Tennant Company Brand Strategy
Tennant Company needed a new brand strategy after a number of acquisitions. The first step was to create a new Company logo to better communicate an endorsed brand strategy and provide clarity to all product brands. We continued with the rest of the endorsed brand strategy among 5 other global product brands. I co-led the endorsed brand strategy development and execution across multiple global brands, including timeline planning, senior leadership communication, brand guide and template design, launch materials/communications, and marketing training sessions.
BRANDING
LOGO DESIGN
CATALOG DESIGN
Tennant Company Logo Before and After
Before
The Tennant Company logo was quite similar to the product logo and caused a lot of confusion when to use which logo. There were two treatments, the oval and the oval in the square. The square variation was actually used as the product logo as well, adding to the confusion. The font was a bit outdated and the thicker letterforms actually caused it to be less readable at smaller sizes, especially on screen. After 150 years, it was time for an update!
After
I explored a range of concepts, some departing more from the original look and some staying more similar. This option was unanimously chosen by senior leadership (I think that may be a first). I removed the oval to allow for larger text and updated the font slightly for better readability at smaller sizes. Adding “Company” underneath clarifies this is separate from the product logo. While it stays true to the original logo design of the 150 year old company, it’s different enough to minimize confusion and provides a design more inclusive of all the acquired product brands.
Brand Guide
Tennant’s brand guide hadn’t been updated in over 10 years. It was totally out of date, missing critical branding information, and didn’t even include their most recent added brands. My manager and I collaborated with global marketing directors and managers to determine and fill in missing information. This comprehensive guide included logo specifications, fonts, color palettes, brand messaging, how to use graphic elements, collateral guidelines, print collateral, photography, video, and image guidelines, trade show and premium item applications, web, email, and landing page specifications, as well as voice, tone, and technical rules for copy.
