Tag: brand identity

Germany – Global vehicle brand Audi has reworked its brand identity to spotlight the company’s transformation to sustainable and digital premium mobility. The brand will now carry the slogan “Future is an Attitude.” 

With the new tagline, its original brand claim, the German phrase “Vorsprung durch Technik” which means “progress through technology” will remain; the only difference is, the new identity will now be globally visible for the first time. 

“By refining our brand strategy we give a contemporary definition to ‘Vorsprung’ and make ourselves ready for the future – for a new automotive era and for our customers,” said Henrik Wenders, senior vice president for brand.

“The purpose is to improve people’s lives through technology and to make a contribution to society. Audi’s ambition is to shape the future of premium mobility and to create fascinating experiences,” added Wenders.

Under the new communicative approach, Audi will unite its worldwide marketing activities from now on, while still taking into account cultural and country-specific requirements.

Spearheaded by German creative agency thjnk Hamburg GmbH, the campaign’s presentation is guided by the brand’s progressive premium image, while the reduced and clear style will be evident in the new visual language.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWaHZ2oRE7s&feature=youtu.be

In the video ad, Audi aims to demonstrate the message of “an electric, digitalized and emotional future.” Its current models Audi e-tron Sportback, Audi AI:ME, and Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron concept were showcased in the campaign as they represent “the innovative power of the brand.” Meanwhile, the protagonists of the ad are Audi employees like head of design Marc Lichte, who, according to Audi, authentically embodies its attitude.

The campaign will be conducted through all channels of communication, from TV to the digital platform. On the newly launched website progress.audi, all contents of the campaign will be gathered, and further background stories will be offered to users.

International marque Rolls-Royce has announced that it has taken measures to further resonate with its younger clients, specifically a revamp of its brand personality.

The company said that since it has introduced its edgier Rolls-Royce car model, Black Badge in 2016, it has attracted a younger demographic of clients, with clients showing to have an average age of 43. 

A different visual aesthetic and language, one that would “encapsulate the brand’s presence and standing as a true house of luxury” are the company’s main goals for the brand, and it has appointed UK-based design firm Pentagram to accomplish the reboot.

Rolls-Royce Chief Executive Torsten Müller-Ötvös said,  “As the marque’s digital presence increases, there has never been a more important time for the visual language of the company to reflect our standing as [a global] luxury brand.”

New brand colors

From textural wooden brown and graphite-colored hues, Rolls-Royce will now be donning a deep, majestic tone of purple. 

According to Pentagram, although the former colors of the brand showed its artisanal origins, the palette confined the identity to the past. 

“The desire was to seek a more expressive, luxurious colour palette, one appealing to both male and female clients, one with a future vision,” said Pentagram. 

The purple color named Purple Spirit will now become Rolls-Royce’s signature color, on which a metallic Rose Gold will be thrown in as a complementary hue. 

The Noir imagery which surrounds Rolls-Royce’s Black Badge range is also said to be punctuated anew by bursts of color, reflecting each model’s launch specification, illustrating the nature of the model as the brand’s edgier version.

Monogram and typeface

The company said that the double ‘R’ monogram will retain its original form but will be replaced on collateral. 

Meanwhile, the wordmark ‘Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ as found presiding above the door of the marque’s establishments, was found to be corporate and unrepresentative of the marque’s standing as a luxury brand.

Pentagram is said to have sifted through typography pegs in the marque’s archives from the 1930s before ultimately using an art-deco style as the basis from which to envisage a new wordmark.

The words ‘Motor Cars’ have now been reduced in size, with the emphasis reverting to Rolls-Royce. Meanwhile, special significance has been paid to the letter ‘R’, to provide additional stability and prominence to this important character in the Rolls-Royce script.

For the brand’s typeface, on the other hand, the design team has chosen Riviera Nights, which stems from the same family of the brand’s previous font Gil Sans Alt, but now with additionally crafted and beveled letters.

The Spirit of Ecstasy

Amid the brand’s revamp, the marque’s emblem, The Spirit of Ecstasy, which has graced the prow of Rolls-Royce motor cars since 1911 has been decided to be given more attention due to its instantly recognizable and modern symbolism of British luxury. 

A wholly new visual treatment of the emblem has been created, called The Spirit of Ecstasy Expression where a visual with “an ethereal yet tech-like feeling” will be depicted. 

Akin to a silken fabric, The Expression will adopt a fluid form and a feel of versatility. An innovative digital tool that uses coding has been developed by Pentagram to enable The Expression to be used on any surface, from projection to embroidery, as well as to printing to engraving.

It will now be in both physical form at the marque’s global establishments and in digital form, and will start becoming a staple element of the marque’s visual language.  

Malaysia – In conjunction with its 25th anniversary, Malaysian telecommunications company Maxis unveiled a new brand purpose, which will convey the message of bringing together the best of technologies to help people, businesses and the nation “to always be ahead” in the middle of an uncertain world. 

Maxis CEO Gokhan Ogut said that along with a fresh brand direction, the company will adopt a new corporate identity in the objective to steer the company in furthering its leadership in the converged solutions industry in the nation.

“The ‘always be ahead’ spirit is about embracing change, growth, discovery and finding new ways through technology. We are making a commitment to all Malaysians, from individuals and families, to businesses and entire communities that Maxis will be their digital enabler and coach to help them leverage the best technologies so that they can always be ahead,” said Ogut. 

To start off the campaign, Maxis will roll out a series of short videos which will feature individuals and social enterprises who have inspiring stories about how technology and the internet has helped their lives, and enriched the communities around them. 

In one video published on Youtube, Maxis got Malaysian teacher Siti Faridah to share how she’s overcoming the virtual setup of learning and teaching in the middle of the country’s movement control order.

In one part of the video, she enumerates the ways she creates a virtual classroom, while being shown arranging her work from home setup, with a Maxis broadband on the side.

“One of the things I tried is creating a video content. Sometimes I do live streaming, sometimes I do Facebook live, and sometimes I upload video content on Youtube,” she said on the video.

In line with Maxis’ reworked brand purpose, the company will be doubling down on digitalisation programs and will launch a series of initiatives to provide assistance and fundamental skills for digital adoption and acceleration in communities across the country:

Among such initiatives is the SME Digitalisation Grant where SMEs get to claim up to RM5,000 for their digitalisation efforts.

Another one is the Digital 101 for SMEs which puts together courses from Maxis business to guide micro-SMEs on mastering digital marketing and eCommerce. 

An initiative called Device Tips will also be part of the series, a program that will help upskill families and tech enthusiasts on digital practices which is said to be in partnership with Samsung, Huawei and Apple.