France
Paris
The first project run by our office in Mexico couldn’t be more emblematic – the creation of a fresh visual identity system for Olmeca Altos Tequila. In order to create a new global expression of the brand which is sold more than 51 countries – Mexico, United States and the UK being the lead markets – we pulled together a dedicated team of creative experts from our CBA LatAm + CBA London offices, a partnership that combines local cultural expertise and global systems vision.
Olmeca Altos Tequila is a super-premium brand that honours the quality and tradition of true Mexican Tequila – from the planting and harvesting of the agave to the distillation and ageing process – the brand is full of features that evoke Mexico’s cultural heritage.
Our challenge was to rethink Olmeca Altos’ visual identity system to reflect the brand’s essence, highlighting its authenticity and showcasing the energy and vitality of contemporary Mexico in a fresh, engaging and iconic way.
To create Olmeca Altos Tequila’s new identity, we used CBA’s Brand Senses methodology – which explores the expression of the brand through all five senses – to establish the brand principles and create the foundations to develop a flexible design system able to provide versatility and rhythm to different communication occasions.
We celebrated the iconic Olmeca Altos bottle as the core element of the brand’s new visual universe, symbolising the quality and authenticity of the spirits creation, as well as the human and artisanal touch. The characteristic shape of Olmeca Altos’ hammered bottle becomes the brand signature, distinguishing it from the other tequilas.
To support the iconic bottle, we built an identity system to convey the complete brand story. To demonstrate the brand’s contrasts and vivacity, we used the iconic blue as our base but built in additional tonal colours to create diversity and pace. We redefined the typography and photographic style with fresh expressions of modern Mexico; and through our authentic and sustainable materials palette we suggested on-trade and and off-trade environments that allowed our consumers to feel the Olmeca Altos experience.
In total the new design system for Olmeca Altos Tequila showcases not only the tradition of the Mexican culture but also its contemporary sophistication.
Through our final toolkit we have armed Olmeca Altos with all the necessary tools to communicate consistently and with a celebratory attitude. The outcome is a dynamic brand experience, richly representing the many authentic facets of Mexico.
A French brand holding a tradition in bakery decides to make bread for a target made of bread lovers and consumers. That was how we faced the challenge Norac brought over to us. Norac Foods Group, born 30 years ago in France is now in Brazil since 2011, with the brand Ateliê.
Ateliê produces and distributes fresh and ready-to-eat products in the sandwich and salad segments. The group decided, in the peak of its expertise in bakery and confectionery, that it should expand the business and produce larger amounts, just like the way it’s already done in its native country.
For jumping in this new opportunity, they needed a platform that was able to embrace the new business direction: a different brand in terms of range and production scale – but keeping the French baker, boulangère and bread expert essence.
The actual challenge was twofold: developing a unique value proposition for the brand, with such a motivation that it would hook people’s interest, making them consider and consume it; besides that, we would create this new brand from scratch. Actually not from scratch, considering the French core was always there to enhance it.
However, it would be necessary to shape the platform and create the brand’s strategy, identity, proprietary elements, and finally the packs.
As we use to say, ‘Art & Science’, a kind of work we love doing: combining strategic and analytic thinking with the creative and intuitive force of design.
Pushed by the brand’s pillars and its “brand pulse”, we jointly got to the conclusion that the name should be suggestive to evoke the brand’s territory, as well as sonorous, easy-to-get, reinforcing its French roots.
From that on, we set off to the defiant task of generating ideas for the name itself. It was a cheered-up, light and relaxed process, which in the end resulted in a name with the needed differentiation aspired by the brand.
With the name set up, we set off to its identity. As of the brand’s pillars – care, handcrafted, joy & practicality – as well as a look into the category, we went in search for identifying the visual codes. If on the one hand we wanted to convey the French expertise and tradition, we were also aware about the need of balancing modernity and tradition, also bringing up the matter of family in a different and singular way – after all, the sharing of bread is a strong symbol of care and affection. So we got to the point of grasping the consumption habits of customers, so that we could build up the brand’s strategic lines.
We carried out qualitative and quantitative researches with the brand’s potential consumers in order to get genuine insights, and then started developing a “look and feel” to the new identity, with a handcraft touch, fun iconography, colors, a joyful and positive graphic and photographic style.
The brand’s typical relaxation enables the interaction between the illustrations and the products, creating unwonted and fun situations. The icons give the sensation of being handmade. Just like Paderrí’s baguettes, madeleines and crepes.
Fresh products, prepared out from homemade recipes with an unmistakable handcraft touch.
Imagine the responsibility of working with a product that is present in Peruvians’ lives since 1927. Sublime counts on a huge penetration in Peru and lots of meanings to its consumers: the chocolate for relaxing from everyday pressure, childhood’s taste, affection at any time.
Relevant to all those who consume it and to Nestlé Peru (the country’s second most important brand), the brand needed to revitalize its story, renew its identity and, through its iconic and proprietary features, settle its importance in the context of national market.
As a long-time partner, CBA accepted the challenge of reworking Sublime brand through an extensive branding perspective: brand architecture, visual identity, packaging, and finally a global vision integrated with all of the brand’s touch points.
As of Sublime’s essence, “Recarga el buen ánimo”, we proposed to build an extremely structured design system to work its strong identity in a way to contemplate all touch points and reinforce the portfolio strategy.
Along with Nestlé Peru’s marketing, research and innovation teams, CBA B+G carried out an extensive workshop on Brand Senses, a methodology for exploring the brand’s five senses and helping the establishment of the guiding principles of the whole brand identity. The contrast and joy on the colors (vision), the rhythm, the smile, the laughing inspired by the brand (sound), the product’s crunchiness with those little pieces mixed to the chocolate (palate).
Working on the brand’s senses was critical to the next step: exploring different insights to the same message of the brand’s optimism, respecting its essence and its expression territory.
The new identity kept the brand’s proprietary elements, although they were evolved: the trace became a smile and its color system was totally redefined in a way to get closer to Sublime’s inherent senses:
A balance between the iconic blue and silver but added to a color palette full of energy.
We carried out countless material tests and colors to get to the desired contrast. We studied the application of the substrates in different materials, paperboard, laminated – and how it would react when in display racks; we highlighted the contrasts between matte, brightness and color.
Besides recreating all design system and developing a guide on the brand’s use and application (‘brand look’), the most incredible outcome was its cross impact: total integration with the brand communication. As of a consistent and collective work of renewing the identity, JWT, the agency responsible for the brand’s communication adopted a new positioning, the internal staff restructured its product portfolio, the event agency applied the brand’s new concepts as well.
A great case of commitment and integration, which is worth a relevant brand such as Sublime.
This project won one of the four awards we have earned in the Effie Awards 2019 (Peru), an internationally renowned and respected award in the marketing and communication industry. Sublime received a prize for the advertising campaign “Vístete con una Sonrisa”.
Although enjoying a strong market share in the country chocolate market, Nestlé Peru had not yet entered the premium segment, which has been growing in importance and relevance over the years. So, the company decided to ask its consumers which of their portfolio brands would better fit the premium category, and D’Onofrio was the answer – a centenary brand loved by Peruvians.
Besides understanding which brand would better fit the new segment, a yet more important question has arisen: what does it mean being premium, after all?
For Peruvians, sophistication comes from origin. They take pride in their ancestral roots and the popular culture is their most precious asset.
Therefore, our first move was to explore the country traditions. Together with a team from Nestlé we traveled around Peru to get a close look at their fairs, villages, and cities, taking a deep dive into the local culture and costumes. Then, we went to the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. We visited small and medium-scale cocoa farms where farmers, together with their families, produce the best and purest cocoa paste in the country. We have learned that it takes 3 to 5 years to complete the cultivation cycle, from sowing to the first harvest.
Inspired by the living contact with the local culture and tradition, we moved to the next step – the creation of the new chocolate brand concept. We studied D’Onofrio Masterbrand’s strategic documents, such as the essence, consumer profile, market surveys and the existing brand portfolio, that already has premium Panettones. Based on the living experience and adding the strategic analysis, we developed the creative concept for the whole line. Inspired by the abundance of the rainforest, we have created an illustration that represents the cocoa in its environment. The colors chosen were also inspired by nature, with earthy pastel tones. The copper tone contrasts with the other colors highlighting the quality and care of the new premium line.
We have presented visual codes for the parent brand, such as typography, colors, patterns, textures, and hierarchy of elements, besides the naming strategy. These cross elements are the foundation for the graphic system of the new brand, named D’Onofrio Reserva.
To complete the brand rationale, we felt the urge to add an important element: the cocoa origin history. This emotional element, essential to lend credibility to the new line and build a connection with people, is in the inside of the packaging. Following the creative concept El tiempo sabe lo que hace (time knows best), stories are told, enhancing the cultivation, the harvest, and the selection of the best beans. It is a product that cherishes the making of chocolate, the time and dedication behind its production. A line of chocolates that values authentic recipes and the respect for the origin, producers, and ingredients, as do the Peruvians.
D’Onofrio Reserva line has 70% cocoa bars, bonbons and pralines, all wrapped in vibrant colors and traditions of the Peruvian culture.
Braskem’s renewably sourced polyethylene – a result of the combination of innovation, technology and sustainable development – was conceived to promote a better impact to the environment.
In line with the company’s commitment to Circular Economy, the I’m green™ bio-based plastic resin, produced from a renewable raw-material – sugar cane –, is now considered a business opportunity, due to the product’s contribution in reducing carbon footprint.
To start the brand repositioning, our team’s first move was to explore. We studied the category in-depth, analyzed the brand history up to the present moment and – a particularly important step – we interviewed several of the brand stakeholders – from Braskem’s employees, clients, to recycling companies.
During this phase of study, we dived deep into the company’s portfolio of circular economy related products with renewable and recycled source solutions, and a point got very clear: why not join these resins in a single portfolio, combining the quality of their deliveries?
This idea stood as a key point in the next phase of the project when we in fact started to build the brand’s new strategic positioning. Based on the fact that I’m green™ is already a recognized brand in the market, acknowledged by the partners that promote this chain, moreover presenting an innovative feature, why not take advantage of its own brand to expand the scope, making it represent Braskem’s portfolio of products with a Circular Economy approach?
With the survey inputs at hand, the next step of the project was to answer the question: Ok, but how are we going to make it happen? What is the best way to enlarge the portfolio and how should we handle each solution? To solve the challenge, we held a Sprint Lab workshop. For two days, we and Braskem’s team of professionals from all over the world have worked collaboratively, developing together the new portfolio architecture, with an expanded brand identity and new visual routes to be explored.
To highlight the strong points of the existing products from renewable and recyclable sources and their similar values, aligned with the Circular Economy, we have started by defining the purpose, personality, and essence of Braskem’s set of offers. At this point, our strategy and design teams worked closely together. For all to understand how to deal with the brands as a whole, we have created visual prototypes to make possible changes – as well as their impact – tangible. These prototypes were then presented in a survey conducted with clients and partners, to capture their feelings about the new organization of the brand’s portfolio, where I’m green™ featured as a Masterbrand and, under it, stood the products from bio-based and recycled sources.
In order to add force to I’m green™’s identity, a verbal language was established based on the new strategic settings. Purpose and essence were the foundation for the definition of the key messages and the brand’s tone of voice. The Masterbrand visual identity was updated, and products sub-brands were created to work together with the existing visual concept. Moreover, the look & feel was developed to design a more modern and updated portfolio. The verbal and visual work has culminated with the creation of the products’ Brand Guidelines and the Brand Book for I’m green™ Masterbrand.
The official launch of the new Masterbrand and the products sub-brands was announced at the end of 2019, at K Trade Fair, an important fair for the plastic and rubber industry that takes place in Dusseldorf, Germany. So, with a renewed look and purpose, I’m green™ was reintroduced to the global Market, leveraging Braskem’s presence with sustainable solutions and reinforcing the company’s commitment to Circular Economy.
Note: the content of this text refers to CBA B+G case created for I’m green™.
This project won the Nielsen Design Impact Awards 2019, a global award that highlights cases of packaging redesign, assessing them as marketing tools. Prestígio’s packaging redesign stood out for increasing the brand’s sales by 46% after the new packaging reached the POS. In 2018, it was also awarded for ABRE Brazilian Packaging Award and Grandes Cases de Embalagem.
Prestígio is natural coconut, Prestígio is Brazil.
Created in 1961, and up to now a synonym for homemade recipes with coconut and chocolate, Prestígio is a genuine Brazilian chocolate deservedly recognized as one of Brazil’s symbolic brands.
Attentive to consumers’ tendencies and desire for more and more natural products, the Swiss multinational, as a leader in products which join nutrition, health and wellness, decided to renew the Prestígio brand. The preservation of its ‘natural coconut origin’ essence was established as the main goal, and CBA B+G was invited to the challenge of reconnecting the brand with its Brazilian chocolovers.
Despite being a traditional brand, preserving its memory is important.
So we started off from the brand’s archeology, in a way to rescue its codes and original shapes and visuals, the fundamental elements for settling down Prestígio’s essence and positioning. In order to grasp the real meaning behind the visual codes and reconnect them with its target audience, we carried out dense exploratory researches, both quantitative and qualitative, always checking the brand’s preliminary concepts and triggers. The research oriented a creative process that gathered strategy, research and design staff.
Hundreds of consumers from several Brazilian states were considered in a deep semiotic study with lots of learnings. We also carried out the Brand Senses methodology, which explores the brand’s five senses and orients the guiding principles that would shape the creative path to reconnecting with its identity: fresh air, nature sounds, the perfect combination of natural coconut and chocolate flavors.
The outcome from the strategy and design works was the translation of all we heard from Prestígio consumers. Its iconic elements – the red color, the textures and the coconut were kept on, although represented in a more natural and authentic way. The sign typography, also recalling a more natural and truthful feeling. On the packaging, wooden boards, slivered ingredients, details in green – nature showing off closer to reality. The boxes were finished with embossment and textures to reinforce the brand’s sensorial aspect. An authentic simplicity to the exact Prestígio extent.
To reinforce its leadership as a music expert, MTV hacked the world of music in a co-creation Project involving studies and surveys with its audience and music specialists.
The outcome was a platform that helps brands explore the music world as a way to connect to its audience – the MTV Music Hack.
We not only helped with the extensive strategic work of developing the platform (we carried on surveys and hacklabs about music platforms with music specialists, producers and beat makers in our hubs in São Paulo), but we also created the information material – an inspirational and strategic support guide for advertisers who wish to create music projects in partnership with the company.
We developed the concept, content and design of the catalogue, which is totally inspired by the music world. Alluding to a DJ pick up, the material is divided into 4 discs – each one representing a trend that has been impacting the musical world (involvement, customization, interactivity and surprise) which, combined with a musical experience, works as inspiration for new actions from MTV and its partners.
MTV Music Hack is an excellent job example where strategy, studies and labs evolve into a real and valuable product for the client – and in this case, for the client’s partners as well.
This project won the 2nd Abigraf SP Award (Brazilian Printing Industry Association), a prize we have won three times in the category of Best Design and Innovation. MTV Music Hack was awarded for the ‘Catalogue/brochure –visual concept and design of catalogue for clients’.
