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SAINT-GOBAINLes Miroirs18, avenue d'Alsace92400 CourbevoieFRANCE
The logo is the expression of a brand strategy tuned to today’s communication challenges.
“Digital technology is changing how we engage with our customers. Until now, we have emphasized the decentralized nature of the Group, based on the extensive recognition our subsidiary brands enjoy among professional customers. Today, the Group wants to connect more closely with end users, the people who occupy the buildings around the world where our solutions are used. Whether people are at home, at work or on the move, Saint-Gobain materials contribute to individual wellbeing and to our collective future. Our mission? To create great living places and improve daily life.” Pierre-André de Chalendar, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Saint-Gobain
Fabrice Didier, VP Marketing: It is based around a strong mission: to create great living places and improve daily life. In fact, through its materials and solutions, Saint-Gobain is present everywhere around us in daily life, whether it’s in the workplace, in the street or at home. At the end of the day, Saint-Gobain delivers well-being to customers and end users: building occupants, users of public transport, drivers, and so on.
Charles Hufnagel, VP Communications: Saint-Gobain is concerned about the major challenges facing society as a whole: building a sustainable future, fighting climate change and dealing with population growth, for example. The Group has a number of attributes that can help tackle these issues: materials expertise, a culture of innovation, a deep understanding of customer needs and solid core values.
F.D.: We want to give greater visibility to a corporate brand that was perhaps too self-effacing in the past. In this digital era, explaining what our corporate brand stands for is not just an opportunity, it is a necessity. Consumers, the end users of our solutions, are increasingly well-informed. Today, they are in a position to make an informed choice about the products they want to use. And that is changing how we approach the market.
C.H.: It’s also an opportunity to connect better with consumers and our targets, especially in the area of recruitment. A more visible and engaging corporate brand contributes to the company’s overall attractiveness. Our commercial brands, such as Isover, Placo, CertainTeed, Sekurit, and Point.P, to name just a few, will also benefit from a stronger Group image.
Our mission: create great living places and improve daily life.
C.H.: It was crucial to find a global brand territory, which meets the challenges of corporate and marketing communication, one that expresses both the promise of immediate comfort and the long-term commitments of the Group in terms of sustainable habitat.
F.D.: For Saint-Gobain, comfort is far more than just a concept: it’s a series of benefits for end customers, which drives our product development process. Feeling good in a space depends on the temperature, the level of sound, the quality of the air, and so forth. These are fundamental aspects of comfort explored by Saint-Gobain Research & Development. And comfort contributes to well-being: well-being that we want to sustainable in the long term.
F.D.: It will renew and strengthen perceptions of our brand. It gives us a new dynamic, based on an ambitious vision for Saint-Gobain’s future. More concretely, it provides a clear strategic direction for our teams, giving meaning to our actions and engaging all Group employees worldwide. Externally, our customers will see a brand that conveys a coherent message, consistent with our long standing beliefs and core business.
C.H.: With this new logo, the Group is projecting an optimistic and enthusiastic view of the world: the freedom to work creatively in a multicultural company with recognized expertise. Internal enthusiasm is strong already. From now on, Saint-Gobain will live and communicate in color.
"It was a major challenge to meet Saint-Gobain’s requirement: rejuvenate the brand and the logo by conserving the bridge and placing more emphasis on habitat and innovative materials. The design we proposed at Terre de Sienne was widely supported for its colored “skyline” and for being faithful to the bridge symbol. The bright colors express the Group’s component parts (green for the environment, blue for innovation, and red for energy) but also the joy that united employees throughout the 350th anniversary celebrations.
They also reflected the plurality of the Group’s businesses and employees in a changing world in which Saint-Gobain is clearly proud of its brand. The typeface used for the Saint-Gobain name has been rounded to make it more fluid and flexible. Lastly, I hope that everyone will find the commitment and enthusiasm in this new logo that represent the Group’s employees.” Laurent Borderie, Creative Director
Saint-Gobain’s new positioning is the result of reflections dating from 2010 and intensive work on the brand over the past year. A far-reaching project that will impact all Saint-Gobain’s brands in 66 countries, it concerns the brand’s story as well as its identity.This evolution covers everything from the brand strategy itself, to the creation of a stronger identity, and communicating them inside and outside the Group.
To enrich the brand content, focus groups were held with consumers and professionals in six countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Denmark. Quantitative and qualitative studies concerning the visual identity were conducted in France, Asia and North America. A series of marketing workshops involving Saint-Gobain businesses completed the process. In short, it was a deep reflection supported by in-depth analyses of Saint-Gobain’s business, its markets, its customers, and end users.
This approach reflects Saint-Gobain’s desire to bring together all its corporate messages and to speak with one voice to all stakeholders. Many departments have been involved, in addition to senior management and business leaders. The brand positioning must become part of day-to-day operations. Agencies Terre de Sienne for the logo and BETC for the brand story have contributed significantly to creating this clear long-term vision aimed at making Saint-Gobain a more visible and more attractive.
