Neo Interactive chosen by Mediaworks to design its brand identity
Mediaworks selected the agency to design its new identity following a call for tenders. Neo Interactive’s creative director described the process of designing the creative concept, the brand identity and the logo in the following interview.
What can we call a brand?
A brand primarily refers to the name, image, slogan, logo and all the elements of a company or product that together make it clearly identifiable and distinguishable. But a brand is also more than that: it is also the image that consumers, employees and other market actors have of a product or a company when they see or hear the brand name. So the brand is also a feeling, it engages the recipient and thus positions itself and provides a basis for comparison with competitors. Building a brand is a long process, and we have now taken the first step to launch it. This is a rare task in the world of domestic advertising agencies, as we mostly work with already existing, big, international brands and rarely have the opportunity to be present at the birth.
Speaking of birth: was the father there?
If your question is was the client present at the birth, then absolutely. Both the name and the logo, as well as the creation of the main design elements, were the result of a joint effort between the agency and the client. A child in common.
Which came first, the name or the logo?
The name. It is rare - although I have seen it happen - when the symbol or graphic element comes first, and then a name is invented to go with it. That was not the case here.
What does the name mean, why was it chosen?
When choosing the name and creating the brand, one of the main aspects was that it is not a consumer brand, but a B2B (business to business) brand. In other words, the brand does not communicate to the general public, but to other companies. So the important thing was not that readers know and understand the Mediaworks brand, but that market actors, - perhaps most importantly – advertisers do. Readers, of course, still have their established, beloved brands, such as Népszabadság or NOL. A Hungarian name is not expected for a B2B brand, and a catchy English name shows "internationality", greatness, and therefore already positions the brand. It also reflects the background of foreign investors. In the case of an English name, it is also important that it is easy to pronounce, describe and understand. I think the name Mediaworks is like that.
Mediaworks, as in Mediaworks?
To put it simply, there are two approaches to naming: either you come up with a functional, descriptive brand name, or you create a kind of "fancy name", where you build a brand name from a meaningless sound sequence or a word with a different meaning. We chose the first because, although the latter can often help to differentiate the brand better, we have to attach a new meaning to the word in the minds of our target audience, the promise of the brand, which is a more costly and longer process. On the other hand, in our case there is no need for "creativity". The brand name Mediaworks refers to a media company. Clear and simple. Showing the corporate mission or vision is more the job of the brand slogan.
Which is “Content first”. What is the message of the tagline?
It was clear to us from discussions with the client that this company really believes in quality content. This is quite a rare and valuable mission in today's world of overwhelming second-hand content, catchy headlines without content, and free content consumption on the internet. At Mediaworks, content comes first, but I would argue that in the case of their market-leading products, they put quality content first. Despite being a new company, we are talking about a close-knit team who have been creating genuine value for several years. This is what the slogan captures. And it's just good to say, it has a nice zing: Mediaworks - Content first.
How did the logo come about? What does it add to the brand?
It adds dynamism, most importantly. The initials M and W in the words media and works really lent themselves to a great logo. They are the inverses of each other and can be linked. Creating the logo was the longest process in the design process. We went through many, many variations, deliberating, shaping, and polishing it together with the client's top management; until we finally arrived at a final solution that pleased both the management and the owner. Moreover, the logo not only provides dynamism, but also an opportunity for creativity. In fact, the vibrant lines of the logo were "brought back" in larger sizes on the creative assets of the launch campaign, as we used a pulsating line of text to represent the values of the new company, which worked like a treat in catching people’s eye. It's a visual gag that can be used later.
Are there other brand features?
In addition to the usual letterhead, business card, presentation template, I would highlight that we are just designing a very own font for the brand. It's not standard practice, but I think it's a must for a major media brand. I will soon be using Mediaworks fonts for my emails!
