Story in brief:
Imagine that you lead a strong, proud collaboration of firms in 80 countries, branded with a visual mark that no one much likes (and accordingly, weak in its bonding impact.) While still a second-tier player, you aspire to be a "bold, clear and positive leader in chosen markets and within the global accounting profession." But your visual identity simply is not that of a leader. Call Pentagram! (Actually, this was highly competitive; Pentagram was but one name on a very long list, short-listed to five, and won it with its pitch.)

This rebranding was driven almost entirely by strategic imperatives, in part a response to the image hits taken by the accounting profession in the wake of Enron, Worldcom and the like. According to Jon Geldart, who managed the current rebranding, worldwide CEO David McDonnell laid out a vision for the future in 2002. Some helpful tweaks were made, but not the "big jump forward" he really intended. In 2005 into 2006, a new review of global strategy led the Board to conclude that "we need to create a more cohesive global organization." There are many ways, many tools to make help this happen -- one of them is the brand.

McDonnell recognized the potential power of a rebranding, and Geldart joined the team in late 2005 in part to set this in motion. At launch, CEO McDonnell put it this way: "A brand is one of the most powerful tools that an organization can use to communicate accountability and leadership wherever it does business. We have created this new brand to support our global business strategy of demonstrating real leadership within our profession and becoming a more cohesive global organization."

Why the symbol, why this soft one, and why purple? Designer Angus Hyland says "They hated their existing mark so much they started to favor losing it altogether, not replacing it; but I persuaded them that in order to engineer a more cohesive global organization, it would be better to replace it with something that was more meaningful, that you could actually attach some equity, some emotion to. Difficult to do that in a logotype alone. You need a mark I think, not just a word. And we wanted a more professional service image, more fluid, less blue-chip and corporate. Gradients made it more fluid, worked well in the electronic world, and gave it a dynamism it would not have had as a solid mark.

"Purple?... as much as anything, to differentiate them in their world, where blue is by far the most conventional. We moved one notch down the color scale toward red. Purple gives them more ownership. The [mobius] form in blue would look much more ordinary; in purple it gives you a lovely mix, from lilac to deep purple."

And how was it received? Geldart reports "to use a very English phrase, the new identity has been received 'worryingly well.' To my own surprise nobody has said they don’t like it. Even though I push I’m not getting any negativity. Our people seem to be up for change."

Credits:
C.E.O. - David McDonnell
C.B.O. - John Geldart, Global Director for Marketing Communications
Identity design - Pentagram UK; Angus Hyland, Creative Partner

First Impressions:
Strategy: Rebranding, yes indeed; probably long overdue. I don't know what insiders called the old GT symbol among themselves, but it reminds me of another company's mark named "the wart." Replacing it with another symbol is sound too, to visually brand affiliates who operate under other names, as well as to express pride and confidence.
Execution: Overall, a huge improvement in presence, and professionalism. The elegant classic modern letterforms have a lot to do with that.

A minor concern is that the mobius symbol is overly dependent on capabilities of 'the electronic world' to render its 3D form, legibly, and even in this world (as on this page) it does not read well in a small size. And when 3D form can't be seen, you're back to 2D shape; then it's more of a donut (albeit one whose hole aspires to diamond-hood). This, in turn, is why color is so important here; when you can't see the form you will at least see the color. And thus, purple becomes the primary brand driver (a wee drawback, when color's not available).

Corporate Brand Matrix confirmed ratings:
0% structural, 90% strategic, 10% functional

^ top of page

Other 2008 reviews >