Visual Identity Standards Booklet PDF - The Co-operative

Why looking good is everyone’s business.

Welcome to this little book about
our big brand. How our new identity
evolved and why we need it.
1
From time to time an organisation like ours needs to take
a hard look at itself, what we stand for, and where we want
to be in the future.
When any business decides to revisit its identity there will
inevitably be a lot of soul-searching.
Our brand identity is about far more than simply the design
of our logo and what we apply it to.
Knowing why is important for everyone across our
businesses.
After all, this is everyone’s business.

What do we mean when we talk
about ‘brand’
What is a brand
3
Brands are not quite what they used to be.
Not too long ago brands were described as something you
could see, taste and touch: a bar of chocolate, a pair of
trainers or a favourite drink. But now we know that brands
also make emotional connections too.
Today people not only ask, “What does this brand say about
me” But also, “What does this brand mean to me”
Unfortunately, that’s where we didn’t come up to scratch.
Consumers become very loyal to the consistency of highprofile
brands. Like it or not, we take comfort in familiar
everyday things. But even so, a person’s expectation needs
to be regularly fulfilled.
Originally the marks used by
ranchers and farmers to easily
and clearly identify their cattle.
In other words, however good a brand might ‘feel’ it still has
to deliver what customers want.
Unfortunately, again, we didn’t quite come up to scratch.

It’s easy to see why we needed
to pull together.
6 Why we needed a new look
5
With over 6,000 UK outlets we were certainly one of the
biggest in volume, but in brand awareness fairly invisible.
Because each business looked so disparate the collective
Co-operative brand and what it stands for wasn’t
understood by customers. So we were in effect diluting
The Co-operative offer: our brand proposition.
In 2004 we had 13 million customers trading with our
combined businesses, yet only 10% used more than one
of them. And only 1% of customers had traded with three
or more businesses.
Most organisations of our
size have one clear, cohesive
brand image. They’re easily
recognised on the high street.
We did not have a single
image, we had several, which
meant that our organisation
was simply not recognised
for what we actually are:
a group of businesses
meeting a broad range of
customer needs.
Strengthening customer recognition of our businesses and
their understanding could only be good for everyone.
But the problem went deeper than cross-selling our range
of services. We weren’t seen as a unified organisation,
so we were losing out on a key advantage: the fact that
our businesses are one family.
Without one consistently clear, single voice, that message
is overlooked. And that message is

We
8
have strongly supported local communities since 1844,
9
but our combined activities now add up to a very large
national organisation. It makes sense to present ourselves,
and our messages, in a clear, consistent manner.
Only then can we effectively build brand awareness in
what we offer and how people will respond to that offer.
We need to act nationally, but in a local way.

10
What makes us
what we are
Who we are
9
In 2001 we commissioned and reviewed a vast amount
of customer and member research. The results gave
us valuable information that helped us to focus on where
our strengths and weaknesses lay.
In many ways the results were encouraging, with different
people often mentioning the same words in relation
to our businesses. Again and again the four words shown
below, in bold, were in the research.
Trustworthy: we are seen to be treating our customers
with integrity. We are open, fair and honest.
Rewarding: we are an ethical business to deal with,
who share our profit responsibly.
Community: we have a strong sense of this by building
close relationships through trading locally.
Championing: we create and implement socially sound
and responsible ideas, encouraging ethical fair-trade.

Who we are
11
So the basis of a strong foundation, on which to build our
brand, was clearly identified. Four words that provide the
pillars of what our brand will always stand for. They are
our Brand Components.
But we required one further component before we could
consider launching our brand to customers: Consistent
quality. The research had also revealed that we needed
to deliver consistent quality, as a minimum, across each
of our businesses. And deliver it through everything we
do and say, every day.
We’re seen as trustworthy:
treating our stakeholders
with integrity and a strong
sense of fair play.
We’re rewarding, listening to
our members and doing worthy
things with our profits.
And we’re championing:
creating socially responsible
ideas and challenging
global unethical behaviour.
We also like to add strength
and active support to all the
communities we serve.
Consistent quality helps us to compete on an even playing
field. Together with the other four components it builds
a picture of what makes us different, and how we could
be viewed as being better than the competition.
Our Brand Components make us unique. They distinguish
our brand from the way our competitors do business.
They define a bigger picture of The Co-operative in our
customers’ minds, encouraging them to trade across
all of our businesses.
Our brand is not just about being as good as the competition:
it’s about being better than – and different to, at the
same time.

12
Who are we
13
The brand components
The brand proposition
The brand personality
Brand essence
Rewarding
Community
Successful business
with integrity
Open
Decent
Changing business
for good
Consistent quality
Ambitious
Championing
Trustworthy
Co-operative
Friendly
Healthy
The five key attributes and
behaviours that need to deliver
the brand proposition.
The single statement of our offer, that
is true across all of our businesses,
that is appealing to customers and will
persuade them to try us.
Our Brand Personality helps our
businesses develop their relationships
with customers. Consistently delivering
this experience will help deliver our
Brand Essence.
The single thought that is at the heart
of our brand, and is true across all of
our businesses.
This diagram illustrates how our components build our Brand
Proposition and how our personality defines our essence.
It is the summary of how our brand comes together, and the
single statement of what we offer. It’s central to every one
of our businesses: the core message that we want potential
customers to fully understand, then try us out.
These are our unique characteristics. They are not simply
a representation of what our brand can do for our customers.
They are also what The Co-operative means to them.

16 What we’re about
15
Our Brand Proposition, ‘successful business with integrity’,
are words that probably will not be used very often,
commercially. But they do indicate what we are, and exactly
what we want to continue to be.
However there are three words that sum up every single one
of our Brand Components, in a clear and honest message.
What we want the rest of the world to realise is that we
are simply:
That isn’t just any strapline.
It is a promise that succinctly describes who we collectively
are and what we will all deliver, every single day.

The power of
The power of The
17
Our logotype is not a regular typeface. True, it originated
as a commercial typeface, but the letters in the logotype
cannot be matched without being specially drawn. It must
be treated with care and respect.
Central to every successful
brand identity there are
visual devices, unique
communication tools chosen
with care: the logotype,
colours, a typographic style
and depending on an identity’s
size, there’s usually more.
Used as directed, these devices
can all help to define what a
brand looks like throughout all
its various applications. Used
creatively, they can unify a
brand and become a part of the
consumers’ subconscious mind.
These devices are called the
Core Elements of which, for us,
the most important is our
logotype. It is typographically
honest, clean, straightforward
and it’s unique. Our logotype
shows integrity, a value that
represents the authority of
our brand.
Everyone has an important responsibility to protect our
visual identity. What we do with our brand, including what
we let others do with it, will reflect on everyone involved.
Throughout each of the businesses, wherever our logotype
is applied, from the smallest item of food packaging
to 96-sheet posters, there are two things that will remain
constant: the clarity and integrity of our logotype.
By employing the prefix ‘The’, our logotype makes its own
boundaries clear: it’s specific and emphatic.
Our simple Core Elements will help us create uncomplicated
messages to members and customers. Communicating
numerous, and occasionally disparate, messages through
the broad range of our businesses.
If used alongside the guidelines they address the business
nature of ownership, through colour and the correct tone
of voice. Our identity has the architecture to deal with
diverse business requirements and customer propositions.

Can colour be emotional
Keep it in the family
19
loyal, confident
and sincere
movement with
a bright outlook
fresh, healthy
and food related
trustworthy, sober,
professional
Hot or cold, happy or sad, it’s often easy to define just how
we feel in simple terms of colour. As an element of the
brand we use colour to provide greater information about
our businesses. Different colours invoke different emotional
responses in people, our palette picks up on that fact to
reflect each business activity.
So we all share one visual language but colour-codes help
to identify the type of business: for example, fascias on
buildings. The colours indicate relationships we would like
customers to have with each business.
calming, medical,
clean, hygienic
emphatic, gentle
and serene
glowing, happy,
sunny and warm
vibrant and
approachable
Whilst our logotype is the
single most important
element of our brand, another
fundamental element is the
way that we use colour.
Applying our colour palette
will bring it to life because
the colours relate to the
individual nature of each one
of our businesses.
Starting with our name and our logotype, adding colours
to create emotion, the visual style of our messages and
an individual tone of voice. If these are brought together
consistently we create a unique brand.
And ours is an important brand, one that customers
and members can feel very proud to be associated with:
because ours is a brand that has meaning.

22
Choosing all the right
words to emphasise good.
Aren’t words great
21
We believe strongly in the power of words. So choosing
the right ones, and displaying them in the correct style,
is absolutely vital. Which brings us to the next items in
the toolkit: typestyle and tone of voice.
We create a clear, identifying style of our own by specifying
typography that is consistent. Extensive use of Helvetica
Neue Condensed, our chosen type ‘family’, gives an honest
and straightforward look that matches the way we talk.
Our tone of voice should be real, powerful and inspiring,
reassuring and supportive. Our business is about being
clear and accessible, therefore we present clean and
legible messages.
What The Co-operative is not about are gimmicks, or tricks,
or deception. The tone of our message changes across
each of the businesses, but every message is laid out in one
consistent style that is recognisably our own. Wherever it’s
at all possible we lead with our brand logotype.
These Core Elements, our toolkit, have the consistency and
yet the flexibility to present an all-encompassing brand.
The Co-operative, we’re different from other organisations,
we’re unique and proud enough to look individual.

So the responsibility for keeping our
brand alive, and looking fresh, now
lies with everyone. Our look and feel
was achieved by listening to the
views of members and our customers.
They helped to develop our brand,
but you have the power to deliver it
and help make:
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Visual Identity Standards are in place to help protect the
investment made in our brand identity. They are there
to use, determine rules, and to assist everyone to manage
the consistent application across our businesses.
If you need any help in implementing our brand identity,
Co-operative Brands Ltd will provide support.
Hopefully this book has given you a good overview
of our brand and, crucially, the importance of getting
our messages right every time. There is more detail to be
found at co-operative.coop and don’t forget that Co-operative
Brands Ltd can help, brand@co-operative.coop.