‘Ich bin ein Berlingual’ with new name, branding and website using Berlin’s Akzidenz Grotesque.

‘Ich bin ein Berlingual’ with new name, branding and website using Berlin’s Akzidenz Grotesque.

13 January 2010

“Berlingual” is the new brand created by award-winning design agency E-creation for a growing business language school in Berlin. E-creation created the international identity as part of a complete re-branding and communications strategy revamp that plays on the difficulties of metaphors in communications across cultures and languages. The issues around language subtlety, clearly identified by John F. Kennedy’s 1963 ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ speech, where his famous phrase is also a colloquial way of saying ‘I am a jelly doughnut’, were used as a foundation for the design concepts.

The one month process was part of Berlingual’s transformation into an internationally recognisable brand targetting increased market share across Europe and 75% turnover growth target. Design will play a future key role in achieving this growth, as seen in the success of design-led organisations like Apple and Bang and Olufsen. “E-creation has helped Berlingual to achieve international recognition. The brand stands out internationally, our website clearly differentiates us from our competitors and the business cards are clever enough to win us businesses on their own. They clearly characterise and identify the business problem faced by our clients - communicating effectively in a foreign language – using the visual proposition ‘idioms are the clearest form of language subtlety’” says Berlingual’s founder Leo Waters.

The shape of the logo was inspired by classic ‘quote marks’ whilst avoiding common visual clichés found in communications organisation’s branding. The logo’s font, Akzidenz Grotesque, was created by Berlin-based H. Berthold in 1896, providing a deep and authentic feel to the overall design with genuine history. Akzidenz Grotesque is the basis for one of the most popular ‘modern’ fonts, Helvetica.

The homepage of the website features an animation using traditional English business idioms. Three phrases included ‘top dog’ and ‘bringing home the bread’ were counterpointed by uniquely German imagery (the German shepherd and Swartzbrot) to instantly highlight the issues of communicating through idioms.

E-creation used Adobe Flash to create graphic headings and navigation “on the fly” and avoid a more labour intensive Photoshop route – saving the client time and money to amend it when creating other language versions of the website while maintaining graphical integrity.

“Clever design, historical authenticity and effective use of technology make Berlingual one of the best examples of how simple design is often the best approach. Creating a design ‘experience’ is essential for business success in today’s ‘brand rich’ environments – something E-creation nailed with Berlingual!” says Jan-Erik Paul, MD at E-creation. The branding and website can be found at http://www.berlingual.com/.

Berlingual is a new addition to E-creation’s growing international roster of brand & communications clients which includes Polish, German and US based organisations.

REF http://laughlines.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/ich-bin-ein-jelly-doughnut/ New York times

[ENDS]

 

Oct 09 update - Multimedia marketing vs. traditional marketing? How do they compare and what are the benefits of digital marketing?

Multimedia marketing vs. traditional marketing?

How do they compare and what are the benefits of digital marketing?

In an ever increasingly competitive marketing environment, finding a marketing edge is important. For companies who have not yet adopted multimedia as part of their marketing mix, there is a great opportunity to push their marketing to the next stage.

Multimedia marketing is based around interactive, screen-based presentation of information and can include elements such as video, audio, animation and interactivity, all of which add up to a more engaging experience.

90% of businesses have to sell proactively their services and products. It is true that a lucky few have products which do not require marketing and promotion, but in a competitive market, you need to effectively demonstrate why your product is better than your competitors. Multimedia, when done right, delivers significant advantages over traditional marketing materials.

What are the actual benefits of multimedia marketing:

Print cost-savings
Printing traditional brochures is expensive when compared with CD-ROMs, particularly if the brochure contains many pages. CD-ROMs can be duplicated for as little as 15p per unit but contain thousands of pages of information.

Distribution cost-savings
Posting a CD-ROM is much cheaper than posting a 25 page A4 brochure - by as much as 75%, depending on the weight of paper and cover. This saving can be reflected in better quality information within the marketing piece.

Greater impact
Using multimedia allows companies to show-off their products in the best possible way by using video, graphics, animations and audio - maximising the impact of their marketing.

Increased flexibility
Did you know that it is possible to update information on a CD-ROM using the Internet? Unlike a brochure which when printed can not be changed, CD-ROMs can be programmed so that the information can be updated over the Internet on an ongoing basis.

Better PR coverage
Papers and magazine are more likely to notice and give coverage to a well presented CD-ROM than a traditional brochure, even though CD-ROM technology has been in use for over 10 years.

High retention level
It has been proven that (on average), people remember 20% of what they read but remember 70% of what they experience through interactive multimedia. If you want people to remember your company, then multimedia is the way to go.

Image boosting
By using CD-ROMs, companies demonstrate their commitment to technology and therefore improve the image they project about their attitude to the future of business.

Increased distribution by clients themselves
Content on CD-ROMs can be printed and duplicated by the potential customer as often as he/she wants, enabling him/her to distribute your information at will.

Of course, one could argue that not everyone has computers. But then the questions is, are you likely to be doing business with the type of person or company who never uses a computer?