ENGELHARD: To change the culture, change the color

New: A color change, signaling a change of strategy, culture and personality

Launched: 2002, via 2001 annual report

Story in brief:
In late 2000, President and COO Barry W. Perry assumed command of Engelhard… “a metal-banging, dirt-digging odd bird of a company” (per Financial Times, 1998) generating $4 billion in metals and mining, catalysts, pigments and such, managed as a federation of stand-alone businesses. Perry repositioned it with a technology-driven "surface and materials science" focus, and used this logo change to refocus and recharge the employee culture.

The logo color change anchored a more basic campaign to change employee ideas and actions, according to brand-manager Mike Williams: "Our personality is not blue; we want to be a RED company. BrandLogic explained that we don't have to have a red logo to be a red company... and as a proof of that just look at our web site !"

Credits:
C.E.O. - Barry Perry
Identity design - BrandLogic

First Impressions:
It's a high-impact example of a leader's use of a logo change in an act of leadership, to NAIL changes in strategic direction, expressed corporate composition, and employee (and management) culture. Stronger customer attitudes would follow... a secondary benefit.

Did it work? Per Mike Williams, “For the three years prior to Barry Perry our performance trailed all the indexes, while we’ve led the indexes in the three years since he took over, which is what you’d expect from a weak brand and a strong brand.”