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Project Overview
There are rare opportunities when it makes complete business sense for a brand to evolve its identity. It demands good reason. This was one of those moments. The launch of the new 787-9 Dreamliners was the pinnacle behind years of capital investment in the Qantas experience. Everything from the on-board menus to the lounges to the customer service had been improved to deliver on Qantas’ promise of being the world’s leading premium airline. It had been 10 years since the last re-brand - Qantas had earned their stripes. It was time to symbolise an exciting new chapter. Time to embrace the optimistic energy of the staff. Time to capture the feeling of re-instated pride that people felt towards Australia’s most iconic brand.
Team
Marc Newson Qantas Creative Director - Qantas Olivia Wirth Qantas Group Executive Brand, Marketing and Corporate Affairs Stephanie Tully Qantas Executive Manager, Brand and Marketing Emma Kearns Qantas Head of Brand and Advertising Jonathan Thompson Qantas Senior Manager, Group Brand Strategy Mathew Mazzitelli Qantas Brand Manager Stuart O'Brien Houston CEO Joanna Lilley Houston General Manager Alex Toohey Houston Executive Creative Director James Calpis Houston Design Director Stephen Cannon Houston Designer Andrew Smith Houston Designer Dana Rogers Houston Designer Eve Murfet Houston Senior Account Director Cara Meade Houston Brand Strategist
Project Brief
It was one of Australia’s biggest briefs: Re-brand Qantas. Reflect a dynamic, premium business, enabling Qantas to compete on a global stage. On top of co-creating the new identity we worked together with a tightknit team of less than 100 Qantas employees to help drive its implementation across a range of touch points - from liveries to communications to signage. This wasn’t just a simple logo refresh, it was creating a new identity system to work across one of the world’s most iconic brands.
Project Innovation/Need
The key opportunity for us was in modernising the kangaroo and ensuring it reflected the premium offering of the brand. In collaboration with Marc Newson, we made it more streamlined, and simplified the shape. It’s evolved beyond a literal animal now – it’s more of a unique brand symbol. And while our focus was on modernising the brand, we also paid tribute to Qantas’ rich heritage. We sought inspiration from the retro flying roos, alluding to the movement of the wings with the depth and dynamism of the silver shading. There’s a sense of energy and dimension now which truly reflects the energy of the business.
Design Challenge
For the commercial need of maintaining market confidentiality, the re-design was entrusted to a small team. Within this, a handful of designers dedicated more than a year to ensuring the identity could work in over 200 applications - from the side of a plane, to a digital application to airport signage and everything in between. The variance in scale and application demanded upmost care and consideration. 1,000’s of sketches in the concept phase, perfecting the iconic kangaroo silhouette - degrees of change. And just as long handcrafting the Qantas logotype. We focused on making it more streamlined, as if air is pushing across the top. The secondary colour language focused on deepening and brightening the distinctive Qantas reds, and reflecting the landscape of Australia. It was the level of care that a brand like Qantas simply deserves - this is a brand that will outlive us all.
Effectiveness
On top of an overwhelmingly positive response from the general public and internal stakeholders, the impact of the re-brand was reflected in a range of external studies. A website to launch the new brand reached over 150,000 unique visitors, with an average dwell time of over 3 min per session. (Source: Google Analytics) A House of Brand study (March 2017) cited that Qantas maintains strong levels of brand preference, with 58% of Australians preferring to fly their national carrier. A Brand Finance study (Jan 2017) found that Qantas has continued to maintain a strong brand valuation at over US$2 Billion (December 2017), improving its peer group ranking to number 13 (up 4 places from 2016). Most impressively, a record 95% of Australian flyers consider Qantas an iconic Australian brand. (Source: Acuity study, March 2017.)
Graphic Design - Identity and Branding
This award celebrates creative and innovative design in the traditional or digital visual representation of ideas and messages. Consideration given to clarity of communication and the matching information style to audience.
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