Prepare to prevail
DRAKEN
In 2020, Draken, a company specializing in aviation services, more specifically professional training for fighter pilots, acquired Cobham Aviation Services, a carve out of Cobham International. This brought them to the forefront of the increasingly important area of Electronic Warfare. Search and Rescue Operations, MRO and Engineering strengthened their case even further. Essen was contracted to do a full rebranding.
What we did
Strategy
Brand positioning Brand platform Technical strategy Quantitative and qualitative research studies
Design
Visual identity Verbal identity Iconography Illustrations Motion design UX/UI design Website Guidelines
Content
Copywriting Scriptwriting Photography direction Motion video direction and production SEO Implementation plan Design templates Office templates
Technology
Front-end development Back-end development Prototyping Integration support
Legal
Freedom to operate search Pre-file search Protection
Uniting a diverse workforce
This project had a real cut off-point. In just four weeks, Cobham Aviation Services would lose the right to their name. The entire rebranding including collaterals needed to be launched by then. Another challenge was uniting this joint entity culturally. How could we speak to the hearts of fighter pilots, engineers and rescue personnel alike? Also, from an employer branding perspective, we needed to attract people with experience not just from the military, but also from a civil and commercial background.
Traveling at record speed
We decided to emphasize the brand’s role in the earliest stage of a mission – and to include everyone needed for a successful outcome, from pilots to engineers. The new brand platform boiled down to the customer promise: prepare to prevail. We took aesthetic inspiration from the military since it is a well-known world, comfortable to the target group. This was combined with progressive elements, reflecting the high technological aspect of the company. Brand colors, black and white, were chosen to give a trustworthy, professional impression. This was crucial when lives are at stake during high-risk daily operations. All this, together with brand architecture, a strategic platform, a new visual and verbal identity, a website, graphics, and other necessary collaterals, was delivered. In just under 4 weeks, we prevailed.
