Avison Young - Ove Brand Design

How do you capture
an organization’s
purpose in a persuasive
value proposition?

A modern illustration of working group in an office by Pascal Blanchet

How do you capture an organization’s purpose in a persuasive value proposition?

People at a city street intersection in the global pandemic environment.

THE OPPORTUNITY

2020 brought many changes, making it more important than ever to clearly articulate why you matter and how you are different. In an evolving and competitive commercial real estate sector, Avison Young came to Ove to define and articulate its purpose and update its visual identity.

THE OUTCOME

With a clear sense of purpose and aligned values, the organization has a concrete path to guide it through the new realities of real estate. The bold new identity helps Avison Young stand out as a challenger brand in a crowded market.

Defining Avison Young’s brand purpose required a deep understanding of its business environment and its distinct culture of combining time-tested values with fresh thinking.

Avison Young is built around the future of real estate. A future based on an open ecosystem of information that is attracting technology-first disruptors. This industry shift is also happening amidst increased public expectations of companies – the companies people work for, buy from, and invest in – to address societal challenges.

Our strategy driven by insight

Through surveys, interviews, sector research and workshops, our key insight was that commercial real estate isn’t just about buildings, offices, warehouses or cities but about creating winning conditions for the people, the businesses and the communities in them to thrive.

The brand purpose

Following internal stakeholder engagement, Ove worked with the senior leadership team to develop the brand purpose: To create real economic, social and environmental value, powered by people. Based on a unique culture combined with an emerging strength in data-driven intelligence, Avison Young is well positioned to deliver on this, both now and into the future.

A collaborative workshop with the client with closeups of a colour wheel study and various territory ideas.

This renewed expression of the value we deliver for our people, our clients and our communities is aligned to our transformative position as a challenger brand.”
Molly Kelly, Principal, Global Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Avison Young

Clutter-breaking visual identity

Ove brought this brand purpose to life with a new brand identity program that expresses the incredible strength and potential Avison Young brings as a company. The new look exudes the energy of a challenger and projects key aspects of the purpose: people-centric and responsible.

Some minor refinements to the existing corporate wordmark were made to increase impact and legibility across a variety of platforms. This included migrating from the traditional red and blue to an all-black logo that conveys strength and confidence and clearly breaks away from its peer group. We partnered with Quebec artist and illustrator Pascal Blanchet to create a proprietary set of visual assets. The illustrations have a timeless, bold style that puts people at the centre, with energy and a human quality.

Poised for impact

Launching in 2020, in the middle of a pandemic, it’s more important than ever to be clear about why Avison Young matters and how they are different. The Avison Young internal marketing communication team managed the full implementation of the new program. With a clear sense of purpose and aligned values, the organization has a concrete path to guide them to create positive impact within new and ever-changing real estate realities.