Hello and Welcome. Social are 10 this year. A landmark birthday. That’s 10 years of designing, branding, animating, directing, shooting, editing and strategising. We’ve gone rogue, we’ve gone native, we’ve gone out late and come in early, we’ve gone from Thailand to Italy to America to St. Petersburg to everywhere else in the world and back. We’ve had new people, new partners, new clients, new hairdos, big ideas, big breakthroughs, mini breakdowns, tiny sparks, temper tantrums, studio changes, wardrobe changes, and 1,000,000 cups of tea. Social is digital, film, print, photography, minor tweaks and major brand campaigns. In those 10 years, every word, every inch of film and every pixel we’ve created is packed with pride. Why do we care so very very much? Because your work is our work. It’s a no-brainer. In fact, it’s so simple, even a 10 year old could understand it.
Capital FM / Hilton Worldwide / Intel / Merrell / Ministry of Sound / Universal Music / Universal Orlando Resort / Vertigo Films / VH1
Nissan: Office branding
Hilton: Global Rebrand
Global Radio Group
Natural Retreats: Rebrand
Merrell:
Brand Awareness
Nissan Motor GB recently decided to help their employees increase their understanding of the Nissan brand and also put into practise what it stands for by bringing their brand to life in their UK head office office.
To accomplish this we were brought in to show how their office space could be used to reinforce the Nissan brand in a way that was engaging whilst avoiding obvious cliche's and images of cars that would soon fall out of date.
We set about producing bold and exciting creative, with both visual and verbal references to bring the brand ideology to life.
The result is a branded environment which is fun, inspirational and engaging and has had a particularly positive impact on staff, visitors and job candidates.
Linda Robinson, Communications Manager, Nissan Motor GB said “Everyone who visits the offices is full of praise for the work. And it is starting to do what we wanted, by making everyone question what they are producing and being able to express why it will excite their audience. The creative approach from Social really is communicating, reinforcing and promoting the brand values of Nissan, without mentioning the ‘brand’ excessively.”
Hilton, an iconic global brand struggling to define its character and relevance in the 21st century, following years of change in ownership, management and culture.
In 2006, the United States based Hilton Hotels Corporation purchased the Hotels division of Hilton Group plc, making the brand one again for the first time in 40 years. Shortly after this, the Blackstone Private Equity Group purchased Hilton. Following these changes, Hilton embarked on their most comprehensive research to date getting feedback from Guests, team members and the corporate world to accompany competitor research for accurate insight into how to move forward as one brand.
In late 2009 Social were awarded the global rebrand of Hilton Hotels & Resorts. Our role was to define, design and deliver a relevant, clear and purposeful new brand that aligns around a new customer-centric promise worldwide. The new brand will begin to roll out in the second half of 2011 via a proprietary global online system complete with built in brand approval built by Tag Worldwide.
The Brand Today: Over 540 Hotels worldwide. Over 75 countries. Over 90 years at the forefront of global hospitality. The largest Hotel chain in the world.
Our job, as Global Radio Group’s sole branding agency, was to craft the different station brands so they would coexist harmoniously in the minds of those all-important people: advertisers and listeners.
So first we set about refreshing the Heart brand to reflect its increased coverage of over 7 million listeners. Not easy when you a have a much-loved brand with a strong visual identity. Next, we got busy creating the main brand identity and campaign material for Capital FM’s major events the Jingle Bell Ball at the O2 and the annual Summertime Ball at Wembley. Attracting some of the biggest stars in the world, these needed to be fun, fresh and resonate far beyond their core teen audience.
Meanwhile, new guidelines were being designed and delivered to Xfm and now Classic FM is underway.
A fun, fast moving client.
“Social are a dream team from start to finish. They grasped the essence of the business, kept the message intact and found the balance between fun and formality.”
Global. CEO
Natural Retreats offer luxurious getaways in areas of outstanding natural beauty and National Parks in the US, UK and Ireland.
While the proposition, service and product of the company were exceptionally strong there was a real disconnect with the brand and the story they were telling. The good stuff was hidden, buried beneath seasonal sales offers and excessive copy. The real excitement in Natural Retreats lies in the commitment to truly offer a first class, bespoke service to guests and importantly to dedicate themselves to the wellbeing of the communities and environments they operate within.
Our role was to do a better job of telling that story, bringing a commercial yet earthy consistency to the collective brand image, adding life, energy and wit to the tone of voice. The brand extends onto all platforms and has began to roll out in February 2012.
For more than 26 years, Merrell has been providing outdoor enthusiasts with quality performance footwear and apparel.
As the needs of the outdoor enthusiast have changed, so too has Merrell’s approach to addressing those needs. As experts in their field they are expected to excel at outdoor performance footwear, but with the introduction of crossover footwear and a high street retail presence to what was otherwise a niche offering, the brand needs to communicate this without appearing to have forgotten its roots. The brand still maintains excellent quality and operates in a fairly narrow market enjoying fantastic brand loyalty despite suffering from poor awareness in Europe.
The brand was founded in the States and is still widely considered American, with much of it’s marketing communications, photography and general art direction being conceived for a US market. As the brand grows into more and more markets around the world there is an inevitable need to more accurately target with locality.
We have been getting to know the brand with a plan to ultimately help achieve goals in European brand positioning. Campaign image examples are taken from brand videos, outdoor campaigns and marketing materials we’ve produced.