Magellan is a top 100 ASX-listed company that grows and safeguards the wealth of its clients by investing in the world's best companies. The evolution of the brand had not been a priority despite the success and rapid growth of the business. As such, a decade after its inception, brand inconsistencies existed that needed addressing. Magellan was preparing to sponsor the Test Cricket Series, starting with the 2017/2018 Ashes, and recognised how important strong, relevant and consistent branding would be to maximise the sponsorship opportunity.
In addition, after operating in the intermediary and institutional market for over 10 years, the company had made a strategic decision to move into the direct market, however its messaging and visual language was aligned to institutional and wholesale investors.
Magellan needed help to position itself in a way that would appeal to new audiences. It required branding rules to be created to ensure consistency of application, and assistance with the rollout of the brand changes.
BrandMatters completed a competitor audit to define the position the company held in the market.
This initial investigation and brand refinement helped to define the degree of change required to the logo and visual identity, and it was recommended that a small logo evolution be undertaken.
BrandMatters refined the existing logo, and developed several versions, including a dedicated logo treatment for the Ashes sponsorship. We also refined an additional suite of logos for other brands within the Magellan Group.
We developed primary and secondary colour palettes, typography and infographic styles and documented them, with accompanying brand rules, in a set of brand guidelines. We also developed sponsorship guidelines for Magellan, which were put to use immediately with their sponsorship of the Test Cricket Series.
We developed stationery, templates, brochureware, event signage and website designs, and then guided the Magellan team through the rollout of their new brand.
The refreshed brand was rolled out successfully, and Magellan now has a clear proposition and compelling visual identity. Magellan signed as a partner of Cricket Australia to be the naming rights sponsor for the Australian Test Cricket Series, with a clear message to the direct market.
The brand initiative also resulted in a clearer internal understanding of the brand, and employee alignment behind it, and the defined brand application rules mean that the Magellan brand will be used consistently – which will strengthen the brand over time.
"We had worked with BrandMatters previously and had been very happy with their work, so it was an easy decision to contact them again. It was time for the Magellan brand to upgrade and ready itself for broader and new audiences, and the first step in that journey was our partnership with Cricket Australia and preparing for the upcoming 2017/18 Ashes series.
BrandMatters helped us in our preparations for this very public commercial activity, in particular by refining our logo and creating a compelling new visual identity - ensuring our new brand assets looked fantastic on the cricket pitch and giving our TV commercial a look and feel framework! We now have clear rules for using our brand(s) and applying our visual identity, to ensure consistency. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend BrandMatters and look forward to working with them again on future projects."
CMO, Magellan
