If you are interested in branding, be sure to catch Armin’s write up of the new Daimler corporate graphics, rich with examples of its implementation, posted onUnder Consideration. I’d like to augment what Armin is saying, and direct you to a must-have annual report.
I share Armin’s unease with the faux chrome iteration of the Daimler brand mark (a throwback to less sophisticated era in branding in the ‘80’s, see visual.)
Nothing wrong with the faux-chrome look, it just seems Daimler is not in that world. And of course, Armin points out that there the faux-chrome is just one of many possible uses of the Daimler brand mark. So, set that aside. Daimler does so many other things to such perfection, they are worthy of textbook status in Expertise-Based branding. It’s a classic ‘house of brands’ approach: the individual brands have their own identities and can be sold or recapitalized without harming the mother-ship. The company is valuable for the brands it owns; at the same time, each of those brands is more valuable because of the management prowess of Daimler. Daimler brings a management expertise that gives the brands their aura.
Nowhere is this more apparent in Daimler’s 2014 annual report. The League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) ranked it #3 globally in the 2014’s crop of shareholder communications—for good reason.
Daimler carried through their metallic look in an understated, orderly, beautifully designed presentation. Everything about the organization, photography, graphic presentation, print production, paper selection, contributes to a feel of incredible precision. Nothing is an angstrom out of place! If you have anything to do with branding, call in a favor with your stock broker and lay hands on a copy of Daimler’s 2014 annual report – it’s a stunner. It certainly gets my vote the most perfect synthesis of brand statement and investor relations publication ever produced! (You can also set up an account at https://www.orderannualreports.com and get them while they last)
Hi- YO, Daimler, great job.
David Laufer is Managing Partner of BrandBook LLC, an Atlanta based design firm specializing in branding for expertise-based enterprises. He is the author of Dialogues with Creative Legends, Aha Moments in a Designer’s Career (New Riders, 2012). He is a founding trustee of the Atlanta Chapter of AIGA, the professional association for Design, and is active in Little Free Libraries, a global literacy action movement. @Dav1dLaufer – www.brandbook.us
