Started in 1991, the company has evolved from being a specialist publicity-only shop to a full-service public relations firms offering investor relations, reputation management, crisis communications, social media, cause-related marketing, lobbying and public affairs, among a bouquet of PR specialisations.
In the macro context, company chairman Marcus Brewster notes that the name change now also signals new business playing fields. "We have been offered a variety of revenue opportunities via JV and licence, some of which fall into our supply chain and others in ancillary industries.
"Evolve with current times and styles"
"We want to leverage a company platform where these new business interests can be housed. [Thus, we] wanted the branding to evolve with the current times and styles, as well as allude to the strong linkage with electronic media, hence the lowercase of the design."
Commenting on the brief, Fogel, who is a strong follower of classical design rules with an emphasis on craftsmanship, says: "The significance of the deletion of the word Publicity from the brand was the key to the design solution. I wanted to retain some elements of the old logo but very much wanted to make it more contemporary to reflect how the firm itself has evolved.
"Brewster's old logo had a retro-Hollywood look and used various elements such as art deco lettering and a monochromatic palette to connote the bygone era of a great movie studio, where stars were made by publicity.
"In the new logo, and understanding that the firm has outgrown its pure-publicity vestment, we reinterpreted the iconography of the circular planet to a fully realised globe. The four compass points allude to Brewster's international network (the firm has associate offices in London (north), Los Angeles (west) and Beijing (east). Additionally, the compass symbolism speaks to direction, guidance and leadership, all of which marcusbrewster has developed over the past 20 years."
In line with both technology, brand personality
According to Fogel, the decision to reflect the company's name in lower case was in line with both technology and brand personality. Brewster wanted to move from a monolithic CI to something that spoke to the firm's adeptness and alacrity with social and other new media technologies, as evidenced by a 2011 Gold PRISM win in the electronic PR category.
"As website and most email addresses are expressed in lowercase, this seemed an obvious solution. Secondly, Marcus has always signed his first name in lowercase so the new logo carries the fundamental stamp of its founder - the very way in which he writes his name," she concludes.
Named the 2010 AdReview PR Consultancy of the Year and the UK-based PRCA's Global Consultancy of the Year 2010, Marcus brewster reportedly set a new industry record at the 2011 PRISM Awards for PR Excellence, with 14 campaign wins across 11 different category specialisations. Some of its clients include Mango, MTN and Johns Hopkins Health and Education in South Africa.
Launched in 2002, Vanessa Fogel Design began as a specialist packaging design studio focusing on the wine and food industry. Subsequently, Fogel has built up a sizeable portfolio of corporate identity work, including the professional service, retail and hospitality industries, and has won various local and international awards.
Updated at 12.10pm on 23 May 2011
