CSC

New:  Company's formal name, and logo

Launched:  September 8, 2008

Story in brief:
"CSC is a global business and technology services powerhouse," says its Chairman, President and CEO Michael W. Laphen, and with 90,000 employees and revenues of $17 billion, "powerhouse" is justified.  But until now CSC has been almost a secret brand, known to insiders (notably the U.S. government) for handling the biggest, most complex and long-term projects in  outsourcing and systems integration.

Two years ago Laphen, then COO, led a strategic initiative called "Project Accelerate" which among other things called for aggressive expansion of CSC's smaller but fast-growing (and higher-margin) Business Solutions consulting arm, to a broader market.  This would require a higher public profile. Interbrand was retained for a brand review; and a little later David Booth came on board to lead it, with the new title "president of Global Sales and Marketing."

At first, Booth felt advertising could do the job, and saw no need for a logo change (the twenty-year-old logo was dated in personality, but internally popular). He soon realized, however, how powerful a visible change could be in re-charging employee energy, as well as in commanding new attention in the marketplace. Rebranding could also be used to strengthen the consistent global primacy of CSC as the cohering 'mother' brand, and accelerate conversion of acquired brands (of Covansys, for example, into CSC India).

Interbrand thus got its design brief, and responded with this wordmark-in-a-shape and with a comprehensive visual system — type, color palette and graphic forms (based on the logo shape). Business units will now use a more consistent (virtually monolithic) signature system.

Strategically related changes with rebranding impact include relocation of global headquarters (from California to Virginia/metro DC), and communication of three defining competences / reporting centers — Consulting, Outsourcing and Systems Integration.

Though the legal name is still "Computer Science Corporation," this will no longer be seen except in contracts and © lines. Formally, it's now just CSC.

Credits:
C.E.O. - Michael W. Laphen
Chief brand officer - David Booth, president Global Sales & Marketing
Identity counsel and design - Interbrand (NY)
 

First Impressions:
Strategy: Effective use of (essentially) a design change, to invite us to discover (or rethink) this company.
Name decision: While I am no fan of initials (as substitutes for names, especially when divorced from their origins), these three work better than most. And let's face it; we are running out of acceptable name options.
Design solution:   The old mark felt dated, labored, and none too legible; the new mark is a real leap in quality. The initials are nicely drawn; I like the C-C symmetry and negative spaces. Containing them in a shape makes for a stronger visual mark, like a chop. This particular shape is dynamic, in that it can be seen either as a parallelogram with sliced corners, or as the  silhouette of a 3D box; and it is especially functional, in providing a graphic device (the shaped box) that helps organize the new visual system. The warmer red is a plus, too.
 

Corporate Brand Matrix ratings:  
(Confirmed 0% structural,  100% strategic,  0% functional)