Welcome back to the 3G’s & MHO Checklist Series.
This is Part 8 in our series looking at logos and more specifically company logos, brand logos and product logos, for use wherever a logo will add value, including but not limited to your Facebook logo, Instagram logo, Twitter logo, LinkedIn logo, website logo, anywhere the business logo can be used to represent your business, ensure recognition, illicit positive association, and help drive sought after action.
Picking up from part 7 (which you can access at https://www.3gs.co.za/checklist-logo-logo-design-diy-or-hire-a-professional-agency-part-7/) and all other articles related to this series that you can access on our blog, lets delve into some examples where 3G’s in collaboration with Marketing Head Outsource planned, created and rolled-out logos, brand collateral and CI’s.
The example will take a case study format. In undertaking this case study, it will be broken down and aligned to each article in this series, without repeating the details of those articles. Again, you are welcome to cross-reference the individual parts of this article and its correlating article via our blog (note that links directly to the relevant extended article will appear under each section of this article)
Today’s case study: PackSolve
Pre-Part 1
This is going to be an extremely high-level, very condensed, summation of this step in the PackSolve case study. The reason for this is that it is a topic in itself, one for a possible future article or series.
Note that all aspects of the background, vision and brand equity, beyond the name generation process, of this Pre-Part 1 are applicable to various other parts as well. As is the name once generated.
Background
- 3 companies were merging to create a new, as yet unnamed, entity in order to control and leverage multiple steps in the specialist packaging value chain
- So the journey started with understanding the initial three businesses, and getting to grips with what this new business entity would be and what its intended future path may look like in terms of itself, its products and services, its customers, and various other potential stakeholders.
- Kick-off deliverable – Name Generation
The “ingredients”
- Original three companies being Dispak Packaging, The Pallet Workshop and Outsource Packaging
- Vision was to remain within the packaging industry, whilst building on the foundation of the original businesses to expand the offering as well as possibly grow further along the value chain, as driven by customer needs and industry opportunities, with custom bespoke turn-key solutions being the order of business
- Though there was brand equity in the existing companies due to their longevity as organizations, as well as their respective participation within the packaging industry, and having industry relevant naming, their actual branding left something to be desired and did not provide a foundation from which to build
The “outcome”
- Packaging abbreviated to “Pack”
- Solving customer needs abbreviated to “Solve”
- “PackSolve”
Note, there had been various iterations incorporating, combining, abbreviating and otherwise wordsmithing package, pack, custom, solutions, bespoke, synonyms and the like to name a few, but ultimately when tested and evaluated against various important metrics PackSolve was not only the clear winner, but it so aptly encapsulated the requirements set for the new name.
So now we were ready to commence with visually branding this new entity.
Part 1
Recap
- Logos serve to represent a given organization or company through a visual image that can be easily understood and recognized. A logo generally involves symbols, stylized text or both
- Has to be unique to your organization, business, brand or product so people know it is you
- Can include symbols
- Can include stylized text
- Can include symbols and text (stylized or otherwise)
- Full article: https://www.3gs.co.za/checklist-logo-logo-design-diy-or-hire-a-professional-agency-part-1/
PackSolve application
- Link to PackSolve’s logo
- Packaging = box
- Box = contain goods and allows for storage and/or transport
- PackSolve
- It is in the name
- Colouration as relates to Part 1 was that no other players in the packaging space were really leveraging this colour palette (deliberate pun) aiding noticeability and association
- See notes elsewhere under other parts as relates to colouration
Part 2
Recap
- Story-telling
- Your logo needs to enable you to tell a story, a story unique to your business / organization.
- Connecting the story about your business / organisation / service / product / offering to your business / organisation, and to your logo.
- Full article: https://www.3gs.co.za/checklist-logo-logo-design-diy-or-hire-a-professional-agency-part-2/
PackSolve application
- Link to PackSolve’s logo
- Box, we are about appropriate packaging and transportation of your goods
- Three dimensional, PackSolve looks at all aspects of your packaging needs
- Three “background” sides, as our initial components were the three packaging focused businesses that PackSolve was born out of.
- Strength in delivery and relevant solutions and expertise of the underlying businesses
- Box-within-a-box, the solution is relevant for a client’s particular needs going bigger or smaller
- Outward pointing arrows (did you see them?) reflects our vision of growing the type of relevant solutions PackSolve can provide clients
- Blue is indicative of technology and blue-sky thinking, because we are a progressive company with progressive solutions
Part 3
Recap
- Evolution and revolution of a logo
- This being applicable when a sufficiently confirmed roadmap of sorts is possible for your business / organisation from the outset.
- Full article: https://www.3gs.co.za/checklist-logo-logo-design-diy-or-hire-a-professional-agency-part-3/
PackSolve application
- Established from the outset that the business had a vision to expand its offerings into new spaces
- Its business strategy to do so was through acquisition of established progressive businesses in those spaces (mirroring how PackSolve had come about in the first place, and being structured to evolve on this basis)
- In terms of the logo the requirement was to ensure the essence of the group message remained in place, that it would always be identifiable as PackSolve, and that the name of the acquired business would form part of the new logo so as to communicate the multi-directional benefit flow between the two and leverage all possible equity within the acquired business
- Image + Name + Acquired Business = Box + PackSolve + Subscript consisting of acquired business name
- Link to PackSolve’s logo
Part 4
Recap
- Take into consideration whether there would be multiple organizations within a stable of organizations, or multiple product / service offerings within your product/service line
- Full article: https://www.3gs.co.za/checklist-logo-logo-design-diy-or-hire-a-professional-agency-part-4/
PackSolve application
- The need was that through the logo design, and resultant collateral, to encompass the holding structure as well as the operational companies
- The then new PackSolve entity was composed of multiple acquired organizations as highlighted under part 3 above
- There was a clear intent to grow through acquisition, whilst leveraging purchased name equity
- Link to PackSolve’s logo
- The ever present box would facilitate context
- The ever present PackSolve would facilitate name recognition, as well as association and incorporation of the underlying business into PackSolve
- The subscript function holder facilitates this as can be seen with, PackSolve Dispack Packing, PackSolve The Pallet Workshop, PackSolve Outsource Packaging
Part 5
Recap
- A core function of your logo is to make a good impression and leverage quality design work as an outcome of a solid Design Process and leveraging appropriate design tools
- Full article: https://www.3gs.co.za/checklist-logo-logo-design-diy-or-hire-a-professional-agency-part-5/
PackSolve application
- We followed the design process and believe we utilized the appropriate design tools to create a brand that makes a good impression, accurately communicates with purpose and intent, and adds value to the business.
- Link to PackSolve’s logo
- Jump forward a bit in time, and PackSolve has subsequently been sold, and in addition to the underlying assets, the brand equity in PackSolve was a strong positive contributing factor to the business value sold as well as bought, continuing to trade as PackSolve.
Part 6
Recap
- A core function of your logo is to represent your organisation in places/spaces.
- Rolling Out The Collateral
- Full article: https://www.3gs.co.za/checklist-logo-logo-design-diy-or-hire-a-professional-agency-part-6/
PackSolve application
- In the PackSolve collateral creation, we created all the collateral types listed in the article
- In addition we created building signage, livery for vehicles (commercial vehicles, industrial vehicles and private vehicles), branding for palettes, and for wrapping plastic, as well as various printed goods (diaries, calendars, job cards etc.)
- A selection of what we created is reflected in the sample of elements of the PackSolve CI displayed here
Part 7
Recap
- Consistency in brand application and protecting your logo and collateral.
- Enter the corporate identity document, or CI as it is also referred to, as well as the digital corporate identity, or dCI
- Full article: https://www.3gs.co.za/checklist-logo-logo-design-diy-or-hire-a-professional-agency-part-7/
PackSolve application
- PackSolve CI
- In the case of PackSolve based on the nature of their business (elements and how they conducted business) the majority of their CI focused on traditional brand application and collateral, and digital for the short to medium term was driven through their website and social media. As such a single CI was sufficient
- As PackSolve, its environment, business methodologies, and client requirements evolves, the understanding is that they will have an increased move to digital and at that time the digital component would be expanded accordingly, either within the combined CI or as a standalone dCI.
In conclusion, we hope this article has provided some context and inspiration. We look forward to sharing further examples of our work with you.
Here is to creativity that creates sustained value!
And…….. Expect more from your communication
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