win at football and spend far too much time reading about films I don’t have time to see and music I can’t afford.
Sarah Milech
Project Manager
Paris
After five years of marketing studies, I joined The Brand Union Paris and it is at that very moment that it all began…
Since that day, my relatives don’t understand me anymore when I talk using the TBU jargon (ASAP, TBC, FYI…) and before making any important decisions, I organise a family workshop.
I dress in grey and blue, I have started considering supermarkets as museums, and I email my work collegues to communicate. Yes indeed! My life changed that day. A different life, a special life, an original life, but SO TBU!
Vattenfall
Vattenfall is one of Europe´s largest energy companies.
The old identity was implemented in 2001 and refined in 2003.However, the world around Vattenfall is clearly changing, and so are the requirements and demands from the stakeholders.
Vattenfall identified a need to adapt and develop its corporate identity and design to these new demands in order to keep and to strengthen its competitiveness over time.
The Visual Evolution project started in the beginning of 2010, with the aim to update, simplify and refine the current visual identity.
The new identity was launched by the end of 2010, and is right now being implemented in order to reach full brand alignment by 2012.
Thought:
Branding As We Know It Is No Longer
From: The Economist’s ‘Big Rethink 2012′ Conference
By: Sue Daun, Head of Brand Experience & JR Little, Senior Strategist, The Brand Union London
Branding as we know it is no longer. Things have changed.
Consumers are now armed with knowledge and technology. They want to have an active role in charting the course of your brand. They are highly skeptical, have high expectations, and want to share their point of view with immediacy 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. There is no rest, no relief and no room for complacent brands. Things are moving fast, and delivering the brand in the present moment is critical.
As brand owners, shapers, and makers, we no longer have complete control.
In the past, successful brand projects were goal-oriented, often taking the form of a launch. These projects advanced step by step, culminating in a set of brand guidelines that we pushed out to our employees and consumers. Those days are over – or they should be.
Instead of imposing brand guidelines on others, we need to foster a dialogue to which employees and consumers can contribute. No longer can a brand expect to reach its destination by developing a fixed set of milestones between point A and point B. Linear thinking and dogmatic consistency is no longer enough now that consumers are hungry for brands that continuously evolve in real-time.
A brand’s journey is no longer one-dimensional. Consumers and employees are impacting on this journey. They create shockwaves, pulses and provocations that can and should drive success into richer territories.
Today, it is no surprise that you need to invite and involve your employees and consumers from the start of any brand- building initiative. You must embrace the challenges these groups pose, and the creative contributions they have to offer. But how can you embed this inclusive mentality in the structure of the brand – how do you guideline this?
Accept that once you start your brand-building journey, your goals will change. Your initial goals are guideposts and the journey will be more successful if you constantly evaluate your progress, take advantage of new opportunities and adjust to changing consumer needs. If you adapt with your audiences’ needs and inputs, the outcome will be better than what you could have planned on your own.
We are encouraging clients to take their cues from the non-profit sector. Mission-led organisations, like non-profits, are adaptable, but remain true to their core beliefs. Vision-led marketing teams get caught up on the old-school end-goal thinking and forget that the game has changed. It’s all about the journey and developing rapport along the way.
In order to establish this way of thinking in your business, there are 4 key considerations.
Know your Truth: Your truth is a fixed element; the core of what your brand is about. A core needs to be appealing, believable and valued. Look back at what made your brand great to start with. Talk to those closest to the brand, establish what the brand perception is from speaking with consumers and employees and delve into the brand’s history. Define the tenets of your story.
You might think that this advice is only relevant to dynamic, technology-centric businesses that are constantly replacing outdated products with new ones. However, it is also applicable to businesses, like Hermès, that painstakingly perfect every aspect of the brand experience, rather than rushing to capitalize a new trend. Hermès has established itself through a few key iconic products and a belief in quality, hand-craftsmanship, and the idea that if it is worth making, it is worth taking time to do it right. This fixed belief permeates every piece of the experience from the new Rive Gauche store in Paris to the online experience to the Birkin bag, and has done so for over one hundred years. These fixed elements of the brand provide its foundation, but the brand’s structure aboveground can take many shapes. Defining how a brand’s fixed beliefs can manifest drives the rich content that the consumers crave.
Of course, the content and stories you create must be…
Relevant: Your stories must imbue your brand’s truth, but they also need to adapt in personality, tone and touchpoint to ensure your values are heard, embraced and shared by the relevant parties (or ‘segments’, if you like that word better). Brand personalities, like human personalities, are adapted to suit the audience; it’s what makes someone interesting to listen to at a party. Absolut has established its fixed elements (tenets), but it has also demonstrated a key part to real- time branding – an adaptive personality – which allows it to get the brand right for its target audience, changing with them.
Absolut is quite clear on what they are about: Swedish-ness, design-oriented, an unexpected creative personality, and clarity of product. But the way they express these qualities is tailored to different audiences. For example, world travellers and thought leaders interact with unique activations and special editions in Duty Free; the arts community interacts with the brand through highly respected projects and collaborations; regional consumers feel a sense of affiliation with the brand through city series bottles and activations; and limited edition ‘more premium’ products help reach and influence thought leaders.
We’ve discussed finding your truth and remaining relevant. But it’s also important to…
Experiment: Content, such as promotional material, is critical to the success of a branding project, but brands cannot create masses of content and expect their message to resonate. Folks at The Coca Cola Company, for example, have realized they can no longer pay their way to greatness. Their shift in strategy towards ‘content excellence’ is key to delivering stories that take on a life of their own through the consumer to the level that consumers actively participate in the story from the start. They have a voice that is embraced and provoked in Coke 24/7.
The Coca Cola Company is actively integrating its values into brand storytelling. Simultaneously, Coca Cola embraces the creative thinking of its consumers while working on the assumption that consumer interaction with the brand will provoke brand content to be as catchy and contagious as possible.
Successful branding is not about creating more and more stuff, but about challenging the norm. It’s about measuring your successes and failures and replicating the successes in other markets and categories to maximise wins.
Engage: Speed and efficiency are essential components of a branding campaign, but traditional approaches to producing and distributing content can sometimes hinder and even kill great ideas before they have developed. By limiting creation of content to your marketers, you may miss out on the opportunity to unlock other creative minds available to you, such as consumers and your wider employee base.
77% of US CEOs are revising strategies in response to consumer demand (PWC 2012 Global CEO survey).
You only need to look at Google, one of the world’s most formidable search engines, to see the benefits of allowing a little imperfection. Many are familiar with the ‘80/20’ rule. In fact, there are many 80/20 rules, but we’d like to entertain a new kind of 80/20 model. This model allows for 20% less-than-perfect experimentation and uses consumers and employees to continually challenge, create and share the platforms that are launched. Some of these platforms fail and that is ok. Google is a business that is continuously experimenting. Rather than spending years perfecting, consumer- testing and refining before taking a product live, Google gets their ideas out there 80% right. They ask their consumers to test-drive products in real-time, rather than killing ideas at their inception. Products are allowed to grow and morph to reach success, and once they have reached their potential, may give way to newer products, as in the case of Google Buzz, which helped create Google+.
Summary
- Truth, which consists of your brand’s fixed elements, is essential to branding in real-time. A clear purpose drives a brand’s truth. All stories and content should embrace it at their heart. Releasing these truths into the world should be the brand’s mission, not a task.
- Be Relevant. Consider consumer and employee desires from the beginning of the journey, not just at the end. Enable dialogue and allow room for flexibility throughout your brand project to ensure you are not target fixated. The same story can be told three or four different ways depending on the audience, place and time. As the stories, content and brand evolve, share with a wider audience. Make sure your message is reaching its target. Dynamic brand guides allow action, evolution and refinement to be captured, shared and incorporated along the journey.
- Experiment. Creative thinking can lead to innovations that result in growth. Experimentation provokes and invites dialogue, which in turn offers insights into consumer experiences of the brand and the brand’s promotional materials. This process ultimately leads to innovation. It is truly dynamic and needs to be monitored, evolved, fed with new content, and shared in new ways. To facilitate the process, consider integrating touchpoints from other categories into your business.
- Engage employees and their ideas. Such engagement should be valued and encouraged. Nurture it. Build it into the business culture. Establish an approach that shares and celebrates both successes and failures quickly throughout the company.
Branding is a journey that does not follow a clearly delineated path. In order to make the journey as successful as possible, walk alongside your consumers; don’t let them beat you to the destination.
Gary Bryant
General Manager
Johannesburg
I currently head up the operations side of the Johannesburg office in South Africa.
My previous role was heading up the strategy division and I retain some client responsibilities in this practice area. My previous experience is strongly weighted towards the financial services sector having completed work across both retail and investment banking operations in SA, Kenya, Nigeria and Egypt. I have worked across most industries across the African continent and maintain a special interest in Brand Architecture. It’s a crucial area often overlooking and not clearly understood by clients.
My previous employment experience came from the client-side, with Unilever in their ice-cream category, working across category management, key accounts and brand management. I hold a Bachelor of Business Science in Marketing and Economics and an MBA and remain a lifelong student of life.
Outside of working hours you’re likely to find me drinking wine, cooking (normally with wine), cursing on a golf course, out running a marathon, writing, enjoying the splendour of TMBCW (The Most Beautiful Country in the World = South Africa) or trying to see as many of the other (not quite as beautiful as SA) countries in the world (often in search of wine)!
Mark Smith
Design Director
London
Hello, my name is Mark and I am a Design Director at the London office. I went full-time in November 2011 after freelancing for a few months here.
I’ve been living and working in London for over ten years and still find plenty of places I’ve never been to, things I haven’t done yet and pubs I haven’t drank in.
Most of my spare time is taken up with my young family (two boys) – having lots of fun, introducing them to the delights of London and getting to act like a big kid again and relive my own youth.
Norman Quadflieg
Creative Director
Hamburg
I am very glad about the fact that we are all part of the big change of everything. Today the global situation is so confusing but I keep in mind that this is the best playground for creativity. Therefore I want to discover all the possibilities of visual communication in order to create the best work!
Pernod Ricard
When Pernod Ricard acquired Absolut Vodka for €5.69 billion they chose The Brand Union as their strategic design partner to help build and grow the investment. Since then, our relationship has grown. The Brand Union now advises TAC on Absolut Vodka, Kahlua and Malibu Rum. The collaboration covers all disciplines where design is a powerful tool to develop brand equity, including innovation programs, brand identity, portfolio management, product development and retail design.
Tarek Khalil
Associate Client Director
Dubai
I joined TBU in December 2011. I have 8 years of experience in the marketing and communications field working both as a proprietor of my boutique events agency in Beirut and working for agencies like Leo Burnett and BBDO in Dubai.
I’m a travel junkie. I’ve been to 40 countries to date and I hope to visit 60 more and write a book about it one day. I’m also an avid music lover, foodie and fan of a good quote.
Henkel
For more than 20 years, The Brand Union has been a strategic partner to Henkel in the home care and cosmetics categories. A broad portfolio of successful power brands, ranging from Schwarzkopf, to Fa, Right Guard, Theramed and many others, have been designed by The Brand Union.
The Brand Union Paris has been the strategic and creative partner of Henkel Int. Adhesive technologies Division since 2009 and is currently working on the 2 major global brands: Pattex and Loctite for which we ensure all major developments. A great relationship with the client has expanded over the years and we are now working hand in hand on a daily basis for Relaunch projects, Brand stretches, Innovation programs, Training sessions, and strategic and creative Consultancy.
Nonhlanhla Lebeko
Receptionist
Johannesburg
I am the Receptionist for the Johannesburg office and joined The Brand Union in September 2009. Previously I worked at NMG Consultants and Actuaries as a broker consultant.
I have a Business Management and Administration Diploma and am studying towards a degree.
When not at work I enjoy spending time with my family and volunteering for local charities.
Blackrock
In 2009, BlackRock’s acquisition of iShares from Barclays Global Investors proved to be a transformative moment. The acquisition would significantly change their business. BlackRock looked to The Brand Union for help. The combination of two power brands into one would impact everything from the name of the new entity, the visual identity, brand strategy, brand positioning, culture, and communications.
Working closely with BlackRock, we conducted extensive internal and external research, which led to key strategic insights that would guide our work and the brand. Strong recognition of the BlackRock brand and its industry-wide reputation for disciplined risk management meant that this was the master brand to keep. An evolution of the BlackRock logo signaled change and helped define the brand’s new identity.
Using our research findings, and leveraging the WPP network, we developed print, out-of-home, digital and brand engagement communications that brought a revitalized brand look and feel to life by way of the ‘Full Spectrum’ campaign. The new communications platform debuted simultaneously in key business markets worldwide and is currently active globally.
Thought:
Companies need to connect with consumers
Traditionally the first question we ask any potential client is "What is your brand purpose?"
By: Tanita Sandhu, Executive Client Director, The Brand Union Dubai
Published by: gulfnews.com
As branding consultants, traditionally the first question we ask any potential client is “what is your brand purpose”, followed by “How are you delivering on it?”. From those responses, we judge the extent to which an organisation requires a branding solution.
In the 21st century, however, standard business practices are moving on from making money, a RoI (return on investment) and shareholder satisfaction to encompass a whole new world of purpose — dovetailing consumer expectations of buying into more than just an empty brand promise.
Every company should have, a defining purpose, one that goes beyond the “sell” principle.
Questions that need to be asked and answered are why as a business you make the products you do, or the services you supply. The “what” and the “how” are for your own boardroom, not for dissemination to the public at large.
A brand-driven defining purpose can be elevated beyond an organisation’s business objectives.
It answers the seemingly philosophical question of “What are we here for?” It emphasises not just the profit principle but also highlights customer satisfaction.
This is a corporate process. It needs to begin by taking the time to sit with stakeholders to reflect on the brand’s defined purpose.
Once a unifying thought is reached, only then can you decide on the type of leadership needed, measures needed to communicate this message through your organisation to motivate stakeholders, and, most importantly, how to build relationships defined by this purpose with your customers.
Response to products
Connection and relevant communication is key. Customers have matured in their response to products, logos, packaging and trademarks.
They have become savvy about marketing gimmicks, and are now searching for products and services that suit their new lifestyles.
They are big on technology and strong on issues such as the environment, sustainability and morality.
The concept was perhaps typified by Wal-Mart. Other global brands that exemplify this new attitude over and beyond a snappy slogan include:
- P&G (To touch and improve the lives of those we serve);
- PepsiCo (Good for All Is Good for Business);
- Coca-Cola (To create value for everyone touched by our business by providing, with passion and focus, the right refreshment, at the right price, in the right place);
- McDonalds (To be our customers’ favourite place and way to eat).
These are household names supported by brand teams that are ahead of the game.
New significance
But the smallest company can take lessons from that process of defining brand purpose.
This is simply an extension of what was once perhaps intrinsic in corporate structure but has taken on new significance in an age of mass consumerism.
Purpose driven brands appreciate the following fundamentals:
- Price differential is not enough to boost sales and customer loyalty;
- The web media landscape means that noise and clutter directly impacts a consumer’s choice — any marketing budget can be wasted simply trying to be heard;
- Brands must develop not only differentiated messages but also deliver on relevance. Basing brand communications on product-based attributes is simply not enough.
Thanks to social media, there is a new breed of new brand ambassadors — online consumers who will readily share, tweet or status update their recent experience with a brand.
These can drive up important new-age measures like engagement and net-promoter scores.
In the long term, the definition of brand purpose is not only a moral imperative, it’s now becoming a tried and tested strategy to, yes, make money, sell more products, and grow shareholder value.
The old parameters of business might have changed, but the initials stay the same as purpose driven brands redefine RoI as a return on involvement.
Ericsson
Ericsson, currently the world’s largest mobile telecommunications equipment manufacturer, engaged The Brand Union to evolve their new brand platform.
While some of the core identity elements were in place, it was necessary to develop a strategy framework as well as cohesive identity and design system, to support brand activation.
Following the development of the brand architecture by our strategy team, The Brand Union’s design team focused on extending the identity platform and defining the principles for implementation of the brand identity across channels, products and services.
To support internal engagement and alignment with the new brand platform across the organisation, The Brand Union developed an intranet-based, ‘brand engagement channel’ for Ericsson’s brand management team. In addition to being the point of reference for strategy, principles and guidelines, it will serve as a company wide hub for brand related communications, project collaboration and interaction with brand assets.
Sara Tang
Director of Strategy
Hong Kong
As Director of Strategy, I have led and formulated strategy for some of the best-known brands in Hong Kong and China. I have almost a decade of brand consulting experience working across multiple Asian markets, including South-East Asia. I have penned several thought-pieces on topics as varied as branding in the education sector, mergers and acquisitions, and brand implementation.
Prior to my career as a brand consultant, I dreamed of being a foreign correspondent, but completed unfortunate stints as a political analyst and journalist in Singapore – which more or less caused me to embrace brand consulting. Now, I bring a broad range of skills to all my projects, from copywriting to naming, strategy development, creative brainstorming and engagement.
I graduated with a degree in Political Science from Stanford University in the US.
News:
The Brand Union Middle East Rebrands Malabar Gold
The Brand Union Rebrands Malabar Gold and moves it from “Beauty Meets Quality” to a “Celebrate the Beauty of Life” supporting the brand’s global ambition.
The Brand Union Middle East today announced the unveiling of Malabar Gold & Diamonds identity.
From humble beginnings in Kerala India, Malabar Gold is among the most trusted jewelry brand names in India and the GCC, with over 60 retail outlets and 10 wholesale divisions, with an annual turnover of USD 2.4 billion in 2012. The company plans to establish 220 outlets across the globe with a revenue forecast of USD 6 billion by 2015.
In line with its growth ambition, Malabar Gold needed a future proof brand strategy, proposition and identity to further its expansion into international markets.
The Brand Union Middle East project team, led by Tanita Sandhu, Executive Client Director, partnered closely with the client team to deliver the new strategy and identity. “When Malabar Gold came to us, they already had a strong brand reputation and their brand was known for delivering quality products based on trust, we used this platform as a basis to build the next chapter of the brand’s ambition which was to go international” said Tanita.
Working closely with the client’s management team has been a true testimony to how a smart agency and client part- nership should work, explained Tanita. “They were committed to keeping to project timelines, attended every session, made informed yet immediate decisions as a group, allowing for an efficient turnaround and more importantly co-created their new brand which will represent their future”.
“We chose to partner with The Brand Union as they had both the global network and knowledge pool of cultural and regional understanding which they clearly demonstrated in helping us craft our new brand strategy and identity” said Mr. AP Ahmad, Chairman of Malabar Gold & Diamonds.
“Malabar Gold & Diamonds embodies the key attributes that help brands stand out – a strong sense of ambition and a commitment to providing genuine value to customers” said Ambrish Chaudhry, Strategy Director at The Brand Union. Consumer research across key markets in India and the GCC showed that the brand was valued for its authenticity, transparency and focus on quality. “We wanted to build on the strong platform of trust that the brand has earned and fuse it with the passion, optimism and celebration that jewelry evokes. This is best conveyed in the new brand identity and brand line – celebrate the beauty of life”.
Malabar Gold outlets display a wide variety of Gold, Diamond, Pearl and Platinum ornaments, catering to the requirements of its multi-cultural and multi-national customers. The majority of ornaments at Malabar Gold outlets are in 22K and diamond ornaments are in 18K. To ensure utmost levels of quality, Malabar Gold sells ornaments which are certified by international agencies such as the International Gemological Institute (IGI) and Platinum Guild International (PGI).
Toby Southgate
CEO
UK & Ireland
I’m lucky enough to have seen most corners of the globe since I joined The Brand Union at the end of 2007. Working with clients and colleagues across the network is a vital component of our culture, and one of the real joys of being a part of The Brand Union.
I originally joined the business to open our office in Abu Dhabi, working closely with Hermann and the Middle East team. I spent 2010 with Rob and Richard in New York, helping to manage the integration of Ogilvy’s BIG and Brouillard, JWT’s corporate advertising business, into The Brand Union. And in January 2011 I returned to London to lead our UK business.
No two days here are the same. You might work with a beverages brand one day, a financial services institution the next, and a global telco in between. Truthfully, there’s never a dull moment. Bring it on.
SPX
SPX is a Fortune 500, multi-industrial company that lacked a unifying brand to communicate the full breadth of its offering. Operating globally with over 80 business units, SPX turned to The Brand Union in 2007 to create a brand program equal to its real business impact. Generating a compelling new presence for SPX, The Brand Union created an umbrella brand organized around the theme “where ideas meet industry.” The strategy highlighted SPX’s position at the intersection where the best thinking yields tangible results. The Brand Union designed and executed a comprehensive communications portfolio to support the Brand. The work included logo design, TV, print and online ads, a microsite, collateral, signage, and guidelines.
Currently The Brand Union is supporting SPX’s new brand architecture strategy and brand positioning with an Employee Engagement Program and a new advertising campaign. The Brand Union is also developing Branded templates out of Visual Identity work completed last year including full Brand Guidelines. The Brand Union continues to act as SPX’s lead agency leading SPX Brand Strategy and design globally and with SPX partners.
Press:
How Will India Design Its New Identity?
Published by: Justin McGuirk, The Guardian
Featuring: Sujata Keshavan, CEO Ray + Keshavan | The Brand Union Bangalore
However you look at it, India is likely to have a significant impact on design in the 21st century. For one thing, this vast market of one billion people is busy being courted by western businesses whose own economies are contracting. But India is not just out to consume western products and lifestyles – it is looking to design as a force for change. There is much debate in India about how to live up to its growing status in the world. Design is being touted both as a tool of economic development and as a means of lifting millions of people out of poverty. So it was with great curiosity that I went to Delhi last week to take part in the India Design Forum, one of the first major conferences there on the subject.
“There’s still so little understanding of design in India,” says Keshavan. “Right now it’s become fashionable, partly because of the market success of Apple – so ‘design’ is the new buzzword.” She feels that it will take time and, inevitably, education. But for me the real question that needs resolving in India is about what design is for. There was a tension at the IDF between design as a force for systemic change and “design” as the provider of luxury lifestyles for India’s new elite. The hottest ticket in New Delhi last week was the launch of the local Architecture Digest, the magazine that specialises in the flamboyantly decorated interiors of the rich. It’s not that design needs to be treated with a hair-shirted seriousness, but the sooner the conversation moves beyond the thrill of this new found glamour, the more powerful it will be.
Thought:
Steering Clear of the Values Trap
Building Authenticity and Credibility in Financial Services Brands
By: Sergio Brodsky, Strategist & Jess Swinton, Analyst, The Brand Union London
In the aftermath of the financial crisis, messages of social accountability and human focus are dominating the communications of most financial services institutions. Earlier this year, The Brand Union undertook a global review of Commercial Banking, which involved a communications audit of 23 global banks. Our study revealed that when it comes to the values banks claim to live by, most are not only saying the same thing, but their assertions are inconsistently defined, unsubstantiated – and subsequently – forgettable and not very credible.
According to our study, the most frequently mentioned values were: Teamwork/Partnership, Innovation, Financial Expertise, Trust, Ethics, Sustainability, Integrity and Customer Focus. We believe the reason financial institutions are increasingly stating ‘softer’ values is to begin altering the vilified perception of banks in the post-crisis world into enablers of commerce and progress. However, rather than creating a more positive perception of banking, the use of undifferentiated and unsubstantiated terminology is turning potentially genuine values into the very thing financial institutions seek to avoid – more jargon, and smoke and mirrors. We’re calling this trend “The Values Trap” and the underlying reasons are:
- Values are not consistently defined and sometimes are not defined at all.
- Story-lines are not credible.
- Industry communications have become so generic that they hold no meaning.
When values are not defined and contextualised in a differentiated and ownable way, it leads to internal and external scepticism or apathy, undermining the credibility of a brand and poorly representing the company’s business strategy. Financial services’ brands should focus on their raison d’etre in order to be true to themselves. Of course, there are times that, in the spirit of progress, a company can choose to re-invent itself by adopting a transformative set of values to drive a change in culture and perception. In such a situation, these adopted values should be integrated with the current positioning to achieve a consistent and credible outcome. For example, it is very natural for Rabobank to advocate sustainability, since the value is deeply rooted in the bank’s involvement with agribusiness. However, if JP Morgan, a brand famous for its financial advisory excellence, decides to integrate the ‘environment’ into their genetic code, it should happen in a way that ‘financial expertise’ and ‘sustainability’ mutually reinforce and add value to one another.
In order to avoid ‘the values trap’, deploying certain verbal and visual tools can be helpful. Carefully crafted narratives (for e.g., an elevator speech) are powerful for storytelling. They can be more differentiating externally and more motivating internally than disjointed values. What makes the values compelling to an audience is how they are relevant to them and also how they bring to life the unique promise of that particular brand.
Powerful imagery associated with a chosen value and focusing on employees’ desired behaviour can give the brand an authentic voice. The aim is to achieve a holistic brand experience, not to retro-fit parts that will create the illusion of coherence. For example, if an ‘innovative’ bank defines that attribute as creativity in customer service, the integration of that value into their visual language in communications becomes essential for coherent delivery of the brand. This more inside-out perspective allows an organisation to deliver an authentic brand experience, through superior communication and performance.
Today, the level of accessibility offered by digital media will inevitably expose illegitimate or inconsistent claims, exposing organisations for saying one thing yet doing another. In the interest of their own credibility and – more importantly – long-term value, brands should return to their DNA to inspire and shape their culture and personality.
Guillaume Noire
Client Director
Paris
Japanese food lover, I have been awarded* MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the Paris Office Mini-Basket Championship for the season 2010. I like to travel, these past years I had two “coups de cœur”: Japan and Havana! Japan for the amazing cultural balance between past and future … and Havana as I’ve had the opportunity to visit a few times and which I definitely fell in love with for its unique culture and people.
By the way: I run beer, spirit, liquor and cigarettes projects in Paris from brand identity guidelines to video or packaging for major players in these categories, from a local to a global perspective, depending on projects.
* Self-awarded, but with strong agreement on the item “is the best player of the agency” from near 100% of my colleagues playing more than two games a day and working at the agency for more than five years.
Tobi Lanyian
Junior Designer
London
I am Tobi, a Junior Designer in the London office. I graduated in 2009 with a first class degree and went about getting as much experience as I could. Firstly working in the design department at McDonald’s client side, then spending about 6 months freelancing for the likes of Carphone Warehouse and Vodafone, followed by a solid 8 months at VML London working on Xbox, Colgate, Bombay Sapphire all in digital design.
I’m passionate about branding and I’m a designer who likes to problem solve – I’m always thinking of the simplest solutions for the most complex of problems. These translate into my designs and design thinking.
When not designing I enjoy the simple things in life like going to the movies, shopping, PS3 and letting people know about Liverpool FC’s chances this season. I also like looking at ancient history and enjoy visiting new places I’ve never been before like New York & Rome.
News:
The Brand Union New York Launches Summer 2012 Internship Program
The New York office of The Brand Union has today launched a comprehensive internship program for Summer 2012. The 10 week paid program has been designed to expose students or recent graduates to the inner workings of a leading global brand agency with internships available with the Strategy, Design & Branding and Advertising teams.
Richard Bates, Chief Creative Officer at The Brand Union New York commented “This is an exciting opportunity for the next generation of creative talent to get real hands on experience working with some of the world’s leading brands. Equally exciting for the New York office is the energy and enthusiasm that student interns always bring to the work environment.”
Interested applicants should download and complete the application form and return with accompanying documentation to summer2012internship@thebrandunion.com. The closing date for applications is 12 noon, Friday 6 April 2012.
Considered candidates will be invited to attend an interview during the week of April 16 at the New York office of The Brand Union. For those not in the immediate New York area, interviews will be conducted by phone or Skype.
Monika Leminsky
Senior Designer
Hamburg
Hello, my name is Monika and I’m a Senior Designer at The Brand Union in Hamburg. My work involves the conception and graphic realisation of a range of products, especially for food. I studied Illustration and Communication Design at the College of Applied Science in Hamburg. My best experience during that time was my internship at the design department of the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney/Australia. Besides the graphic work I learned down under, I loved the ‘easy-going lifestyle’.
Seen and Noted:
Time by John Clang
Image © John Clang
We’ve featured his work before but loved this latest series by photographer John Clang. In his own words, ‘Time’ is “a series that involves recording a location, to show the passing of time in a montage style. There is a sense of intimate intricacy of how time moves, and how people, albeit in a different time, are actually closer to one another and traveling in the same shared space.”
There’s something fascinating in the realisation that so many stories are shared through space and John’s work captures those stories captivatingly.
Simon Parkinson
Design Director
Dubai
I have been with The Brand Union since 2008, working on creating branding solutions for an inspiring range of regional clients including Sorouh, ADPC, Mauzan, ALJ, NSCSA and Khalifa Ports Industrial Zone.
I graduated from Central Saint Martins and worked in the music, fashion and arts industries, with clients including MTV, Virgin Records, Sony, Nike, Adidas, Levi’s, CAT, Deutsche Bank and Orange. Highlights include working with Coldplay, The Chemical Brothers and the photographer Nick Waplington.
My current passion is stand-up paddle boarding and I enjoy getting out on to the open ocean as often as possible. I am married with two children and we love exploring the region, embracing new countries, cultures and cuisines. We have just returned from a trip through Vietnam and Cambodia where a personal highlight was eating deep fried tarantulas. Other interests include typography, snowboarding, tennis and scrabble and I am inspired by independent film, music, photography, fashion and design.
Mars
The American family-owned business Mars has become one of the world’s leading manufacturers of brands worldwide during it’s past 100 years of existence, with a strong market presence in Germany since 1960. The Brand Union Hamburg has been looking after various brands in their petcare, chocolate and food categories on an European level since 1995.
Pierre Delebois
Design Director
Paris
Once upon a time, a little boy was born in Paris. The little Pierre Delebois (‘stone of the wood‘ in English) was a cute boy, but he couldn’t help making some very strange noises and designing all the time. At school, his teacher put him at the very back of the classroom because the strange noises he made were disturbing all his classmates. So he went like this during his schooltime: at the back of the class, making strange noises. He was bored, so to entertain himself, all he would do was design: collages, paintings, anything he could think of.
After school, he graduated and was accepted in a design school because with all this time designing, he had became a very good designer. Strangely, at the design school, the noises were not a problem for his classmates. He even became quite popular.
Then, he found a job at a design agency in Paris. He was still very good designing, but his colleagues didn’t like his strange noises. He felt lonely and decided to change. It was then, that he finally arrived in The Brand Union Paris, as a Design Director.
Now he feels that he is in the right place, he even found somebody to speak his strange noises with: Mr Victor, the parrot seems to understand him!
The Coca-Cola Company
Over the last few years, The Brand Union has worked with multiple divisions across The Coca-Cola Company. Teams from our New York, London, Paris and Singapore offices have partnered with their global design and innovation groups, as well as regional brand marketing teams to develop a range of initiatives from brand strategy to visual language systems to pack design.
Our work has impacted their leading brands, including Coca-Cola, Sprite, and Minute Maid, as well as cross portfolio initiatives focusing on sustainability.
Thought:
Branding should be every CEO’s business
Published by: GulfNews.com
By: Tanita Sandhu, Executive Director The Brand Union Dubai
The purpose of rebranding a company, product or service is to signal change. Or it could be to protect, grow or offer direction for the next chapter of a brand’s evolution.
While the rationale for a rebrand needs to be rooted within an organisation’s business framework, the change needs to be clear through the entire entity and should be obvious at every client interaction.
Developing a strong and memorable brand requires some prerequisites — a strong business case for change and the investment of time, resources and specialised expertise. With a mandate from the board to refresh your brand, and the budget to support in-depth research and implementation, what should the CEO’s role be in the process?
The CEO will have to choose between delegating to the marketing department, with the added instruction that he or she should be intimated about the progress, or monitor each step of the process. If it is the latter, the CEO brings to bear his executive experience and in-depth knowledge of corporate strategy to the table.
Schedule
If the branding exercise is to be more than window-dressing, the CEO’s involvement is an imperative. The next requirement is time.
A two-month schedule is the minimum required to develop a differentiated brand profile that ticks every box in increasing the customer base and building the company’s reputation and overall profitability for all stakeholders.
Given below are some further non-negotiable steps:
Assign responsibility of the brand building exercise to the marketing department, but ensure a cross-functional working committee is set up to be part of the process from day one. The CEO must involve himself as a working partner.
With the committee and an external branding agency, list all the corporate and brand ambitions to ensure the evolution of a solid brand framework as a reference through every stage of development.
Give your brand consultants full access to talk to the employees; observe daily procedures and prepare an honest, unvarnished report on their observations of what the company does internally… and what’s not.
Establish benchmarks and tracking parameters to guarantee an accurate evaluation of brand penetration before and during the exercise. Managing accountability of the marketing and brand team is paramount.
For example, ask for a monthly report along with the next few steps as this provides for transparency and clarity. More importantly, this will ensure that if there is a barrier to collecting information or getting approvals, it is addressed and resolved efficiently.
Keep to a schedule. Maintain a schedule and commit to key presentation and review dates; share the board’s meeting dates and ensure those involved in the project delivery are aware of the timetable.
Communicate the outcome of the research, especially feedback from clients, potential customers and internal focus groups.
Be open about the corporate brand ambition and stress the mantra: ‘A brand is not what you say about you, but what others say about you’.
Premium brands are not built overnight. Work with the brand team to create realistic small wins, and be prepared to enact changes which have been identified as challenges during the research phase.
Nothing is more fragile or demoralising than a fledgling brand. As CEO, make it your job to be passionate about your brand and live by example. Approach and communicate with passion, enthusiasm, and real commitment and you can lead your team to transform your company into the type of brand you envision.
Hayley Kane
Designer
London
Hi, I’m Hayley and I began my time at The Brand Union after a successful stint on the student bursary scheme. Plucked fresh from my degree at University College Falmouth in 2008, I quickly moved up the ranks from junior to mid-weight designer in just over a year.
My time here so far has seen me play a key role in the JTI team, having worked on both the Glamour and Sobranie brands. My time on this account has given me a truly diverse breath of experience, with work ranging from packaging and identity design through to events and above-the-line campaigns. In 2009, I was lucky enough to travel to New York and co-ordinate an event for the Glamour brand. This involved escorting eight excitable eastern European girls around the Big Apple for a ‘shopping trip of a lifetime’.
Outside of the studio, I have a fascination for baking and an obsession with Liverpool FC.
Press:
Irish Electricity Supply Board hands The Brand Union Dublin design contract
By: Stephen Lepitak, The Drum
The Electricity Supply Board in Ireland has appointed The Brand Union Dublin as it brand design agency.
Following a tender exercise, that drew 17 applications, having advertised to appoint one or more agencies to the three-year-contract last summer.
As a result of its appointment, The Brand Union Dublin will be tasked with providing creative design services for development of brand identity tools, brand guidelines, master artworks and also implement specific brand design projects when required.
Chris Ward
Digital Development Manager
Worldwide
Hi! I’m responsible for the business systems, maintaining and supporting colleagues with the current software and web technologies they use as well as developing new ones. We use products and services that originate from all corners of the technology spectrum and, as such, my role is immensely diverse. My background is software, web and database development – and I’m one of those unusual individuals that codes in pretty much every language. Give me a piece of work and I’ll learn it, decipher it and fix it!
I have been very lucky to have had a varied career, despite still being in my twenties! After finishing my Computing degree at the University of Surrey, I worked for a software company as a developer followed by a stint at the Liberal Democrats during the 2010 General Election. Between 2007 and 2011 I was an elected Councillor in Guildford and in my spare time I still campaign on issues I’m passionate about.
News:
The Brand Union Brings Fresh Life to New York City Icon The Lincoln Center
Youthful, New Visual Identity to Welcome Visitors to Cultural Institution
The Brand Union, in collaboration with Ogilvy & Mather, today announced the debut of an expansive new multifaceted branding campaign for Lincoln Center.
The flexible and playful branding campaign is a direct outgrowth and extension of the critically-acclaimed physical revitalization of Lincoln Center to make its public spaces and performance hall more open and welcoming. The Brand Union developed the graphic ‘pin’ element to call attention to all there is to see, hear, taste, and experience on the 16-acre campus of the culture and arts center. This identity system will be seen across the spectrum in digital and physical signage, on stairways, in publications, on the website, and on upcoming WABC PSA’s and other information channels.
A great feature of the new tagline, Lincoln Center, Seen it?, is its flexibility. It can highlight Lincoln Center’s extraordinary performances (Heard it?) as easily as the popular ‘wichcraft café in the Atrium (Tasted it?). And that adaptability is a key component of the design. Lincoln Center boasts more than five million visitors a year, with thousands of shows and activities, public spaces, free concerts, and a 21st century digital landscape. The new look captures it all.
“The goal of the new identity is to invite visitors to take a look, or another look, at the new Lincoln Center,” said Peter Duffin, Vice President of Brand and Marketing. “The new design has had a direct impact on our visitors and patrons by helping to inform and engage them in a helpful way about the variety of experiences Lincoln Center has to offer.”
About Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center is the world’s leading performing arts center. Located on 16.3 acres in New York City, the Lincoln Center complex comprises 11 Resident Organizations, including Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
Together, these 11 institutions present thousands of performances, educational programs, tours, and other events each year in 29 separate performance venues on the Lincoln Center campus.
Since Lincoln Center first opened its doors, it has been a major contributor to New York City’s cultural life and a dynamic economic engine for the region, hosting some five million visitors annually and transforming the Upper West Side into an exciting neighborhood that is now one of New York’s most desirable places in which to live, work and visit.
Seen and Noted:
Dog That Likes Standing on Things
Maddie the Coonhound is an ongoing daily photo project by Atlanta-based photographer Theron Humphrey who’s traveling to all 50 American states, dog in tow, over the next year. See Maddie the dog deftly balance atop national park signs, tractor trailers, tires, mailboxes and other roadside attractions in this humorous but cleverly crafted gallery.
Part of Humphrey’s ‘This Wild Idea’ project.
Parys Hammond
Facilities Manager
London
Hi I’m Parys and I’m the Facilities Manager over here covering all hard and soft services. Now no one ever really understands what hard and soft services are so to explain… If you picked the building up and shook it everything that fell out is soft service and everything that stays in is hard, still confused? Well my friends like to say I get people to unblock the toilets and keep them warm which is not far off the money.
When I’m away from the toilets I will take on anything endurance or sports related and in the last few years I have completed three mountain marathons a 3-Peaks Challenge, numerous city 10k runs and still just about manage to drag the old legs out of bed and play football.