Best in brand development honoured at Transform Awards Europe

Every year, the Transform Awards sets the standard for brand development, rebranding and brand positioning work in Europe. Work from all sectors, sizes of business, platform and region is received. Yet, what also changes every year is the quality of rebranding and brand development projects and thus, the standard by which they are judged.

While this means the awards set a stronger benchmark each year, it also reflects the growing prevalence of brand in corporate communications. The corporate brand – and its implementation, positioning and creativity – has become one of the most valuable assets a business owns. Its value may be intangible, but its worth is apparent.

For Transform Awards judges, the task of assigning accolades on the entrants to the Transform Awards Europe was not easy. Brittany Golob, editor of Transform magazine, says, “The companies shortlisted tonight are those that truly understand the need for a sustainable, viable and strategic brand. They share is a commitment to creating the best brand for a company’s stakeholders.  New areas have developed over the past six years that exemplify the shift in brand development. The Transform Awards is proud to benchmark excellence in rebranding, brand development and brand strategy. We congratulate all of this year’s winners.”

New awards were distributed in the ‘Best use of audio branding,’ ‘Best brand experience,’ ‘Best use of wayfinding or signage’ and ‘Best use of packaging’ categories; demonstrating the evolution of brand communications to encompass all touchpoints between stakeholders and the company itself. Other areas like, ‘Best use of copy style/tone of voice’ and the two implementation categories have also seen high levels of interest and success in recent years.

However, strategy has always been first and foremost for Transform Awards judges. The panel chose to award two projects that brought to life integrated strategic thinking that sought to redefine not just the individual company brands but the brands’ sectors as well with ‘Best visual identity’ and the 2015 Grand Prix. The former, which was given to shopping centre owner intu and Landor lauded the way in which the project took economically-destructive shopping trends for physical stores – like the digital shopping experience – and used them to intu’s advantage. The result was a new approach to the experience of a shopping centre.

Grand Prix winners Fitness First and the Clearing were rewarded for their psychologically-focused, reinterpretation of the place fitness centres have in users’ lifestyles. They defined fitness as something beyond the treadmill or the aerobics class and sought to make the experience of visiting a gym a seamless integration from the modern lifestyle by using digital interactivity, one-on-one attention and personal goal-driven attitudes.

The Transform Awards Europe followed the Transform Conference, which examined brand experience, reputation, sensory branding, brand language and sustainability. For more, click here.

The full list of winners is as follows:

Content

Best use of a visual property
Gold – Baku and SomeOne
Silver – Oryx Energies and Handsome Brands
Bronze – RNLI and Missouri Creative
Bronze – Wilfords and Ideas Factory
Highly commended – Antler and Mammal and The Cernis Collective
Highly commended – Aston University Careers and Placements and IE Design Consultancy
Highly commended – East Village and Small Back Room

Best brand architecture solution
Gold – Canary Wharf Group and Sutton Young
Silver – TT Electronics and Emperor
Bronze – Connect Group PLC and Creative Leap
Highly commended – IHTSDO and Nucleus

Best use of copy style/tone of voice
Gold – O2  and The Writer
Silver – One Feeds Two and The Clearing
Silver – Schillings and Goosebumps Brand Consultancy
Bronze – Relish, UK Broadband and Turquoise Branding
Highly commended – Aston University Careers and Placements and IE Design Consultancy
Highly commended – Lend Lease and Small Back Room
Highly commended – The World’s Strongest Man and Brand & Deliver

Best brand experience
Gold – Wellcome Collection and True North
Silver – Duke St. Emporium, Jigsaw Group and Dalziel and Pow Design Consultants
Bronze – Cluttons and Industry
Highly commended – Design Management Institute and Lippincott

Best use of packaging
Gold – Monty Bojangles and Springetts Brand Design Consultants
Silver – OPPO and Landor Associates
Highly commended – Gallina Blanca and Branward

Best use of audio branding
Gold – Burkhardtsmaier and why do birds
Silver – Deutsche Bahn AG and why do birds
Silver – Unibail–Rodamco, Nova Lund and Radja Sound Design Agency
Bronze – Ehrmann AG and iV2

Process

Best external relations during a brand development project
Gold – Sage
Silver – International Association of Oil & Gas Producers and Bisqit
Highly commended – Bluewater and Rocket Content Marketing

Best implementation of a brand development project
Gold – intu and Landor Associates
Gold – Sage
Silver – Fitness First and The Clearing
Bronze – University of Reading and Bell Integrated Communications
Highly commended – Cancer Research UK and SomeOne
Highly commended – Capsticks and David Carroll & Co

Best implementation of a brand development project across multiple markets
Gold – Oryx Energies and Handsome Brands
Silver – Oettinger Davidoff Group and DewGibbons + Partners and Johnny Fearless
Silver – Sage
Bronze – HealthcareUK and Appetite Consultancy
Highly commended – Petainer and The House
Highly commended – Bluewater and Rocket Content Marketing

Strategy

Best creative strategy
Gold – Airbnb and DesignStudio
Silver – Relish, UK Broadband and Turquoise Branding
Silver – Veyo and Industry
Bronze – University of Reading and Bell Integrated Communications
Highly commended – Murata and Living Group
Highly commended – Sage

Best brand evolution
Gold – Fitness First and The Clearing
Silver – Cambridge Literary Festival and Fishburn
Silver – One Feeds Two and The Clearing
Bronze – RNLI and Missouri Creative
Bronze – Southwest Airlines and Lippincott
Highly commended – Pearson English and Goosebumps Brand Consultancy
Highly commended – Sage

Best strategic/creative development of a new brand
Gold – Oettinger Davidoff Group and DewGibbons + Partners and Johhny Fearless
Silver – Pearson English and Goosebumps Brand Consultancy
Silver – Relish, UK Broadband and Turquoise Branding
Bronze – Balfour Beatty WorkSmart and The Workroom
Bronze – Halfords and Springetts Brand Design Consultants
Highly commended – Rapport Guest Service and FRASERS
Highly commended – Veyo and Industry

Type

Best corporate rebrand following a merger or acquisition
Gold  – Pearson English and Goosebumps Brand Consultancy
Gold – Simplyco and Studio North
Silver – Connect Group PLC and Creative Leap
Bronze – DNVGL and Landor Associates
Highly commended – Bluewater and Rocket Content Marketing

Best brand development project to reflect changed mission/values/positioning
Gold – Fitness First and The Clearing
Silver – Capsticks and David Carroll & Co
Silver – Pearson English and Goosebumps Brand Consultancy
Bronze – Butlin’s Firehouse and Mystery Ltd
Highly commended – Cluttons and Industry
Highly commended – YMCA and ArthurSteenHorneAdamson (ASHA)

Best brand consolidation
Gold – RNLI and Missouri Creative
Silver – Pearson English and Goosebumps Brand Consultancy
Bronze – WorldPay and SomeOne
Highly commended – Blue Matrix and Living Group
Highly commended – Deutsche Telekom AG
Highly commended – TT Electronics and Emperor

Best rebrand of a digital property
Gold – Wirtualna Polska and BNA
Silver – Fliks and Impero
Bronze – 1ST CENTRAL
Highly commended – Design Management Institute and Lippincott
Highly commended – SmartFocus and Lab

Sector

Best visual identity from a charity, NGO or NFP
Gold – One Feeds Two and The Clearing
Silver – RNLI and Missouri Creative
Silver – University of Reading and Bell Integrated Communications
Bronze – The Children’s Society and SomeOne
Bronze – Bury Council and Sport England and True North
Highly commended – NUS and Spencer du Bois
Highly commended – YMCA and ArthurSteenHorneAdamson (ASHA)

Best visual identity from the energy & extractives sector
Gold – Suncor and Appetite Consultancy
Silver – International Association of Oil & Gas Producers and Bisqit

Best visual identity from the financial services sector
Gold – Simplyco and Studio North
Silver – Scottish Widows and Rufus Leonard
Bronze – ERS and ArthurSteenHorneAdamson (ASHA)
Bronze – WorldPay and SomeOne
Highly commended – Currencies Direct and The Allotment
Highly commended – Wealth Horizon and Mytton Williams

Best visual identity from the healthcare sector
Gold – HealthcareUK and Appetite Consultancy
Gold – Prima Dental and The House
Bronze – Bachem and Branders

Best visual identity from the industrial & basic materials sector
Gold – Saelen TS Industrie and Brand Brothers
Silver – Petainer and The House

Best visual identity from the professional services sector
Gold – Marlin Hawk and The Allotment
Silver – Pearson English and Goosebumps Brand Consultancy
Bronze – Mitie and Luminous
Bronze – Veyo and Industry
Highly commended – Gün & Partners and Uffindell Group Limited
Highly commended – Ubeeqo and Brand Brothers
Highly commended – Wilberforce Chambers and Studio Jo and Co

Best visual identity from the property sector
Gold – L&Q – The Schoolyard
Silver – East Village and Small Back Room
Silver – L&Q – The City Mills
Bronze – Veyo and Industry
Highly commended – Get Living London and Small Back Room
Highly commended – Wrenbridge, Legal & General and Ideas Factory

Best visual identity from the retail sector
Gold – intu and Landor Associates
Silver – Antler and Mammal and The Cernis Collective
Silver – Apothecary 87 and Attract
Bronze – Mr Boho and Baud
Highly commended – Cordello Home and Living Group

Best visual identity from the technology, media & telecommunications sector
Gold – Veyo and Industry
Silver – Relish, UK Broadband and Turquoise Branding
Bronze – Texthelp and Fishburn
Highly commended – Murata and Living Group
Highly commended – Wirtualna Polska and BNA

Best visual identity from the travel & leisure sector
Gold – Southwest Airlines and Lippincott
Silver – Airbnb and DesignStudio

Best overall visual identity
intu and Landor

Grand Prix
Fitness First and The Clearing