Branding excellence at the 2016 Transform Awards Europe

For the eighth year in a row, the Transform Awards Europe has selected, assessed and awarded the best in corporate and consumer-facing branding, and rebranding. It also recognises successful partnerships, agency voices and the increasing importance of corporate communications in shaping the branding world.

The quality of entries continues to grow with every year the awards are held - 2016 is no exception, with the diversity of companies, NGOs and not-for-profit organisations providing the most colourful array of branding talent yet seen at the Transform Awards. Held in London, arguably the centre for European and worldwide branding, the awards has a specific focus on the strategy and communications behind the brands.

How a brand tells its story is of increasing importance to the corporate world.

Andrew Thomas, publishing editor of Transform magazine, says, “It’s been an amazing year for the Transform Awards. We’ve celebrated excellence in rebranding and the journeys that brands make throughout the world, Dubai, Hong Kong, New York – and now back in London. We’ve seen some amazing work. Tonight we’re very happy that so many of these dedicated organisations, agencies and branding professionals have come together to celebrate their achievements in branding, and the quality of branding seen across Europe.”

New categories included in this year’s awards see a distinct focus on brand implementation and application, highlighting the growing importance of recognising the brand development process, and its application to the built environment.

Some of the new categories included ‘Best wayfinding and signage’, and ‘Best use of typography’, as well as the ‘Best naming strategy’. The ‘Best visual identity’ award this year also included a new group of entries from the education sector, which is seeing heightened investment year on year, in an increasingly competitive environment.

Yet, it was the future of branding, and the ability to stand out among a market often saturated with any number of branding ideas, which can really be identified in the night’s two main prize winners. The recipient of ‘Best overall visual identity award’, Logitech and DesignStudio, was chosen as such due to the innovative and colourful approach to its visual identity. While the temptation for many tech companies might be remain within the comfortable realms of technology-inspired imagery and an insipid colour palette, Logitech did something different. Appealing to the youthful core of its customer base, a brand was created for the future; without losing the importance of its heritage.

Indeed, this trait is reflected by TSB and Joint, winners of the night’s Grand Prix award. Again, by drawing on the locality which underpins the brand, TSB was able to reposition itself as bank open for the people – and run by people who care. The decision to allow local branches of TSB to choose their own logos further emphasised this feeling of belonging, as well as emphasising the relationship between the brand and its customers. Without mutual respect, a brand cannot seek to move forward and develop – TSB and Joint provide a lesson in how best this can be achieved.

The full list of winners is as follows:

Best use of a visual property

Gold - UEFA/TEAM Marketing and Radiant Studios

Silver - Breast Cancer Now and The Clearing

Silver - European Flavours & Fragrances and Frank, Bright & Abel

Bronze - Christ Church Primary School and Living Group

Highly commended - AQA and Bell

Highly commended - Regent Street and Small Back Room

Best brand architecture solution

Bronze - Nuffield Health and Handsome Brands

Highly commended - Lorton Entertainment and Brand & Deliver

Best use of copy style/tone of voice

Gold - eir and Moving Brands

Silver - Hft and Clout Branding

Silver - Tesco and The Clearing

Bronze - Carbon Law Partners and Writers

Bronze - UBS and The Writer

Highly commended - Schillings and Goosebumps Brand Consultancy

Best brand experience

Silver - Morrisons and M Worldwide

Bronze - DanceEast and Spring

Bronze - eir and Moving Brands

Bronze - Tata Consultancy Services

Highly commended - Commvault and McMillan

Best use of packaging

Gold – RB and Brand Union

Silver - Marks & Spencer and DewGibbons + Partners

Silver - Merck and Creative Leap

Highly commended - Lindt & Sprüngli and DewGibbons + Partners

Best wayfinding or signage

Gold - Green Park – Oxford Properties and Endpoint

Silver - DanceEast and Spring

Bronze - Embassy Gardens – Ballymore and Endpoint

Best use of audio branding

Gold - Wiener Linien and SOUND STRATEGY and why do birds 

Silver - Åhléns City and Lexter Sound Design

Best use of typography

Gold - S Evans & Sons and Studio Jo and Co

Silver - MOL Group and GW+Co

Bronze - Eastwick and McMillan

Bronze - Nuffield Health and Handsome Brands

Highly commended - Lush Cosmetics and Dalton Maag

Best place or nation brand

Silver - Moroccan National Tourism Office and Spring

 

PROCESS

Best external stakeholder relations during a brand development project

Gold - Outsmart and Goosebumps Brand Consultancy

Silver - Tata Consultancy Services

Bronze - OneFamily and Goosebumps Brand Consultancy

Highly commended - BBC Newsbeat and Moving Brands

Highly commended - SapientNitro

Highly commended - Tata Consultancy Services

Best internal communication during a brand development project

Gold - Clarity Travel Management and Row-A

Silver - Lloyds Banking Group and Rufus Leonard

Highly commended - Atkins and Appetite           

Highly commended - Fusion and Bell

Best implementation of a brand development project

Gold - io oil & gas consulting and Bisqit

Silver - eir and Moving Brands

Silver - Outsmart and Goosebumps Brand Consultancy

Bronze - Lloyds Banking Group and Rufus Leonard

Bronze - Natilik and Rufus Leonard

Bronze - OneFamily and Goosebumps Brand Consultancy

Bronze - Tata Consultancy Services

Best implementation of a brand development project across multiple markets

Gold - Suez Environnement and GLIMMA

Bronze - Le Boat and SomeOne

 

STRATEGY

Best creative strategy

Gold - Outsmart and Goosebumps Brand Consultancy

Silver - SafeLives and PIN Creative

Silver - TSB and Joint

Bronze - eir and Moving Brands

Highly commended - Breast Cancer Now and The Clearing

Highly commended - Moroccan National Tourism Office and Spring

Best brand evolution

Gold - TSB and Joint

Silver - Jardiland and WIPbrands

Bronze - GAM and Siegel+Gale

Bronze - Merck and Creative Leap

Highly commended - Ashurst and Living Group

Best strategic/creative development of a new brand

Gold - Barkers and Handsome Brands

Silver - Dogs for Good and FleishmanHillard Fishburn

Bronze – Caledonian Sleeper and Weber Shandwick

Highly commended - Bridge Partnership and The House

Best naming strategy

Gold - Outsmart and Goosebumps Brand Consultancy

Silver - British Gas and The Writer

Silver - Givergy and Living Group

Bronze - eir and Moving Brands

Highly commended - OneFamily and Goosebumps Brand Consultancy

Highly commended - SafeLives and PIN Creative

 

TYPE

Best corporate rebrand following a merger or acquisition

Gold - OneFamily and Goosebumps Brand Consultancy

Silver - Breast Cancer Now and The Clearing

Silver - Wren Sterling and Living Group

Bronze - Amec Foster Wheeler

Best brand development project to reflect changed mission/values/positioning

Gold - bigHead and Clout Branding

Gold - Christ Church Primary School and Living Group

Silver - S Evans & Sons and Studio Jo and Co

Bronze - Rowcroft and The House

Highly commended - DPD and Lippincott

Highly commended – Vistra and Lippincott

Best brand consolidation

Gold - Bauer Media Group and The Allotment

Silver - DPD and Lippincott

Bronze - Premier Inn and Rufus Leonard

Bronze - TH White and The House 

Highly commended - Doxense and Brand Brothers

Highly commended - ODEON and Rufus Leonard

Best rebrand of a digital property

Gold - Outsmart and Goosebumps Brand Consultancy

Silver - Telenor Group and Pajama Limited

Bronze - NTT DATA Digital and Pajama Limited

Highly commended - Airbus Group and Aperto AG

Highly commended - Grupa Wirtualna Polska and BNA

 

SECTOR

Best visual identity from the charity/NGO/non-profit sector

Silver - Dogs for Good and FleishmanHillard Fishburn

Silver – Cycle Enfield and Bell

Bronze - DanceEast and Spring

Bronze - Fight for Sight and Rufus Leonard

Highly commended - Royal Albert Hall and BrandPie

Highly commended - Stand Against Violence and The Cernis Collective

Best visual identity from the education sector

Gold - Christ Church Primary School and Living Group

Bronze - Imperial College Business School and OPX

Highly commended - University of Warwick and Frank, Bright & Abel

Best visual identity from the energy & extractives sector

Silver - io oil & gas consulting and Bisqit

Bronze - MOL Group and GW+Co

Highly commended - Puma Energy and MerchantCantos

Best visual identity from the financial services sector

Silver - Wren Sterling and Living Group

Bronze - OneFamily and Goosebumps Brand Consultancy

Highly commended - CFM and Living Group

Highly commended - Pariti Finance and Brand & Deliver

Highly commended - Treuco and Branders Group AG

Best visual identity from the healthcare & pharmaceuticals sector

Gold - Merck and FutureBrand

Bronze - Independent Midwives UK and Nalla Design

Bronze - Nuffield Health and Handsome Brands

Best visual identity from the industrial & basic materials sector

Gold - S Evans & Sons and Studio Jo and Co

Silver - European Flavours & Fragrances and Frank, Bright & Abel

Bronze - bigHead and Clout Branding

Highly commended - BJS Storage & Distribution and Moirae Creative Agency

Highly commended - TH White and The House

Best visual identity from the professional services sector

Gold - Purcell and Kimpton Creative

Silver - Doxense and Brand Brothers

Bronze - NTT DATA Digital and Pajama Limited

Highly commended - Atkins and Appetite

Highly commended - CII Insurance Made Simple and Rare Breed

Best visual identity from the property sector

Silver - Liberty Living and Bisqit

Highly commended - Regent Street and Small Back Room

Best visual identity from the retail sector

Gold - Barkers and Handsome Brands

Silver - Jardiland and WIPbrands

Silver - Land Rover and Brand Union

Bronze - Revelation! and Mammal & The Cernis Collective

Highly commended - Breville and FleishmanHillard Fishburn

Highly commended - Sottini (Ideal Standard) and Conran Design Group

 

Best visual identity from the technology, media & telecommunications sector

Gold - Logitech and DesignStudio

Silver - Outsmart and Goosebumps Brand Consultancy

Bronze - eir and Moving Brands

Highly commended - .tickets and Nalla Design

Highly commended - Datum and GW+Co

Highly commended - Givergy and Living Group

Best visual identity from the travel & leisure sector

Gold - Moroccan National Tourism Office and Spring

Silver - Clarity Travel Management and Row-A

Bronze - Etihad and Landor Associates

Bronze - Shangri-La Hotel and Brand Union

 

Best overall visual identity

Logitech and DesignStudio

Grand Prix

TSB and Joint