2. NEW IDENTITY ALERT page 2
March 2010
Among the new brand identities featured are corporate or product brands. Imagine another
Towers Watson, Ageas, Cassidy Turley, Expedia, shoe company called Nike, or a computer company
Bausch + Lomb, Diversey, Mobilicity and for the called Apple. These companies (and their lawyers)
city of Regina, Saskatchewan. As in past years, work hard to ensure this would never happen.
this being the first New Identity Alert of the year
(if a bit later than usual), this issue features the One wonders why Vancouver would wait until
best and worst brand identities featured last year. after the Olympics to launch their brand identity.
They obviously decided they couldn’t do it while
There are at least 7 communities named the world’s attention was focussed on their British
Burlington in North America, 9 called Columbus Columbia namesake. On the other hand, the
and two cities called Vancouver. One of them launch certainly could have had more attention.
recently hosted the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Yet the Games did not come as a surprise last
Winter Games. The other, a bit further south, month – Vancouver was selected to host the
appears to be concerned that they were confused Games in 2003. One would have thought
with their neighbour to the north. As a result, Vancouver, WA would have done this sooner.
Vancouver, Washington’s tourism office has just
launched a new brand identity that pointedly The Games were, at the very least from a
highlights that they are located in the United Canadian perspective, exciting, fun to watch,
States and that their city was settled before that and some would even say inspirational. From a
other Vancouver. branding perspective, one can’t help but be a bit
more cynical. The IOC is deeply concerned about
One feels their pain. How do you differentiate any brands that appear during the Games. Every
yourself, when you share the same regional inch of existing facilities was “papered” with the
location, not to mention the same name? This Vancouver graphics to cover up any stray brands.
is something that would never happen with The Canadian hockey team had to have new
uniforms designed, because the Hockey Canada
logo appeared on their shirts. Of course, the
Nike swoosh appeared prominently on athletes’
garments. Skiers and snowboarders, in true
Olympic tradition, removed their skis or boards
and pointed their brands at the cameras at the end
of their runs. Maybe future Games should award
medals for sponsors and “official suppliers,” since
at times it seemed the Games were meant more to
celebrate them than the athletes who competed
and won our hearts with their efforts.
Cover image: The Regina coat of arms
3. NEW IDENTITY ALERT An occasional survey of new corporate brand page 3
identities compiled from on-line news sources
March 2010
by Method Branding.
B A u sc h + Lo m B This well-known eye care
product brand introduced its new brand identity at
the beginning of the year. Founded in 1853,
Bausch + Lomb is headquartered in Rochester, NY
and employs over 10,000 people worldwide. Its
products include contact lenses and lens care
products, ophthalmic surgical devices and
instruments, and ophthalmic pharmaceuticals. OLD BR AND iDeNtit y
Comment Why rebrand? Their old brand
identity was just over five years old (see New
Identity Alert, May 2004). The rationale for the
rebrand, “strong momentum coming out of last
year, as well as a number of planned new product
launches and market initiatives over the coming
months…” is hardly an indication of a significant
change that would dictate the need for a new OLDeR BR AND iDeNtities
brand identity. The other puzzling aspect of this
rebranding initiative is why they would introduce
the “B+L” initials. They rightly identify Bausch +
Lomb as a well-known brand. Why dilute it by
trying to move to initials? It’s not as if their name
is either too long to pronounce, or is incongruent
to their current brand (i.e., GE no longer being
primarily focused on electrical products).
And, after all these efforts to rebrand, the new
brand identity is not a better mark than their
previous brand identity. It is not bad, just one
more question in an undefined, perplexing
rebranding initiative.
bausch.com
4. NEW IDENTITY ALERT An occasional survey of new corporate brand page 4
identities compiled from on-line news sources
March 2010
by Method Branding.
D I v E R s E Y On March 1, JohnsonDiversey
changed its name, as announced, following its
acquisition by a private equity firm this past
November. The Diversey name extends back to
1923, when it was founded. After it was acquired
by Johnnson Wax in 2002 from Unilever, the
company changed its name to JohnsonDiversey.
Diversey claims it has sales of more than OLD BR AND iDeNtit y
$3.0 billion in more than 175 countries and that
it is a leading global provider of commercial
cleaning, sanitation and hygiene solutions. It is
headquartered in Sturtevant, Wisconsin, and
has over 10,000 employees.
Comment Clearly an evolution over the previous
brand identity, the new brand identity is not as
successful as the previous one. Diversey has
opted for a simplified, smaller version of the older
“water lily,” that is flatter, without the finesse and
without the former’s shimmer. Some of the petals
of the symbol now appear, inexplicably, to be
accents on the letters of the name. This certainly
doesn’t help with the pronunciation of Diversey,
which is clear enough. While there is nothing
terribly wrong about the new logotype, it is clearly
more generic looking. In the end, had they just
removed the name Johnson from their previous
mark, they would have been better off. The one
good piece of news is that their new web site
is well done.
diversey.com
5. NEW IDENTITY ALERT An occasional survey of new corporate brand page 5
identities compiled from on-line news sources
March 2010
by Method Branding.
E x p E D I A .co m This well-known online travel
website updated their brand identity at the
beginning of the year. Expedia.com describes
itself as “the world’s leading online travel site,
helping millions of travelers per month easily plan
and book travel.” Expedia.com is an operating
company of Expedia, Inc., and in addition to their
US web site, Expedia also has 16 other interna- OLD BR AND iDeNtit y
tional web sites, including Australia, Canada,
India, Japan, France, Germany and the UK.
Comment This evolution of their brand identity
is reasonably well executed and contemporary.
The symbol borrows the concept of an airplane
and a blue globe and translates it into a more
contemporary (if more corporate looking) icon.
The logotype has also been updated, translating
the curves on the vertical strokes of the letter p
and d into angles. Apart from changing the colour
to blue, the capital E and the lowercase letters
of the name have a better balance in the new
logotype. And yet, the total may be less than
satisfying. Unlike the recent update of the Air
Miles loyalty brandmark, which retained the
romance of travel with its old airplane, Expedia.
com has lost its charm with its corporate looking
mark. The press release announcing the rebrand
spoke of “superior value, ease and convenience”
with Expedia.com. Which brand mark, then, is best
suited to communicate “travelers who book with
Expedia.com can be confident that they got the
right trip at a great price?” Viewed from this
perspective, the new brand identity is best suited,
even if it lacks the charm of the former.
expedia.com
6. NEW IDENTITY ALERT An occasional survey of new corporate brand page 6
identities compiled from on-line news sources
March 2010
by Method Branding.
m I N T E L This international market research firm
launched its new brand identity last month.
Founded in London in 1972, Mintel describes itself
as “a leading global supplier of consumer, product
and media intelligence… (providing) insight into
key worldwide trends, offering exclusive data and
analysis that directly impacts client success.”
Their other locations include Chicago, New York, OLD BR AND iDeNtit y
Sydney, Shanghai and Tokyo.
Comment Their new tagline “Intelligence in time”
is the best thing about this rebranding effort,
accurately reflecting their claim that “Mintel’s
market intelligence, combined with best-in-class
service, enables clients to make the right decision
at the right time.” They have largely kept to the
same colour palette as their previous identity,
adding purple which they say represents
“inspiration and decisiveness” (another example
of overblown press release prose). A speech
bubble is hardly original – see the next page – so
what happened to the firm’s inspiration and
decisiveness? The new brand identity is not bad,
just bland.
mintel.com
7. NEW IDENTITY ALERT An occasional survey of new corporate brand page 7
identities compiled from on-line news sources
March 2010
by Method Branding.
m o B I L I c I T Y Data & Audio Visual Enterprises
Wireless Inc. (DAVE Wireless) announced last
month that it will launch its mobile telephone
service in Toronto this spring, under the Mobilicity
brand name. Following the Canadian wireless
spectrum auction, it is one of several new mobile
services brands recently, or about to be, launched
in Canada. Mobilicity will operate in 10 of the 13 OLD BR AND iDeNtit y
largest markets including Toronto, Vancouver,
Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa, accounting for
more than half of Canada’s population.
Comment The new name is described as
“incorporating the mobile carrier’s focus on
simplicity for city-based customers.” It certainly
anchors the new brand in the city, but is it simpler
than Dave? One could argue that Dave has more
urban attitude without having to say city. The new
mark, while based on speech bubbles that are
hardly original (see the previous page), is still well
done. The colours are fresh and appealing, and
the two overlapping speech bubbles suggest a
conversation. One can observe that the overlap
was carefully considered: if the overlap went too
far to the left, mobil would be transformed to mob,
and the overlap on the right correctly highlights
the word city. As a piece of graphics, the Mobilicity
mark is superior to Dave, but a well-crafted Dave
brand identity would have resulted in a more
original brand.
mobilicity.ca
8. NEW IDENTITY ALERT An occasional survey of new corporate brand page 8
identities compiled from on-line news sources
March 2010
by Method Branding.
R E g I N A Mayor Pat Fiacco unveiled the brand
identity last month during his annual State of
the City address. Regina is the capital of
Saskatchewan, in the Canadian prairies. Located
in the southern portion of the province, with
a population of about 190,000, Regina claims it
has over 350,000 hand-planted trees. It was
first incorporated as a town in 1883 and named OLD BR AND iDeNtit y
the capital of the Northwest Territories. The press
release announcing the new brand identity
revealed that the research and development fees
for this branding engagement were approximately
$320,000.
Comment This isn’t fair. Regina is, by most
measures, a small town (when does a town
become a city?) that claims nearly twice as many
hand-planted trees as it has residents. Yet it
has paid a significant amount of money to be
rebranded. So the question is not whether its
brand is up to the standard one would expect of
major urban cities with millions of residents,
but whether it has received its money’s worth?
The answer is no. The new symbol is an
unsuccessful attempt to be an infinity loop – to
ie it to the tagline. It doesn’t work, and it’s too flat.
Even bringing the diagonal blue line over the
vertical orange would have been an improvement.
It is telling that Regina is holding on to its “I love
Regina” mark. Even though the new brand identity
is intended to replace the Regina script and
cityscape mark, this imitation of the “I Love NY”
mark obviously resonates with Regina residents,
and the new identity can’t compete with it.
regina.ca
infinitehorizons.ca
9. NEW IDENTITY ALERT An occasional survey of new corporate brand page 9
identities compiled from on-line news sources
March 2010
by Method Branding.
I D E N T I v E g R o u p Completing the merger
of Bluehill ID, Hirsch Electronics and SCM
Microsystems, the new company launched their
new name and brand identity at the beginning of
the year. Identive describes itself as a “leading
provider of products, services and solutions for
the security, identification and RFID industries.
Through its Group of companies, Identive serves OLD BR AND iDeNtities
customers in diverse global markets spanning
the identity management and access control value
chains.” With headquarters in Santa Ana,
California and St. Gallen, Switzerland, the
company has operations in Europe, United States,
Brazil, Canada, Australia, Japan and India.
Comment This is an appropriate name and
interesting brand signature. The name reflects
their area of expertise, confirming and managing
peoples’ identities and determining access based
on that information. One can surmise (no explana-
tion was provided in the press release announcing
the new brand identity) that the symbol is meant
to represent a scanner’s motion. This again would
make sense for this company. Not clear is why the
symbol is beige. Is this meant to represent the
colour of skin? That would be a strange choice,
leaving aside demographic issues that arise from
such a colour rationale. The other interesting
decision Identive has taken is to retain the legacy
corporate brands as product/service brands.
Without a real knowledge of this specialized
marketplace and the equities in these brand, it is
impossible to render an opinion if this was the
correct decision.
identive-group.com
10. NEW IDENTITY ALERT An occasional survey of new corporate brand page 10
identities compiled from on-line news sources
March 2010
by Method Branding.
c A ss I DY T u R L E Y This new commercial real
estate brand was officially launched at the
beginning of the month. Cassidy Turley claims it is
“one of the largest commercial real estate services
providers in the U.S., with 420 million square feet
of managed space in 57 locations and $16 billion
in completed transactions for 2008.” Most of the
offices are former Colliers operations in cities FORmeR BR AND iDeNtit y
such as Washington, DC, New York City, Baltimore,
Charlotte and Raleigh. Cassidy Turley further
states that it has over 360 shareholders through-
out their network across the country.
Comment This an example that demonstrates
that good brand identities need not be complex,
or visually ornate. Using two names from some of
the legacy names (from Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers
[Washington, DC] and Colliers Turley Martin Tucker
[St. Louis]), the wordmark is simple and straight-
forward. The forward slash, which the press
release refers to as “the Edge graphic,” is meant
to symbolize the edge the company provides its
customers by “combining (their) deep connections
to (their) clients, community and industry with the
customized solutions (they) provide.” Sure, but it
works visually. By aligning the letter y at the end
of both names, it is also a smart and elegant
solution. The black and green give the mark a
modern, fresh appearance. They have also
extended “the Edge” in the design of the website,
collateral and advertising – smartly unifying all
the Cassidy Turley communications.
cassidyturley.com
11. NEW IDENTITY ALERT An occasional survey of new corporate brand page 11
identities compiled from on-line news sources
March 2010
by Method Branding.
Av I AT N E T W o R k s This provider of IP network
technology, previously known as Harris Stratex
Networks, Inc., unveiled its new brand identity
last month. Aviat Networks claims it is “the
wireless expert in advanced IP network migration,
building the foundation for the 4G/LTE broadband
future, (offering) best-of-breed transformational
wireless solutions, including LTE-ready microwave OLD BR AND iDeNtit y
backhaul, WiMAX access and a complete portfolio
of essential service options that enable wireless
public and private telecommunications operators
to deliver advanced data, voice, video and
mobility services around the world.” With com-
pany headquarters in Morrisville, North Carolina,
and international headquarters in Singapore, Aviat
lists offices on all continents around the world.
It has 1,500 employees serving 260 mobile
networks around the world.
Comment No explanation (from yet again another
company) for what the new name and symbol are
meant to represent. Is the name derived from Via,
which means way? Explanations are required to
properly frame the brand and “seed it” with the
intended attributes and meaning. That stated, this
is a well designed symbol and logotype. One can
assume that the arcs are meant to represent
mobile networks and the flow of communications.
The logotype is appropriately contemporary and
approachable with its upper and lowercase
typography. One wonders, though, whether the
word Networks was needed. It is currently so small
and light, one wonders why include it?
aviatnetworks.com
12. NEW IDENTITY ALERT An occasional survey of new corporate brand page 12
identities compiled from on-line news sources
March 2010
by Method Branding.
A g E A s Fortis announced om March 10 that
pending shareholder approval in April, it will
become “ageas.” With head offices in Brussels
and Utrecht, in the Netherlands, Fortis no longer
describes itself as a banking and insurance group,
but as a leader in the insurance market. It claims
to be “the undisputed leader of the Belgian
market for Individual Life and Employee Benefits”, OLD BR AND iDeNtit y
as well as a leader in automobile insurance in
Great Britain, France, Hong Kong, Germany, Turkey
and Ukraine. It also has operations in Italy,
Portugal, China, Malaysia, India and Thailand.
Fortis currently employs over 10,000 people.
Comment Another casualty of the financial
services meltdown, Fortis is trying to right itself
– with mixed results. They describe the name as
deriving from the Latin word agere, which means
“action, drive, and a conviction to forge ahead.”
They also break the name down letter by letter
ascribing meaning to them, which is a stretch. The
new wordmark is understated, which was clearly
the company’s intention. The lowercase treatment
is further sign of a company humbled, “ We
know our business, but we don’t want to force our
opinions on anyone…”
The problem is that they confuse a wordmark with
how the name should appear in text. Fortis is
capitalized as a logotype, and appears in upper
and lowercase in text. The same logic should apply
to their new name. Just because the wordmark
is ageas, does not mean that it should not appear
as Ageas in text.
fortis.com
13. NEW IDENTITY ALERT An occasional survey of new corporate brand page 13
identities compiled from on-line news sources
March 2010
by Method Branding.
To W E R s WAT s o N With the completion of
their merger, this HR company launched its new
brand identity at the beginning of the year. Towers
Perrin and Watson Wyatt are now Towers Watson.
The company describes itself as “a leading global
professional services company that helps organi-
zations improve performance through effective
people, risk and financial management.” With its OLD BR AND iDeNtities
headquarters in New York City, Towers Watson
states it has over 14,000 employees worldwide.
Comment This is an interesting symbol,
resembling a person’s signature. This is reinforced
by the Welcome heading on their web site and
corporate brochure, appearing as a handwritten
word. Given that their business is human
resources consulting, this handwritten signature
is quite appropriate. One wonders about the
selection of colour. It is worth noting that they
decided not to use blue, which was a legacy colour
in both the Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt brand
signatures (and according to some estimates, 70%
of all corporate marks). They have selected a
warm, (and more distinctive) orange-red instead,
which is certainly friendlier than blue. Blue,
however, would have been more in keeping with
the idea of the handwritten signature, as though
it were the blue ink of a pen. One also has to
welcome the company’s decision to use only the
first names in the firms’ legacy names. While most
companies, faced with a merger have also only
kept one word from each company name, some
have tried to retain all words, sometimes combin-
ing them, as in Towersperrin Watsonwyatt. Good
for them that they resisted doing such a thing.
towerswatson.com
14. NEW IDENTITY ALERT An occasional survey of new corporate brand page 14
identities compiled from on-line news sources
March 2010
by Method Branding.
T h E B E sT o f 2 0 0 9 With the global recession
in full force, there seemed (from a totally unscien-
tific, unmeasured perspective) to be fewer brand
identities launched last year. As a result –partially
– there were fewer truly great brand identities
launched. The good ones seemed to be simpler
designs. Orange and yellow tones are still popular
colours of choice for brand identities (though
Usiminas does use several other primary colours
for their symbol). The recession is also proving to
be the catalyst for a number of new brand identi-
ties in the financial sector, and resulted in one of
the best brand identities of the past year.
Chartis was born from the ruins of AIG, the insur-
ance behemoth. A simple compass concept
incorporated into the letter C was a smart solution
that is “well married” to the company’s new name.
Sometimes, a simple straightforward approach is
required, and FICO, the credit rating firm, has an
appropriately strong, simple wordmark. On the
other hand Symbian, the Open Source software
organization, opted for a brand identity that is one
of the most humourous, warmest brand identities.
Usiminas, the Brazilian steel company, has a
strong symbol – the letter U that represents the
bucket that holds molten steel. The Stone River
symbol is another symbol that is “well married” to
the name of this software company.
chartisinsurance.com
fico.com
symbian.org
usiminas.com.br
stoneriver.com
15. NEW IDENTITY ALERT An occasional survey of new corporate brand page 15
identities compiled from on-line news sources
March 2010
by Method Branding.
T h E W o R s T o f 2 0 0 9 For the first time in
reviewing the past year’s worst brand identities, a
company has “earned” two mentions. Kraft earns
a special place for launching one of the worst
brand identities in recent memory (the top mark
with the red swoosh), and then, seemingly recog-
nizing the mistake, changed it with a variation that
is just as bad. This is truly surprising from such a
brand-savvy company. Even it were never noted for
the quality of the design of their brands, this is
truly a revelation of how large companies can
badly brand themselves. In fact, the other exam-
ples of the worst of the year, as in past years,
come from large corporations.
Pepsi rebranded, changing their red, white and
blue ball into what is supposed to be a smile.
(They were also pilloried for an over-the-top
rationale document that made the rounds of online
branding blogs.) Statoil, while well rendered, has a
strange look for an international energy company.
As was previously noted, it would have been more
appropriate for a line of hair products. And Kraft is
now in a league of its own when it comes to bad
brand identities. They should simply revert back to
the familiar Kraft mark on their packaging. Intact is
the inexplicable mark for what used to be ING
Insurance in Canada.
pepsi.com
statoil.com
kraftfoodscompany.com
intactinsurance.com
