Three Brands Defining the Consumer Landscape in 2018
We’re halfway through 2018 and have witnessed an increasing number of consumer brands shift gears in the past year — reorienting themselves to the modern and ever-competitive millennial consumer landscape.
Some brands have built on their legacy to continue their evolution, such as the American Express rebrand by Pentagram; while others have rethought their complete identity with stark redesigns, like Chobani’s in-house rebrand led by Leland Maschmeyer.
But what does this mean for brands and their consumers?
Brands have to constantly shift and adapt to new market demands.
In 2018 and beyond, this means more than merely shifting their focus to the growing Millennial demographic, which is now taking up a substantial portion of the workforce and the marketplace with its $200 billion spending power.
Up until now, most brands have focused on marketing to the twenty and thirty-somethings, marginalizing the more mature consumers over fifty even though they have more disposable income, with an annual spending power of $2.3 trillion compared to millennials’ $200 billion.
“The most powerful consumer today is a woman aged 47 to 57; brands are selling to these women but they are not marketing to them,”
Sagra Maceira de Rosen, chair of the board of the Naga Brands Group.
Baby Boomers are not only more affluent than their counterparts, they are also digitally-savvy, accounting for more than 40 percent of Apple products purchased in 2012. In sum, Boomers spend the most across all product categories but are targeted by just 5–10 percent of marketing.
However, Millennials and Boomers have more things in common than you’d think.
Contemporary consumers seek to engage and do business with brands that are more conscientious about their impact in the world – this is true for millennials as well as for the mature consumers over fifty.
These consumers are actively looking for trustworthy brands, but at the same time they’re looking for a brand experience that stands out from the clutter of the marketplace.
They also want a transparent and relevant value offering, packaged as a clean and minimal brand narrative that is more elevated, and which captures a unique aspect of the human condition.
To dominate the marketplace, brands have an opportunity to differentiate themselves from what is out there, finding a unique narrative that tells their story and allows for their products and services to speak honestly and effortlessly.
So, how are the top brands thinking about their next step of their brand evolution? What direction are they following and what is their reasoning?
We’ve summed up the top three major rebrands of the last 6 months to give you some key insight about what this means for your brand.
1. American Express by Pentagram
Pentagram has refreshed the American Express visual identity, reasserting and amplifying the brand’s visual expression.
Retooling the iconic Blue Box logo, originally introduced in 1975, the new wordmark derives a typographic language that could also live outside the Blue Box to deliver a bolder, more confident expression of the brand.
The new direction is characterized by an enhanced wordmark featuring a more geometric neo-grotesk typographic style, and a move beyond its signature gradient blue backdrop into a flat yet vibrant blue.
The entire brand was rethought and carefully redesigned, from the colors to its typographic language. Identity elements, such as the “Centurion” mark or its “Member Since” flag were cleaned up to remain modern while maintaining a timeless aesthetic.
The work was initiated as part of a larger communications project that highlights Amex as a diverse business and essential part of consumers’ lives.
– Pentagram
American Express’s new identity presents a dynamic solution for its growing challenges in the digital age, while still keeping a strong focus on the people and stories that make the brand human and trustworthy for consumers today.
2. Chobani (in-house effort led by Leland Maschmeyer)
Chobani has completely rethought and redesigned its visual identity, introducing a new direction and phase for the brand.
Stepping away from its heavily geometric wordmark, which featured a cold and sterile Art Deco aesthetic, Chobani opted to introduce a new wordmark – one that is smoother, richer, and chunkier in a friendly and charismatic Serif style. The result delivers a warmer, almost nostalgic feeling for the brand.
While the old packaging strived to be visually seductive, it fell more on the generic side with colors, typographies, and ingredient shots that no longer stood out on the shelf. It wanted to capture a consumer that no longer exists through its generic ingredient and product photos, and lacking any meaningful narrative.
The new packaging has a confident and classy look, with a beautifully orchestrated hierarchy that conveys enticing and fun product stories, whether through the creative copy or its poetic watercolor ingredient illustrations, which offer the right balance of quirkiness and seriousness.
Its new off-white background color also makes a strong difference in bringing warmth to the packaging, while its green wordmark almost gives the impression of a rich yet faded black that is more sentimental.
Chobani’s new identity is bold and inventive in a space of lookalike brands, fearlessly separating itself from the competition with its own unique voice and positioning itself confidently as a leading product in its category.
3. Century 21 (in-house effort led by CEO Nick Bailey)
Century 21 has re-envisioned its visual identity, introducing a more confident and understated brand expression.
Moving away from the clunky and dated 1970’s logo that mindlessly squeezed all the letters into a very tight wordmark, Century 21’s new identity provides a bold and assertive platform for its franchises and agents.
Its new typeface is clean and elegant with a modern feel, while its sophisticated color combination of gold and dark gray is much more pleasant than the old yellow and black. The result delivers a more high-end feel to the brand.
Its new monogram offers a nuanced visual metaphor where the “21” is elegantly housed by the “C” in a balanced fashion that creates a distinctive seal. This seal is then deconstructed in its monogram pattern form which creates a compelling narrative asset.
“This is just the beginning of the bold ambitions we have for challenging existing conventions in real estate relationships and to progress the industry in ways that favor the consumer yet directly help our agents and brokers break through the clutter and noise and win in the markets they operate in,” said Cara Whitley, chief marketing officer, Century 21 Real Estate. “Our rebranding campaign is more than a logo; it is recognizing that every broker and affiliated agent has their own way of doing things that work for them, and providing a clean and clear stage for their individual personalities and unique stories to be told.”
– Century 21 Press Release
Its collateral offers a distinctive premium experience that remains modern and clean, allowing the agent and his or her listing photos to shine and be at the centerfold of the Century 21 story.
Century 21’s new identity unapologetically positions the brand as a relevant and upscale real estate firm for the twenty-first century, while giving its agents and brokers a distinctive platform to succeed in an ever-competitive landscape.
In conclusion, while each brand takes its own unique approach and design aesthetic, there is a common factor among these brands to uncover and share their core personality and DNA telling their story cohesively beyond the logo.
Brands are becoming more than just a logo, they are a breathing, living narrative that has to be intentionally sculpted to build lasting relationships with the contemporary consumer.
Wanna take your brand to the next level? Let’s talk
*Special thanks to Armin Vit / UnderConsideration
