Belgian telecoms group calls in Landor Associates

Leading Belgian telecoms provider Belgacom has unveiled a fresh brand identity created by Landor Associates as the company moves to position itself as a 21st century technology provider.

The new platform for Belgacom’s corporate positioning was outlined to staff, partners and customers last week. Its centrepiece logo will appear on all corporate literature from spring 2003, the date of the official launch.

Landor was appointed in December 2001 following a three-way, unpaid pitch. It began qualitative and quantitative research soon afterwards, from which it agreed with Belgacom the core aims in reframing its brand vision, mission, positioning and values.

‘The brief was not so much about updating the brand as about urging the Belgian people to have a fresh look at the company,’ says Landor managing director Charles Wrench.

‘Belgacom is almost entirely associated with provision of fixed-line telephone services,’ he adds. ‘Yet over the past decade, mobiles and the Internet have made that image seem very dated indeed.’

Belgium has one of the highest penetration rates of broadband lines in Europe, and Belgacom is keen to position itself at the forefront of the next age of telecom provision, which Wrench refers to as representing a ‘seismic change’.

The new positioning is focused around the optimism of nascent technologies, with the logo featuring a spring sky. ‘The old logo was a classic 1980s job,’ says Wrench, ‘very heavy-handed with a robotic image. We’ve tried to create a lighter, more ebullient feel.’

Belgacom’s chief communications officer Jean-Luc Charlier says, ‘This is a full rebranding exercise, with the new design supporting our brand values and being the visible signal of the many improvements to come.’

The company’s management concluded that the Belgacom name held sufficient equity, both internally and externally, to remain unchanged.