ConAgra Foods

New:  Logo (and tagline)

Launched:  June 1, 2009

Story in brief:
ConAgra is, or was, a mysterious agribusiness conglomerate, the almost invisible presence behind scores of great old American brands, most of which it has quietly acquired in recent decades -- Chef Boyardee, Swiss Miss, Pam, Hunt's and (full disclosure) a couple I product-managed in my childhood, Gulden's Mustard and Jiffy-Pop Popcorn.  

 "Gary Rodkin, chief executive officer" (from his Website bio) "joined ConAgra Foods in October of 2005. Under his leadership, the company has transformed itself from a holding company for dozens of brands and businesses to a more unified operating company. In fact, Rodkin’s new vision statement for ConAgra Foods is 'one company, growing by nourishing lives and finding a better way today … one bite at a time'.” Add the fact that in 2008 , the company sold its commodity trading, fertilizer and ethanol businesses, to focus exclusively on its branded consumer foods (and institutional and private label foods), and you'll see the strategic purposes in this rebranding:

- A stronger corporate presence and greater awareness in the world at large;
- A more prominent role, as endorser, in its brands' marketing;
- A friendlier, more likeable corporate personality;
- A one-team culture;
- A more purely focused investment, on consumer-branded businesses.

Rodkin assigned these critical tasks to an accomplished local ad agency,  relatively inexperienced however in corporate identity design. A ConAgra spokeswoman said "It's great to use a local company when we can."

Credits:
C.E.O. - Gary Rodkin
Identity design - Bailey Lauerman agency (Omaha)

First Impressions:
Strategy:  Absolutely sound. I suspect Rodkin sees that consumers are increasingly well informed and not stupid: the real brand is the one accepting ultimate responsibility for quality and value.

Design:  Tries hard: well intentioned, inoffensive and emotionally appealing. But too busy, unresolved and unrefined. Specifically:
(1) "Foods" in a second color (whether appealing or not) does not effectively de-emphasize it (if that was intended), it merely clutters. Here, one color is better. This would be the time to promote the communicative name ConAgra, maybe even Conagra, while retaining Foods in the formal name (in text, but not the logo). In the logo, use design to say "foods."
(2)  The mark seems to have been designed with the tagline as integral - never a good idea.  Tags should be seen as easily subject to change, and are not always helpful or practical logo companions; design a  lockup but not an integration.
(3) The letterforms and kerning could use a finisher's refinement. 

But in balance, it's a significant rebranding, well messaged and with positive impact.

Other Comments:
Nick Manhart: "Food" in both the name and the slogan is redundant. Maybe the slogan could be simply "Eat well;"  I prefer slogans with action verbs!

Roger van den Bergh:  So simple, so playful, so appealing and so food-like.
No fuss, no shades, no sparkles, just great!

William Agush: It's probably coincidental that both food giants, ConAgra and Kraft, chose firms without specialization in corporate identity. Both missed opportunities to  deliver visual perfection to their strategic clarity. ConAgra says "why is there a spoon in my eye" and Kraft says splat, as in a middle-school food fight. Neither satisfies. I really don't like this trend of hiring non id firms.
 

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