Essen International

Sandra Fors on Dole and Danish Crown

Essen International — Sat, 12 May 2012 17:08:12 +0000

Sandra Fors, Brand strategist at Essen International, shares her opinion about two brands in trouble — Dole and Danish Crown. Read the full story in Dagens Nyheter.

A visit from Broby

Essen International — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:42:28 +0000

Pernilla is our new intern this spring. She is currently studying at the Broby Grafiska – the College of Cross Media. Before that, she attended art school for two years where she discovered her passion for graphic design and branding. We hope she will have a pleasant stay with us.

The art of decision-making

christine.cederstrand — Thu, 10 May 2012 09:47:05 +0000

There’s a common conception that public sector branding is a completely different animal from “normal” branding. Our experience tells us that this is not true. The major difference lies in decision-making. In the creation of strong brands, decision-making is crucial, and democracy is lethal. Someone has to make the final decision on where we stand, what our name is, what we look like, etc. At the same time, top-down decisions where people aren’t included are detrimental.

In the public sector, decision-making is often more tricky – there are formal as well as informal influencers that create a challenging branding landscape. So, take your time to identify the process, and find out who is actually influencing it. Take your time to create a balance between getting broad support and making fierce decisions. This is the key to public sector branding.

The kings and queens of your wallet

Essen International — Fri, 04 May 2012 08:18:22 +0000

Splitting a restaurant bill is stressful. Yes, we know. But maybe our new card designs for Swedbank will make it easier, or at least a little more bearable.

We have developed a design system which covers private basic to business platinum on an international level – approximately 20 cards in total. A colour hierarchy together with patterns and innovative printing techniques will make the cards stand out from the rest. The result is a strong card portfolio that will communicate the brand both inside and outside your wallet.

Find the colour of your choice in the spectrum at your nearest Swedbank branch.

Relaunched.

Essen International — Fri, 04 May 2012 07:47:15 +0000

Branding is an organic process that never ends. 20 years ago Richard von Essen had a dream: a world-class branding firm based in Stockholm – working internationally. Today it is no dream; it is reality. Hence the name.

We have spent the last couple of months rebooting ourselves – from core to surface – and have re-launched ourselves at esseninternational.com.

Today we dream about brands with endless flexibility, brands in motion and branded environments. We dream about brands that guide and inspire people every day. We are more digital than ever and more ambitious than ever. And yes, we still dream about lovely colours.

The Big Blue

Essen International — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 08:49:16 +0000

Bankomat® is one of Sweden’s greatest heritage brands. After 50 years’ service, our task was fundamental: to bring Bankomat® into the 21st century, ready to carry on for another 50 years.

We updated the brand with a new strategy and an identity optimized for throwing the spotlight on our identity hero: the colour. The service level has been strengthened at all touch-points and the next generation of cash machines is already under way: from Ystad to Haparanda!

Bienvenue à nouveau!

Essen International — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:26:26 +0000

The last time we worked together they were Swedish. This time they are French. Absolut is back at our table and we could not be happier.

Absolut, today a part of Pernod Ricard, is one of the world´s most renowned spirit brands. Claiming spot number two in premium vodka worldwide the race for no 1 has just begun.

New energy in the studio

Essen International — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 09:35:37 +0000

Adam, our new Studio Assistant, has a great passion for design and art. After completing courses in Media Studies at upper-secondary school, he went on to complete courses in Art History at the University of Stockholm and Graphic Design at Berghs School of Communication. We are very happy to have him on our team.

Get to know the hidden enemy

Carl Johan Näs — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 07:46:07 +0000

Being different from your market competitors ought to give you a head start. If they go yellow, you go purple. It helps you stand out, and if you do it right, you attract the right people.

If only life were this easy.

Identifying your hidden enemies is a tricky but important task. By hidden enemies we mean competitors, in different industries, competing for your customers’ wallets.

When developing Fotografiska, we didn´t look at other museums. We knew they had to step outside their market. We looked at cinemas and borrowed their greatest advantage: “evening opening hours”, and so we decided to keep Fotografiska open until 9pm every day of the week. Cafés offer good coffee and parking space for prams. As a result, Fotografiska offers even better coffee and even more generous parking spaces for prams. It’s no coincidence that Fotografiska quickly became the favorite activity of men and women on parental leave.

The same way of thinking was applied to the shop. Their bags, souvenirs and entrance tickets compete with bags, tags and accessories from high-street fashion boutiques.

The point of all this rumbling is that a lot of organizations put great effort into battling against their closest competitors when the energy invested would be put to better use by expanding the entire market.

Are you ambitious?

Essen International — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:49:03 +0000

This spring, we are curating a course in brand development at the Swedish Public Relations Association. All are welcome – members as well as non-members.

The course is for those who already know the basics of brand development and want to dig deeper and understand the difference between successful and less successful branding.

The course consists of three inspiring half-day seminars and will give you useful tools to bring home.

Dates
The holy grail – 26/4 9-12.30 including lunch
The flying circus – 3/5 9-12.30 including lunch
The life of Brian – 10/5 9-12.30 including lunch