Q&E gives life to CIC’s new brand identity
In 2011, leading Sri Lankan conglomerate CIC Holdings found itself at
crossroads: although the company had become synonymous with chemicals
and paints, its dynamic growth was increasingly driven by its
agricultural businesses, creating a discontent in the minds of
consumers. The brand was in urgent need of more than just a fresh coat
of paint. CIC needed to map out a fresh brand strategy that allowed it
to bridge the gap between its actual positioning and consumers’
perceptions.
Q&E stepped into this gap, leveraging its team of brand architects
and designers to create a new CIC brand identity that would help CIC
build awareness of its strategic direction while solidifying its
leadership position and enhancing customer loyalty. As an insight-driven
marketing and communications specialist, Q&E began the rebranding
exercise by conducting extensive research to evaluate CIC’s vision,
strategies, goals and values, as well as its existing brand architecture
and stakeholder perceptions.
Working closely with key CIC decision-makers, Q&E then developed a
positioning platform that exemplified the company’s unique blend of
grass roots knowledge and technological expertise. As Q&E CEO Dilrukshi
Wijeyekoon said, “[we] crafted a new brand personality that reflected
desired attributes, such as ‘nurturing’, ‘community-minded’, and
‘natural’, and transformed these into an iconic new brand identity for
CIC.”
The resulting logo was contemporary, memorable, and easily understood
by any audience and all communities. Featuring a pair of hands cradling
a leaf, it is complemented by a new tagline that encapsulates the
brand’s promise: “nurturing life.” The overall branding communicates
CIC’s commitment to enhancing consumers’ quality of life through health,
nutrition, lifestyle, and livelihood development.
Q&E has helped many of Sri Lanka’s most important organizations
navigate complex rebranding exercises, including the paradigm shift from
Diesel and Motor Engineering to DIMO Technology. For example, when the
Colombo Stock Exchange was looking to rejuvenate its brand identity, the
marketing and communications specialist devised a comprehensive brand
architecture in line with its client’s position as one of Asia’s most
dynamic bourses.
Indeed, financial institutions have flocked to Q&E for its branding
expertise, with the Central Bank and the Centre for Banking Studies
relying on the company to reinvigorate their brand identities. |