Brand Identity — Waking Up Africa [bis]

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How

We Reclaimed

A Continent's

Full Potential

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A Case Study — Brand Identity Development for AOS Africa, Marketing and Advertising Agency.

Role — Creative Director

Agency — AOS Africa

Project typology — Rebranding

Field — Advertising & Marketing

Client — AOS Africa

Country — Ivory Coast

.01.

Reclaiming a continent's potential

AOS Africa : The Agency

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AOS Africa (formerly Alpha Omega Services Africa) is an Ivory Coast-based advertising and marketing agency dealing with a broad range of activities going from advertising strategy to event management or creative and marketing services. The agency is among the top 5 best agencies in Ivory Coast and has a presence in three countries in Africa.

A couple of time ago, AOS Africa went through a full rebranding in order to strengthen its positioning in the advertising marketplace. I had the opportunity to spearhead that rebranding project as the Creative Director — Here is the case study of the visual identity makeover.

With an effective presence in 3 countries (Ivory Coast, Togo, Burkina Faso), Alpha Oméga Services Africa — now AOS AFRICA — is an Ivory Coast-based and award-winning integrated communication and marketing agency built to connect brands and people through the power of outstanding, inspired and memorable experiences that move hearts and change minds. We are a complete full service agency that covers all the facets of communication.

The agency's philosophy rests on cultural relevance, simplicity of the operations and coherence. AOS AFRICA is able to serve all kinds of commercial, corporate, cultural, personal or institutional brands on the whole spectrum of their communications needs starting from only one point of entry.

Previous Identity System

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AOS Africa — Previous main and subsidiaries identities

For the agency to reach those bigger-than-life goals, departments solely dedicated to specialities in order to ease the agency global and local customers needs and requests have been created : an advertising and marketing department (FCB Intuition, a FCB Worldwide affiliate), a wedding planning department (Dimwawi), a webdesign and social media management department (Assistweb) and an event management department aimed to deal with event logistics (TLE).

AOS Africa — Specialization pools

The Challenge

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AOS AFRICA is a well known agency in Ivory Coast and in african sub-saharian countries. Yet, its broad range of activities yield two majors issues on its audience perception :

• Confusing Core Businesses

Initially founded as an event management-focused company, AOS AFRICA gradually enriched its services panorama over time (successively adding Advertising, Strategy, IT specialities) to become what it is now, i.e. a one-stop shop agency providing a large spectrum of specializations from one entry point. This results now in a main drawback : audience and partners are confused about how they should consider the agency from a core activity standpoint. Thus, the agency's brand equity is strongly diluted within their mind.

• Fuzzy Positioning

Until then, AOS AFRICA never had a strong and clear positioning stand. A situation reinforced by the fact that the agency seems to roll out a bunch of eclectic activities.

Man at a Bassam beach — Ivory Coast

The Solution

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An in-depth brand and positioning research started in order to carve a strong agency stand in the mind of the audience. Starting from that point, we crafted a brand strategy that is relevant enough to position AOS AFRICA as *THE* advertising and marketing agency able to deliver strong experience and solutions to its customers, and even leads. Moreover, the outlined brand strategy had to tap into an unchartered cultural incubator to give an impactful relevance to this integral makeover.

The Outcome

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Developing a strategic rebranding by leverage customers and partners ability to outpace their goals by changing their perception about powerful their potential is. AOS Africa, then, becomes the partner of choice for those who want to succeed in Africa.

Young fashion model — South Africa

A Continent's Call

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How do we celebrate Africa, the continent of all the opportunities ? How do you depict the outstanding possibilities this untamed continent has to offer to the world ? How to show that the future is definitely here ?

These are among the most thrilling questions we faced while trying to connect them with the purpose of the agency : enabling actors from various sectors to reveal their true potential through challenging communication and marketing projects.

This should firmly helps AOS AFRICA to both reframe its purpose and position itself as the leading agency through its ability to really unveil Africa's potential. A strong visual identity and branding system will enable achieve such an aim.

Majestic view of Kilimandjaro — Tanzania

Scope of Work

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• Brand Strategy

• Brand Identity & Visual System

• Positioning

• Messaging

Young woman from Boa Vista — Cabo Verde

.02.

Africa : A Powerhouse In The Making

"Africa Rising" — This TIME cover is ranked among the top-rated issues of the magazine

An Unstoppable And Fast-Paced Transformation

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By 2030 one out of five people will be African. Combine the continent’s soaring population with technology, improvements in infrastructure, health and education, and Africa could be the next century’s economic growth powerhouse. Africa will account for more than half (54%) of the 2.4 billion global population growth in coming decades.

The United Nations predicts that between 2015 and 2050, Africa will add 1.3 billion people, more than doubling its current population of 1.2 billion.

Africa’s emerging economies present exciting opportunities to global businesses for expansion in retail and distribution. Seven countries — Nigeria, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Tanzania, Kenya, and South Africa — will soon hold half of the continent’s population, and 43 percent of Africans across the continent will belong to the middle or upper classes.

Competition in Africa is increasing, as highlighted by the entry of multinational corporations, including Walmart, in recent years. However, the limited saturation in consumer markets—especially in fast-moving consumer goods, luxury goods, and online retail—reveal Africa’s growth potential. Countries such as Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, Angola, Sudan, Morocco, Algeria, and Kenya are ready for increased production and distribution.

Entrepreneurs, business actors and policymakers alike are seizing the momentum of Africa’s consumer markets, as well as embrace the challenges that can be overcome with the right consumer-driven solutions supported by relevant and bespoke strategies. And this is where advertising and marketing agencies comes on stage since Africa is considered as one of the last frontiers for the big advertising industry, "The Bid Ad Continent".

A near-the-beach futurist-like Luanda — Angola

Connecting Brands With Their True Potential

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In order to take up that ambitious challenge, AOS Africa, a West Africa-based advertising and marketing agency decided to operate a fully-fledged internal and external shapeshifting process, including a brand new stand in order to better be in line with Africa’s bright and demanding future. This makeover process should also enable the agency to improve its currently confused perception in its audience mind and strengthen its brand equity.

Cheerful people at a public gathering in Conakry — Guinea

.03.

Back To Roots : A Brand New Face

The Baobabs Alley — Madagascar

Expressing Africa : An Identity From Shapes And Colors

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New Identity Development Mind Map Sample

An emanation of a continent's distinctive features and a seamless blend of our core values, as an agency, with the heart of Africa for an unique output.

The Beating Heart of a Continent

AOS Africa Identity — New

AOS Africa Identity — Before and After

AOS Africa Identity — Unleashing Africa's Full Potential

AOS Africa Identity — Colors variations sample

AOS Africa Identity — Shapes variations sample

An Identity From Deep Inside

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AOS Africa Identity — Unleashing Africa's Full Potential, Logo + Tagline lockup

AOS Africa Identity — The Beating Heart of Africa, one of the most dynamic continent.

AOS Africa Identity — Colour Scheme Sample

AOS Africa — Color Scheme From Earth

Our expression comes from deep inside.

Our expression comes from the heart of our culture.

Our expression comes from deep inside our mother continent.

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We are proud of our roots.

AOS Africa Identity — Patterns inspiration sources sample. These are women painting decorative

shapes on adobe-based houses, in Nri (Nigeria), Tiébélé (Burkina Faso), and Djajibinni (Mauritania).

AOS Africa Identity — Pattern-based template

We also went through a revamp of the speciality pools identities in alignment with the main new logo, thus, convey the strength and spirit intended for the overall brand.

AOS Africa Identity — New pattern-inspired logos for FCB Intuition (Advertising, Marketing & Creative Strategy)

AOS Africa Identity — New pattern-inspired logos for Dimwawi (Wedding Planning & Private Events)

AOS Africa Identity — New pattern-inspired logos for Assistweb (Webdesign & Social Media)

AOS Africa Identity — New pattern-inspired logos for TLE (Event Logistics)

AOS Africa Identity — New pattern-inspired logos for Conferences Services (Conference & Seminars Management)

AOS Africa Identity — Brand new identity tree overview

Africa — Vibrance of a continent

The Launching Concept : The Africa Beneath The Tear

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The key idea for the rebranding campaign : tear the surface and see a whole potential beneath. An idea conveying the fact that behind the scenes, Africa is powerhouse in the making. This concept is conveyed through a striking composition both strong and dynamic, expressing raw energy.