Background

BTV was a television station without a focus. Its positioning wasn’t clear and its objectives and vision were confusing to most people.

Public Television in Barcelona began 10 years ago and had a distinctly experimental quality about it in terms of format, language and production. After a few years, however, this model became repetitive, appealing to a minority audience and during short spans, due partly, without a doubt, to it lack of resources.

The following phases, very different in terms of focus (but without the strength to define a clear profile), saw the introduction of new programs which overlapped with the old ones, so that concepts and language from different periods coexisted. The logo was changed on various occasions, but the problem wasn’t the logo, it was the global brand approach.

People didn’t know what to expect from BTV and this is the worst thing that can happen to a brand.

Approximately one year ago, a new management team led by Ricard Domingo was given the job of relaunching BTV, and one of their main priorities was to develop a solid brand project. An ambitious project of reinventing what public television in Barcelona was and what it wanted to represent.


Brand strategy

SUMMA won a public contest organized by the station and began to analyze the results of audience polls, which confirmed the diagnosis: BTV occupied no definitive place in the minds of the public, and where there was recognition, the perception was in general neutral or negative. The station was thought of in many cases as being boring, appealing to a minority, and for watching alone.

At the same time, we began to work with the management team to define the characteristics of the new project. Utility, proximity and quality were the core concepts that the new BTV would be built upon.

SUMMA’s consulting team also analyzed the content, image and positioning of the other television stations that make up the growing competitive panorama, taking into account current issues, as well as looking toward the future and considering the consequences of TDT (Television Digital Terrestre) when it comes into force.

Stemming from the strategic analysis of all of these variables, a new positioning was formulated: BTV was to be Barcelona’s specialty television station. The greatest challenge consisted in making the transition from being almost marginal to being a reference point for television in Barcelona, a real option for the residents of this city in their television choices.

Despite having defined a clear purpose, the station’s positioning, expressed in this way, seemed to limit the program contents to local information, which was not so attractive to a wider scale audience. Nevertheless, this was a good base to build the new brand on. But it was necessary to go more in-depth in order to define how BTV, as far as local public television was concerned, could be truly useful and relevant to its interest groups.

So a brand concept was defined: The television station for the people of Barcelona.

With this new vision, BTV aimed to open itself to the city, and in general, to all the people who live, work, visit and enjoy the city. It would be devoted to everything revolving around the city and its area of influence. Anything that would be of interest to those who are in some way involved with the city. There would be news of what’s happening in the world as well, but from a “Barcelonian” perspective. In this way the station aspired to be the voice of the city and of all those who are a part of it.

This concept, this new brand vision, was the foundation on which the new BTV would be constructed. The new programming would be inspired by it, the new tone of voice, the new corporate identity and the whole philosophy of the station in general.

A new name

The relationship between Barcelona and its television station needed to be absolute, and in order to achieve this the station would have to possess the same values and attributes associated with the city such as creativity, quality, modernity and diversity, to name a few.

As we initiated the new strategic brand approach, it became clear that BTV wasn’t an appropriate name to lead this transformation for various reasons:

1. 2/3 of the name refer to the genre (TV), significantly limiting its capacity to express the new vision.
2. The name was “stained” by ten years of an image which, as we mentioned earlier, wasn’t exactly positive.
3. We needed to show the public that the station was beginning a new phase, with everything that this entailed, marked by concepts like ambition and courage.

Therefore, although BTV was a short name, phonetically pleasant (especially in Catalan), and easy to remember, we felt it was fundamental, for all the reasons mentioned, to change the name, and so from that point on, it would be called Barcelona tv.


The new visual identity and its global development

The way SUMMA sees it, the objective of a corporate visual identity program is to create a unique, characteristic and distinctive style for a brand in all of its manifestations. To do this, it’s necessary to use a wide range of visual and stylistic resources, structured under a system in which the design of every element fulfills the necessities of functionality and practicality, as well as the necessity to express the corporate identity as a whole.

The on-screen logo of a television station is a central element of its identity and must be handled with creativity and technical precision.

In this case, the objective was to create an icon that would best express the new positioning, and at the same time define a personal style, distinguishing it from the state owned channels and emerging local channels, both public and private.

The solution consisted of placing the letter B (heavily associated with Barcelona through numerous initiatives) in a visual field that refers to the genre itself (television) and to the station’s desire to become an instrument of dialog between the city and its citizens and vice versa. These three ideas formed an icon with a strong conceptual quality and maximum visual synthesis, which maintained its placement in the lower left part of the screen- an unusual position but one we felt was a positive and characteristic trait worth keeping.

The typography chosen guaranteed optimum on-screen readability, even on a small-scale. Its carefree quality aimed to counteract the perception of seriousness and distance detected in the research studies.

For the same reason, the color black was eliminated from the corporate palette, with red and white becoming the main colors of the new era. Nevertheless, the brand was given a wide complementary color repertoire bringing freshness, youth, diversity and innovation to the identity. This chromatic diversity is very rich in all of the on-screen graphic animations and signs of the facilities, among other mediums.

The new station identifications, along with program previews, advertising spots and other audio-visual mediums, follow the same objective, at the same time reinforcing the bond between the city and its television station.


A global identity project

SUMMA’s intervention wasn’t limited to just the corporate identity, but also contemplated the names, identities and total on-screen development of the channel’s hit shows, as well as the news programs, whose image is especially important for any television station.

A personal style, far from the trite and repetitive codes of most channels, is manifested through the audio-visual aspects and theme songs of the news programs, achieving rigor, as well as distinction and modernity.

The station’s presence in the city required an adequate and highly visible means of identifying the new premises, located in the technological district 22@. Its particular placement between two buildings called for a real spectacular sign: a facade of over 200m2 with 18 panels that portray a bird’s eye image of Barcelona. Visible from a long distance, it’s the image that greets Barcelona tv visitors.

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The "Balas Rojas" Accelerate


From bicycles to motorcycles

The origins of DERBI date back to 1922 when a small bicycle repair shop was opened up by Simeón Rabasa i Singla. The business grew quickly and after the Civil War contacts were established with some of the most important bicycle factories in the country, which soon crystallized into the production of chassis for mopeds and small motorcycles.

It wasn’t until 1950 that Bicicletas Rabasa acquired its present name, when, participating in the Feria de Muestras de Barcelona ( Prototype Tradeshow) it presented a new motorcycle model called DERBI, which was an abbreviation of Derivado de Bicicleta.

The introduction of the Seat 600 in the market in 1961 caused a huge decline in the sales of medium and large cylinder motorcycles. This crisis would reappear at the end of the 1970’s and continue into the mid 1980’s. Bultaco, Mototrans and OSSA disappeared. Abelló was absorbed by Suzuki, Montesa by Honda and Sanglas by Yamaha.

DERBI managed to survive by taking advantage of the sales boom that came with the arrival of the Japanese brands (signing an agreement to import Kawasaki products) and thanks as well to the launching of the famous Variant, a true revelation in its day. In 1980, Marco Gordoqui made a trip around the world in 76 days on a Derbi Variant, covering a total of 18.835 km. According to anecdotes, the only altercation was a collision with a cow in India.

The 1990’s were difficult years for the company. During this period a complete product renovation was initiated, and the company bet heavily on the scooter market, positioning itself as a young, sporty brand with its own technology.


A bet for the future

In July of 2001 DERBI was taken over by the Piaggio Group, which resulted in an important restructuring of the group’s brands to help get through the slow period the industry was experiencing and to prepare the company to be fully competitive in the future. This was the main reason for initiating a complete renovation of its corporate identity in 2004, which was carried out by SUMMA.

The new visual identity marked the beginning of a new era- more dynamic, more modern, but with the same spirit. With the aim of modernizing the brand, the use of elements was simplified, the globe over the “I” disappeared , the tail of the “R” was shortened and the “D” was touched up to give it individuality and speed.

The color red was maintained in recognition of the sporty and competitive quality of the famous “balas rojas” (red bullets) model with which Ángel Nieto achieved many of his “12 + 1” world championships. The incorporation of the silver colored vertical stripe added a touch of elegance.

The new corporate identity as a whole respects the long history of the brand while in the esthetics of the different motorcycle lines bets on a future full of hope, youthful spirit and sportsmanship.

The Tradefair of Milan (2004) was the debut of the brand’s new image, where an important number of new DERBI motorcycles and mopeds were shown, characterized by impressive technology and design.

The results accelerate

Thanks to the new corporate identity, the new line of motorcycles, and changes in drivers’ license regulations, DERBI has seen an increase of 149% in sales and registrations compared to last year, notably higher than the average growth percentage in the industry (56,7%).

 This authentic sales boom of small motorcycles under 125cc, has put the Italian company Piaggio, essentially the mother company of DERBI, close to third place in market shares with a total figure of almost 20.000 registered motorcycles.

At the Internot Tradefair of Munich (2005) DERBI managed to put its exploits from the previous year at the EICMA in Milan to the test: the wide range of new products won over the general public and experts alike, confirming that the change initiated by joining the Piaggio group continues on an upward course.

The motorcycle company has known how to adapt itself to the tastes, preferences and necessities of the two-wheel fan, and has become the number one Spanish manufacturer of mopeds and small cylinder motorcycles, with a participation of over 25% in the national market.

Today DERBI is a brand with more than 80 years behind it which has given us many happy moments. For 40 years the “balas rojas” have been triumphant in the small cylinder categories obtaining 85 victories in “Grandes Premios” and 10 world titles at the hands of Ángel Nieto (5), Jorge Martínez ‘Aspar’ (4) and Manuel ‘Champi’ Herreros (1) among others.

This year, on the DERBI Racing Team, Pablo Nieto (Madrid, 24 years old) and Nico Terol (Alcoy, 16 years old) have taken over from Jorge Lorenzo and Angel Rodríguez with the goal of surpassing their achievements in the 2004 World Championships for 125cc: three wins and a total of seven podiums.

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The creation of BBVA's
new Real Estate brand


Background

The origins of BBVA’s activities in Real Estate date back to each of the societies formed by the banks which today make up the group: Inmobilaria Bilbao, Bancaya and  Unitaria, among others.

Today BBVA Inmobilaria’s concentration of activities revolves around two main areas: land development and housing promotion. To carry these activities out, it establishes pacts with local partners, expands its client base and asserts its specialization in first home mortgages in cities of more than 200.000 inhabitants and in the construction of second homes in growing tourist areas.

In 2003, BBVA became one of the top ten Spanish Real Estate companies with sales of 175 million euros compared to 95 million in 2002, obtaining after-tax profits of 42,6 million.

To impel the strategic plan of this division, BBVA opted to gire it its own brand, though it would be heavily based on the values of the Group as a whole.


Brand strategy

SUMMA led the process of strategically defining the new brand, looking to provide it with a legitimate, lasting and differential significance, coherent with The BBVA Group.

The brand focuses its vision on “working to improve people’s lives”; a clearly humanistic orientation which transcends the actual activity and inspires the attitudes and actions of the entire organization.

The strategic approach of the company is expressed by the phrase “We build relationships based on trust” which makes a direct reference to housing promotion, viewing this activity as a means of establishing trust-based relationships with its customers (the home buyers) as well as its public and private promoters and agents.

Stemming from the brand vision is a series of attributes like experience, guarantee, commitment, collaboration, proactiveness, understanding and transparency, which constitute the personality of the brand.


Name creation

Based on Summa’s naming methodology, the process was centered around exploring signifying fields associated with the concepts of innovation, proximity and environmental awareness, allowing the actual activities and attitudes (and not the name) to connote other values of a more aspirational nature, such as the desire for leadership.

The process produced a list of names, among which Anida was selected.

BBVA's real estate division is given the name Anida, marking the creation of a brand with its own personality and the explicit support of the Group as a whole for its identity.

Anidar means “to make a nest to live in and create a family.” In the figurative sense, it’s synonymous with “to accommodate, to house and to inhabit.” The name faithfully refers to the company’s activities as well as its positioning, vision and personality attributes defined in the strategic phase of the project.

The name and visual identity stem from the brand's own attributes which enable the company to reinforce its position in the market and its leadership inclination.

Anida perfectly combines an innovative quality with the brand’s vision of humanity and familiarity. It’s a friendly name, easy to identify with and easy to memorize. The verb tense of the name (the imperative “nest!”) gives it dynamism and continuity in time.


Design and development of the visual identity

Anida presents itself with a simple visual identity, close and friendly, which avoids the use of gratuitous symbols, emphasizing a typographic insinuation of concepts like shelter, hugs, human contact, warmth, proximity...

The visual style aims to transmit transparency, dynamism, accessibility and elegance. The main color suggests respect for the environment, one of the brand’s differential values, while the complementary colors (earth tones and blues) express warmth and trust, attributes associated with the way the organization sees the business of Real Estate- not only as a means to an end but as a means of making its customers’ hopes and dreams come true.

Anida combines an innovate quality with the brand's vision of humanity
and familiarity. It's a friendly name, easy to identify with and easy to memorize.

The identity was completed with the creation of a recognizable visual style for the brand in all of its expressions, which is based on specific photographic elements that are modified according to the target audience in each case.


Future expectations

For this financial year, Anida expects to obtain net profits of 66 million euros, an increase of 57% compared to 2003.

To achieve its objective of earning 115 million euros in 2006 and ranking in the top three firms in the sector in 2007, the company plans on continuing to grow the project in Spain and expand into other markets, applying its experience and the business model which has proven so successful.

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Background

Picking Pack has its origins in the Italian chain Buffetti, pioneers in Spain in the area of sales and distribution of office material.

In 1995 Picking Pack acquired the Spanish division of Buffetti in order to dynamize it, expand its sales channels and secure its place as an emblematic leader in the sector.

In an increasingly competitive environment, the company stopped manufacturing and focused on offering the best available solutions to office material needs in the market, creating a complete annual catalog with more than 5,000 references.

With Carlo Umberto Bonomi as the General Manager of the company, Picking Pack made an Initial Public Offering in the stock market, becoming a very attractive security for small stockholders. Buffetti’s establishments went on to be called Picking Pack Service Point, offering document reproduction services for businesses and individual customers.

After a phase of expansion and subsequent drying up of investments in unrelated sectors such as logistics and internet (with the acquisition of Ola Internet), the company stopped listing their stocks and centered its activities on office material sales and document reproduction services.

In January of 2003, the management team, along with several private investors, bought out the office material division of Picking Pack, leaving the document reproduction services (under the brand Service Point) in the hands of Mr. Bonomi.

Since then, Picking Pack has focused on perfecting back-office services for its franchises and has taken on a new project of expansion in order to gain presence in the major Spanish cities by selling to large scale companies, investing in technology and automation and guaranteeing a greater quality of service for their clients.

In a market in consolidation where big businesses earn market share as opposed to small and medium-sized businesses, Picking Pack, with more than 140 points of sale, plans to maintain its place as one of the top three suppliers of office materials in the sector, and as the only independent and Spanish company, among the big ones, that doesn’t belong to a large multinational corporation.


Design and development of the visual identity

Coinciding with the new plan of expansion presented by general manager Javier López Balcells and following the separation from Service Point, the company decided to take on the task of redesigning its visual Corporate Identity, a took that had to be completed by mid 2004.

Of all the elements that made up the previous visual identity, it was concluded that the color orange formed an essential part of Picking Pack (as well as a key visual aspect of the brand) and therefore its presence would remain untouched. The existent logotype divided the brand name into two lines, giving a distinctive weight to each word, which made it difficult to read and understand.

The first decision was to improve the brand identification, placing the name on one line and horizontally. However, these two English words appeared to be separate, and a unified brand concept was not achieved. The letter “g” in the brand name made a Spanish reading of it even more difficult, so in the end an apostrophe was put in its place as is commonly done in popular English. This way it could be read exactly as written, and the two previously separate words now had the unified quality of a brand.

The removal of the letter “g” and the use of the typography Future Bold sans serif in lower-case provide the brand with the precise balance between “friendly” and “technological.”

The color scheme, centered around orange, was completed with the selection of a shade of brown which created a warm and serene backdrop to the vital dynamism of the corporate orange.

As far as the apostrophe, it gained protagonism and became a key iconic element of the Visual Identity, standing out from the logotype and appearing in the majority of sales and advertising mediums.

The most rational part of the identity’s visual style is a series of 20 angular and geometric icons used to identify the different types of products (computer accessories, paper, furniture, etc.) which together with the apostrophe create a simple and easily recognizable code.

The use of the Visual Identity has extended to the stationery, packaging material, promotional material (such as the monthly publication ¡Extra, Extra!) and the yearly catalog, which is a key tool in sales. The new creativity is gradually being implemented in the exterior signs of its 140 points of sale and in its mobile delivery fleet, guided by the criteria defined in the Basic Manual of Corporate Identity.

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In 2003 Agbar Automotive proposed a new strategic plan which entailed a thorough reorganization of its activities. To carry out this plan, it was necessary to create a new brand with its own identity, capable of
withstanding the territorial expansion the company had in mind.


Description of the problem

Agbar Automotive was born in 1996 as a diversification of the Grupo Agbar in the area of TVIs (Technical Vehicle Inspection). Through its acquisitions, Iteuve Technology (a division of Agbar automotive devoted to the technical inspection of vehicles) became a leading company in Spain with an important presence in Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, China, Ecuador and Portugal.

In 2002 Agbar Automotive entered into the market of certification in construction, in the industrial sector and in Occupational Risk Prevention. In 2003 it achieved official recognition of the LGAI, joining together with more than 15 companies, between lines of business and joint ventures, which served as a base for its international expansion in the field of certification.

At first, these companies maintained their respective corporate names and identities so as to not lose their well-earned reputations. However, the complexities of management, the difficulties in creating synergies, and the need for the integration of departments and a greater exploitation of intellectual capital suggested that a change was in order.

It was necessary to reconsider the structure and identity of the company in order to internally and externally clarify what the Group had to offer the market and how it wanted to be portrayed. This meant finding a new name capable of expressing the company’s new strategy, being that the expansion of the company into new areas of activity outside the automotive sector had rendered the name Agbar Automotive obsolete.

In short, what was sought after was a new brand that could embody the corporate brand as well as the different commercial brands and act as a guarantee of quality. To achieve this, a naming process based on the methodology of Summa, was initiated.

The process

The project began with a thorough audit of each of the lines of business, establishing an international benchmark of the competition in each case, and went on to include interviews with the main managers in order to understand their vision of the business and facilitate the search for a common denominator among all of the company’s activities.

The next step was to find a brand capable of expressing all the company’s activities as well as its new strategic positioning. The desired name would literally need to have the same connotations and meanings in different cultures and languages. At the strategic level, the objective was to transmit the idea of specialization in multisector certification, suggesting essential concepts like experience, excellence, leadership, passion, independence and flexibility.

Stemming from these premises, Applus+ was born, a name that functions perfectly as a visual icon, as a brand for the whole corporate group, and as an embodiment of the commercial brands, whose names became Applus alongside a descriptor of their respective line of business.

Through the exploration of numerous design routes, the process of creating the visual identity was initiated. The chosen route opted for a symbol contained within the name and expressed exponentially. This solution, right from the beginning, facilitated the association with a symbol, that is, a representation easy to remember and decipher. The color scheme pivots around two colors: gray- technology and expertise- and orange –energy, passion and proximity-. The typography reinforces the connotations of technology and modernity through its “sans serif”* shape and contour.

The development of the visual identity contemplates the design and the definition of Applus’s endorsement policies in its various line of business, spreading out into all the mediums of identification explained in the Manual of Corporate Identity.

Results obtained

During the months that followed, the internal branding initiatives focused on “aplusisizing” the company’s different line of business, creating a new culture and language which have been adopted and internalized to perfection by the whole organization.

The change of brand has been a powerful element in making the organization as a whole more dynamic and in developing a culture and pride in belonging to the Group, which is strongly reflected in the new brand.

At the external level, the change from Agbar Automotive S.L. to Applus has generated a greater recognition of the company’s identity and strategic activities among its customers. In just a short time, the brand has established itself as a leader in Spain in the area of certification; an accomplishment whose evidence in the market has been reinforced by the new brand.

*Serif refers to the printed letter fonts whose lines have small adornments at the ends; Times, Georgia, and Times New Roman are examples of this style of letter which has classic and formal connotations. The category “sans serif” is composed of letters that have a cleaner line, without adornments, for example, Arial, Helvetica and Verdana.

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In 2001 ESADE decided to take on a branding project that would let it
project itself in a distinctive, relevant and sustainable way, in order to reinforce its competitive position, dynamize its organization and improve
its conditions for facing future challenges.


Description of the problem

ESADE began its activities in 1958 and today has more than 10.000 students and almost 26.000 alumni of 65 nationalities working in 55 different countries.

With a marked international inclination, ESADE has centers in Barcelona, Madrid, Buenos Aires and Casablanca, and maintains collaboration agreements with more than 100 universities and business schools in the five continents.

In the last few years, ESADE has put a strategic plan into action to secure a place for itself among the top European business schools, and to take on new challenges in the areas of higher education and management.

As a consequence, ESADE decided to review its branding strategy. The branding project posed several challenges: to align the brand with the process of strategic reflection which the institution was undertaking, to examine and channel the different opinions and accumulated knowledge of the organization,  and to evaluate the image and positioning of the ESADE brand in the Spanish and European market.

The process

Stemming from the critical variables (identity, image and corporate culture), SUMMA defined the most appropriate brand strategy and architecture for the present day reality of ESADE as well as its future objectives.

Alongside the strategic phase and market research carried out by SUMMA, an internal team was created within ESADE to define the identifying signs of the institution. All of ESADE’s members, administrative and service staff, professors and board of trustees participated in this process.

From the internal reflection and information acquired, SUMMA’s team of consultants defined the platform for the ESADE brand, its positioning, values, attributes and personality- in other words, the DNA of the brand.

In the conceptual phase which followed, we had to evaluate to what extent it was necessary and appropriate for the brand to change its graphic elements and from there initiate the design process. In this sense, we had to take into account that ESADE was experiencing a major transformation, but by no means did that imply a breaking away from the past. Therefore, what ESADE needed was a significant and thorough evolution, but without renouncing what it had managed to build over the years.

The technical and communicational evaluation of the existing signs revealed that the logo was acceptable, but a bit cold, lacking emotion. The symbol, however, was old and in terms of form, finite within itself, that is, without the capacity to evolve. So the decision was made to discard the symbol that had accompanied the logo for almost 40 years and focus on the evolution of the logo itself.

It wasn’t advisable to create a new symbol, as that would have required a huge effort and a significant amount of time for it to become associated with ESADE. Therefore, the idea of adding a new symbol to the logo wasn’t even explored; the idea was to find a symbol in the actual word itself, which by all means was much more famous than the image that accompanied it.

As a result of this process, and as an expression of change, a new visual identity was born that emphasized the “E” of ESADE, which is also the “E” as in Enterprise, Excellence, Evolution and Ethics, values heavily associated with the institution. The new logo combined two typographies representing the union between the 45 years of history behind the school and the new vision with which it would be looking towards the future. Its graphic layout connotes rigorousness, individual style and the desire for leadership and innovation.

The project development also contemplated a new design for the different areas and sub-brands of the organization, extending to all the mediums of identification, such as labels and signs, programs, brochures and publications, the look and feel of the website and intranet, and the alumni association magazine. A visual code was also created in order to differentiate between the university and the business school, applying common corporate criteria.


Results obtained

The new visual identity enabled the clear expression of two complementary and synergetic realities: an important university and an important business school. The first expresses rigorousness, educational excellence, historic prestige and the area of investigation. The Business School, on the other hand, helps to strengthen the links with the business world and project itself internationally.

In European and international rankings by renowned specialist publications in the area (The Financial Times, Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, among others), ESADE has achieved a leading position for three consecutive years; positioning itself among the top three European institutions and the top five in the world.

1. Program Brochures
2. Exterior Signs
3. Stand at ExpoManagement

2003 (Madrid)
(in collaboration with Stefano Colli)

4. Promotional materials
5. Presentation of the new identity to the students

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In May of 2002 the merging of two of Andorra's main banking institutions, Banc Agricol i Comercial D'Andorra and Banca Reig, was made official, forming Andbanc.

The new company combines experience and innovation, commitment to the country and an international inclination.


Background

Andorra is generally associated with mountains, snow, shopping and tax advantages. Few people however, are aware of the fact that practically all the banks in Andorra are no longer Andorran, their securities, or the majority of their capital, is now in the hands of Spanish, French or Swiss banks.

Only two banks, Banc Agricol i Comercial D’Andorra and Banca Reig, which jointly have 115 years of history behind them, maintained the tradition of the truly Andorran bank. In mid 2001, the banks merged, becoming the only independent financial institution in Andorra, and operating temporarily under the brand name Grup Agricol Reig.

A few months later, the management of the new bank decided to create one sole brand and entrusted SUMMA to carry out an ambitious branding project that would culminate in a new name and global corporate visual identity . From analysis to brand strategy, the strategic project had to repeatedly contend with a series of dualities which needed to be harmonized.

Firstly, the new bank was to offer services as a commercial bank as well as a private bank, which implied very different criteria for different audiences. Secondly, it needed to strengthen its roots with the local community, while at the same time decidedly promoting itself in the international market. Lastly, the brand needed to be based on the values and traditions of each of the merging companies while it developed new attributes to confront the challenges posed by the expansion process.

The brand vision of the new bank defined it as an Andorran banking institution (the first in the country) offering commercial and private bank services to a heterogeneous group of customers, though specializing in the management of assets and large fortunes.

Its main differentiating edge on Andorran competitors is its independence, guarantee of security and confidentiality. Its main added value is its global and personalized counseling and the exclusive service it provides for its customers. In addition, it’s the first Andorran bank to initiate the ambitious process of internationalization.


Creation of the name

In accordance with SUMMA’s naming methodology, several search paths related to the essential concepts of the brand identity were determined and developed. In this particular case, concepts such as specialization, security, solvency and capacity, origins and commitment, and internationality were explored to generate ideas. These ideas were extended through associations, intertwined, and finally filtered and selected, producing a short list, whose registration availability had been previously verified.

The process culminated in the selection of the name Andbanc.

Andbanc was the name chosen for its capacity to be at once local and global, Andorran and universal. In the domestic market, Andbanc suggests commitment, independence and a connection to the country. In the external market, it relies on the international abbreviation of the country (AND), being the first Andorran bank which makes the claim of being so.

It’s a short name, nice-sounding, easy to read and pronounce in all languages. It suggests modernity, dynamism and the desire for leadership. It’s also a direct name, without concessions, memorable and lasting.


Creation of the visual identity

The process of creating the visual identity began by exploring different paths of design which, through the use of typographies and icons, would best express the values of the brand. The name is expressed with a serif typography (“Madison” appropriately modified) to reaffirm the company’s experience and tradition in banking, values that complement, through the deliberate absence of capital letters, other values like proximity, trust and modernity.


The corporative visual concept

Without a doubt the key element to the bank’s visual identity is the red diagonal line. Diagonal as a concept and which as such goes beyond the explicit line. Diagonal without a beginning and without an end - like a ray of light, like a meridian – a way of seeing and acting, capable of manifesting and impregnating the whole surface and content of all the elements of communication and identity, independent from the logo, yet at the same time complementing it. Able to integrate and extend itself into all the mediums of communication, whether site-specific, textual, iconographic, of an informative or advertising nature.

Advertisement

Definitely an advanced and innovative identity concept, which doesn’t depend exclusively on the logo, expressed with efficiency and synergy in all of its mediums.

The colors of the identity are established in two levels: basic colors and complementary colors. The basic colors are gray and red, the complementary colors are black and white. Nevertheless, the diagonal line concept is an expression in and of itself and for this reason doesn’t necessarily need a constant link to the essential color scheme, given that it can be expressed within the typographic architecture as well as forming part of the iconographic narrative.

The sum of all of these resources together gives the brand an individual, modern and efficient style which has provided an important impulse for the organization in various strategic areas.

In just a few months the branding project has managed to strengthen the image and reputation of the new company while also being a fundamental catalyst in the creation of a new internal culture, through values and attributes which are understood and shared by all of the employees of the new bank, who, in turn, project these values outward with pride and decision.

1. Brochures
2. Annual Report 2002
3. Stationery
4. Checks
5. Forms

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How does a prestigious business maintain its image when it changes its name?  How can a brand be designed to bring added value in a sector such as Real Estate where there is normally no investment in branding?

These were the main challenges set forth when put us in charge of creating a new brand after the founding members decided to begin a new, but separate, phase.


What brand is your home?

For years Real Estate agencies have sold their promotions without needing to develop a brand and barely investing in communications.  Location and price have always been the main factors that concern the potential buyer.  So, what role does branding play in this process?  While some businesses don’t consider branding to be a key asset in the current economic context, others are working to establish a brand, preparing themselves for the near future when the current Real Estate boom may have subsided.

Laudea

For the elaboration of the new brand, SUMMA conducted a rigorous strategic analysis which was then used as the basis for defining the values, characteristics, positioning and promise of the new brand in accordance with the Board of Directors’ vision of “Being the main point of reference for quality in the Real Estate market”.  The new business was started with the intention of continuing with the experience, specializing in the promotion of the highest-quality homes located in select areas chosen with the utmost stringency.  Based on the brand strategy, the naming process was begun and the name Laudea was born (a neologism from the Latin Laus, laudo), meaning praise. 

Laudea refers to the principle attributes of the brand; recognition, status, prestige, safety and trust.  The name is short, distinctive and easy to remember, situating the brand within the appropriate frame of prestige, experience and professionalism. 

Certain brands capture their value and positioning with an omnipresent slogan in all of their publicity: Ferrovial with “Homes for living”, Grupo Pinar with “projecting the future, building the present” are a few examples.  FADESA opted to sponsor the soccer team Deportivo de La Coruña.  REALIA incorporated its logo within the design of their most emblematic project, the Kio Towers.  Grupo Lar, in its brand architecture, reflects the segmentation of the market. 

A simple, modern and effective visual identity

The next step was to create a corporate visual identity, characterized by a discreet and simple typography with a rich, elegant chromatic treatment next to an architect’s square, symbolizing excellence in construction.  From this symbol, a visual style was created, demonstrating strength and coherency in all supplementary means of brand communication such as corporate publications, commercial materials, the website, and advertising campaigns.

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