Gowlings, a leading Canadian and international law firm, and Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co, an international law firm headquartered in the U.K., joined forces to create a new international law firm named Gowling WLG (GWLG). The resulting company is now a Global 100 law firm in 18 cities across Canada, the U.K., Europe, Asia and the Middle East/Gulf Region.

Development of a new brand positioning

Ove initiated focus groups and workshops, leader interviews and competitor audits, and reviewed third party research. The outcome of Ove’s investigative process was a resounding universal consensus that what defined both organizations – and therefore should be at the heart of the new brand – was GWLG’s ability to form close, long-term, productive, effective and even enjoyable relationships with clients and colleagues. It’s about people and relationships – the clients’ world first and foremost – that defines GWLG’s ‘product’ and drives value.

Creation of a tagline

The new brand map, positioning and architecture manifested itself through a new tagline developed by Ove, “In Tune with Your World”. The positioning connects with people, is relational and builds upon an insight that clients are looking for legal counsel that understands their business as a whole, rather than just the legal practices of their business. At a time of greater opportunity with new risks and unprecedented complexity, legal advisors must be at their clients’ side – moving at their pace and focused on the results that matter. This alignment is achieved by understanding their clients’ business and their industry – their world.

A new corporate and visual identity system

The Publicis network brought Ove, Nurun, MSL Group UK, Publicis Toronto and Publicis Montreal together in collaboration to bring the new brand to life. From the logo to content-managed global website, media relations to digital tube advertising, all assets were executed around the new communication platform with the new singled-minded proposition and a fresh and distinct look and feel.

Ove’s design solution for this new combined entity was to develop a logo containing a series of concentric circles – or camera shutters – to depict the idea of focus, a ‘lens’ that brings the world of GWLG’s clients into focus, helping to highlight what matters most, the symbolic relationship GWLG has with their clients.

This iconic shape became the heart of the visual identity system and overlaid images and colour planes to signify GWLG’s focus to serve its clients by being in tune with their world and ambitious for their success. Since the brand launch, Ove continues to support Gowling WLG on various communications and strategic brand-focused initiatives.

Transitioning to be a global player

The way power gets generated, transmitted, distributed and consumed is changing and is attracting new global players to the energy sector. To act on opportunities in a disrupted industry, the brand needed to support the organization’s growth strategy and evolution of its portfolios, both locally and beyond borders.

Transitioning from services to solutions

Collaborating closely with representatives from the four legacy companies, a newly formed board, and key stakeholders, we developed a brand strategy, new name and visual identity system to transition the company from one that offers energy services to one that delivers energy solutions.

The process of developing the brand strategy was an opportunity to galvanize and engage the organization’s senior leadership team around a new raison d’être and corporate purpose. It also allowed us to get direct input from employees through an online brand and values survey. Building off of the purpose, vision and values, we developed a brand framework that included a brand promise, positioning statement and personality.

Always an ally

The in-depth discovery process led to the insight that customers wanted an ally to partner with as the world of energy transformed, and that they placed a great deal of trust in their current utility providers. This insight was the foundation for the brand promise, which is to help all stakeholders benefit from new energy sources with an emphasis on value, service and simplicity, while building confidence in the face of change. This promise manifested in the customer-centric tagline “Discover the possibilities.”

Brand expression that says it all

To be a true ally, the newly created brand had to humanize what is generally seen as a faceless sector. It needed to earn its customers’ trust and confidence and also project an image of a future of possibilities. Alectra, the Greek word for “brilliant”, did just that. Alectra said it all, human, electricity and future-focused. The name was unanimously approved by internal stakeholders, and it passed cultural linguistic testing with flying colours.

To build on the name, an equally powerful identity system was required to deliver the brand promise. Alectra was leading the way to a friendlier future in energy. The logo, a flag, became the symbol for this advancement. The name, the flag motif and the decision to use a brilliant green, all culminated in a visual brand expression that celebrated the future of possibilities. The final step was establishing Alectra’s tone of voice. Alectra had to be an ally in every interaction through all circumstances, with all stakeholders. To ensure all communications were guided by the same principles, in collaboration with the Alectra team, Ove developed a communication guide outlining what each audience should think, feel and do as a result of interacting with Alectra.

Results

One year after the brand launched, the City of Guelph voted to merge Guelph Hydro with Alectra, folding under the Alectra brand. The decision by the City of Guelph was based on a year of industry research, financial analysis and community engagement.

The resulting company, Alectra, is now the largest municipally-owned electric utility in Canada by customer base, and the second largest of its type in North America after Los Angeles. The strategic intent of being Canada’s leading integrated and innovative energy solutions provider by 2025 was supported and brought to life through a new brand strategy, name and visual identity system.

For a world-class city, there was a notable absence of a “Toronto” museum – one dedicated to showcasing the city’s history, cultural diversity, unique experiences and vibrant communities from all over the world. Simply put, there was no museum of Toronto by Toronto for both locals and visitors.

In order to truly celebrate Toronto, this museum had to be different. It needed to break the rules. If it was to be vibrant and meaningful, it had to be more than simply a place to display objects. It had to embody the Toronto experience right where it happens. In essence, the entire city of Toronto is the museum’s home.

And from that strategic approach, Myseum was conceived.

Your museum without walls

Through our brand discovery phase, we found that since Myseum did not have a physical location, its programs and activities were crucial to building early understanding about the Myseum difference and its unique mission. Collaborating with key stakeholders, we developed a clear descriptor line, building on the ‘My’ in Myseum:
Your Toronto Museum.
My Toronto, My Stories, Myseum.

Your museum, virtually anywhere

We developed a website that emphasizes a museum experience, not a brick-and-mortar location. Everything lives online – informing and engaging audiences, driving donations and serving as the virtual hub for the programs and exhibits that Myseum runs.

Spreading brand awareness by sharing untold stories

To establish Myseum as Toronto’s museum and promote its newly created brand personality, we developed an integrated brand awareness campaign for social and out-of-home, highlighting the unseen, unknown or overlooked stories from Toronto’s past and present.

That idea turned into an ongoing series of stories promoting diverse historical and contemporary Toronto stories, celebrating the unique contributions of people and communities often underrepresented or underappreciated in our city’s history. Stories included Jackie Shane – How a transgender woman from the American south took the Toronto music scene by storm, and Boris Spremo, one of Toronto’s iconic and award-winning photojournalists. Taking advantage of in-kind advertising space provided by outdoor media company, Pattison Group, the campaign ran throughout Toronto’s public transit system – interior cards were placed in trains, buses and streetcars. To bring the visual design and messaging to life, we animated the creative to run on Instagram and social media to help drive engagement and traffic to the website.

Programs and exhibits: unique identities built to express the brand

For major Myseum programs and exhibits, we developed a unique identity system for each one. This customized identity system balanced both the need to capture and express the unique attributes of each program and exhibit, then tied it back to the overall Myseum brand. These identities build brand equity for Myseum while sharing each program’s unique story. Examples of these identities are shown in the carousel of images below:

Turning a fragmented brand into a powerhouse of brand recognition and mass appeal

From issuing a driver’s license to helping Ontarians support fresh local produce, the Government of Ontario provides hundreds of vital services, many of which go unnoticed. Over the years, an abundance of distinct logos and brands had been developed for Ontario Government Ministries, Agencies and Crown Corporations. What was lacking was a central brand strategy. This resulted in a fragmented brand for Ontario that was confusing to the public.

The brand project coincided with a transformation initiative for the approximately 60,000 employees of the Ontario Public Service (OPS). This included a new vision to be a leading public service that was inclusive, innovative, responsive and accountable. The new brand had to support this transformation by inspiring employees and attracting new talent and, above all, galvanizing employees under one brand.

Working to shift public perception

Working with our partner brand strategists, LEVEL5, we conducted focus groups with the general public and interviews with elected and non-elected government stakeholders. Based on the research, the new brand needed to shift public perception of the government from being confusing and bureaucratic to being simple and easy, transparent and relevant for today.

The insights led to a new brand promise for Ontario and a new unifying tagline: “Working for you”. This statement united government services by a shared recognition that they are responsible for providing the people of Ontario with a better government experience that is focused on citizens’ needs.

Mining equity from the original Trillium

Drawing from the original 1964 Trillium logo for inspiration, the new version of the logo reconnects us to Ontario’s heritage while refinements ensure the logo meets the demands of an evolving digital world. This refreshed logo also sits harmoniously with legacy applications, implements the new brand in a measured manner and minimizes the financial impact of brand conversion.

A flexible logo to celebrate Ontario’s diversity

Deinstitutionalizing the brand in favour of one that is people-centric, the logo was designed in 13 colours. These logos can be used interchangeably, creating flexibility in the system for employees to choose a colour that best suits their communication objectives.

The creation of a new super graphic and brand architecture

A series of close-cropped angles of the Trillium became a key component of the design system and intrinsically linked the system to the new logo.

A new brand architecture was also developed to ensure ministries and agencies visually link back to the Ontario government, eliminating confusion surrounding the many different logo styles currently in use.

Few Canadian brands can claim such history, dating back to 1847. Yet when Great-West Life approached Ove with its unique opportunity, it had its sights set firmly on the future. The opportunity? Bringing together Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life into a single brand that would have an iconic presence in a crowded and commoditized marketplace.

Brand building in close collaboration with the client

After an intensive discovery of internal and external research and consultation, we worked closely with client leaders and brand teams to uncover the brand purpose. This would eventually serve as the framework and brand positioning for the launch of a unique and distinctive brand. The strategy, visual identity and voice were all under consideration.

Research unveiled a number of key insights. First, it revealed incredible equity in the Canada Life name, which would become the new brand name, encompassing all three entities. It also uncovered an untapped market opportunity based on reframing how Canadians think about insurance and wealth planning. The new vision? To shift the conversation to focus on confidence in what can be achieved today with Canada Life as a guide. The new brand positioning celebrates the here and now, while trumpeting inclusion, openness, fairness and community – the values that define and strengthen Canada today.

An identity that helps tell the brand story

Canada Life’s visual expression and brand identity were designed to help tell the brand story – guiding Canadians to reach their potential, every day. First and foremost, the Canada Life logo brings the word life to life; it’s organic and suggestive of an individual journey. Meanwhile, the continuous line treatment on the word life promotes the feeling of moving forward with confidence and a sense of direction.

Not only is the brand’s “humanness” illustrated throughout its typography, it is also expressed in photos and tone of voice. The photography is vibrant, portraying relatable everyday moments, incorporating a diverse tapestry of people, effectively aligning with the company’s goal to serve Canadians from all backgrounds and regions.

Launching the new Canada Life

With 11,000 employees and 13 million customer relationships, a lot of strategic planning was required to launch the new brand. Ove developed an “inside-out” approach to announce the brand over a phased launch, beginning with an internal communications strategy that was supported by events, videos and employee brochures.

For the external launch, it was important to introduce the new brand to Canada Life’s stakeholders so that they could help deliver the new brand’s messaging from advisors right through to customers. Print and digital out-of-home advertising, e-directs, and marketing collateral were developed to introduce the new Canada Life.

Building from the Ground Up

Capturing a new brand purpose

After conducting a competitive analysis and interviewing a number of stakeholders, Ove went through a creative process to capture the essence of the renewed business focus and super-urban strategy. This exploration played a key role in the development of a new corporate brand platform, which led to the creation of a communications platform and a new corporate identity.

Changing perceptions through communication 

We created a new tagline, “Creating thriving urban neighbourhoods” to signal the company’s shift beyond retail into building mixed-use communities of the future. It’s not just about transforming spaces, but creating vibrant places that are at the centre of people’s daily lives. 

Conveying who they are and where they’re growing 

We developed a new brand identity for First Capital – one that helped it stand apart from its competitors while capturing the spirit of innovation, community and Real Estate development. 

The new logo, a stylized city intersection, was inspired by both the cobblestones found in human-scaled communities and speech bubbles. The design is unique and distinctive in the Real Estate Sector. The colour scheme strikes a balance between the need to position the company for REIT investors while reflecting the community focus of the company.  The four organic shapes that make up the logo also act as “supergraphic” elements that are used on marketing materials.

Built for growth

BMO’s evolution from Canadian bank to a North American financial services powerhouse with global reach demanded a brand system that would support evolving banking, wealth management, and capital markets businesses as it pursued new opportunities and markets. Ove developed BMO Financial Group as a strategic, structured brand system to serve as the platform for growth.

Leveraging the strength of the iconic Bank of Montreal logo, the BMO roundel was introduced in 2002. At that time, BMO was operating more than 30 lines of business, including Harris Bank and Nesbitt Burns. The move to a shared identity signaled a renewed commitment to serving customers as a single, diversified North American bank. The identity system continues to evolve to underscore BMO’s ‘one bank’ approach to serving its customers and supporting communities.

Telling the next chapter in the BMO story

Since 1991 – through BMO’s evolution and the evolution of corporate reporting – Ove has created award-winning annual reports for the bank. These reports tell the story of BMO’s continued relevance in the marketplace, and its perspective on broader shifts in technology, society and the economy. While annual reports are by their very nature reflective, they capture a moment in time and provide an opportunity to look to the future. BMO’s annual reports tell the story of the bank’s journey and its indelible, positive impact on the financial lives of its customers and the wellbeing of their communities.

Celebrating past, present and future

Along every journey there are milestones, and Ove has been there to help BMO commemorate some of its most important moments. They are moments to reflect and reaffirm purpose and acknowledge the progress that has been made, while firmly focusing on the future and opportunities ahead.

Creating community connections

Across North America, BMO Financial Group is engaged in the communities it serves, supporting social progress and positive change. As their longstanding brand partner, Ove helps bring the BMO brand to life and reinforces its purpose to boldly grow the good. Through support of the arts, financial literacy, sport and social change initiatives, BMO is creating stronger communities. The BMO logo is iconic in towns and cities across Canada and in the U.S. markets it serves, and its ubiquity is a testament to BMO’s deep connection to its communities.