RETAIL
RETAIL BRANDING
BRANDING
by: CHRIS DINGCONG
BY:
CHRIS DINGCONG
[email protected][email protected]
Chris Dingcong
Dingcong is is the
the
founder
and the
Chris
founder
and
Creative Director
Director of of Springtime
Springtime Design,
Design, a
Creative
branding and
a branding
and design
design consultancy
consultancy based
in Hong
Kong. Kong.
Chris Chris
has more
than 20
based
in Hong
has more
years
experience
in corporate,
retail,
than
20 of
years
of experience
in
corporate,
retail, branding,
environmental
environmental
and identity
branding
and identity system design.
design system.
TO CHANGE OR NOT TO CHANGE?
Rebranding NRCE – not just a new logo
One of the most commonly asked
questions that arises among retailers
is ‘When should I change and/or when
do I need to change my logo?’
In today’s intensely competitive retail
environment, whether you are a start-up,
an ongoing successful retailer or at the
crossroads, or the star of your industry
whose longevity and success is uncon-
tested, a distinctive, cohesive visual
identity system is essential to help you
build your brand.
Although NRCE is one of the biggest,
most successful industry events in Asia,
renowned for bringing in global industry
experts and innovative retail suppliers in
one event, on its 25th year, the PRA felt it
was time to give the NRCE a fresh brand
identity.
14
The development of a cohesive visual
identity system allows NRCE to express all
visual aspects of its brand. The visual
identity—a fresh new logo, fonts, colour
palette, etc.—when applied to all channels
of communications enables NRCE to
distinctively stand out among other retailer
expos, building immediate recognition and
Brand recall including higher visibility.
To reposition NRCE as the international
trade event; a reflection of PRA’s ‘voice
and pulse’ of retailers, Springtime was
appointed the Official Brand Consultants
in the recent rebranding of the 25th
National Retail Conference & Stores
Asia Expo 2018.
Through the years the NRCE has built
the identity that was established, iconic,
timeless and memorable. These assets
of the NRCE brand, were built as its
presence grew to become one of the
biggest and longest retailing conference
and expo events in Asia. And these
qualities are what PRA and Springtime
want to capture in revamping the new
logo and overall brand identity.
Springtime conducted a brand audit to
identify the strengths and weaknesses of
the brand to be able to develop a
consistent, cohesive brand identity and
visual communications system—neces-
sary to build
immediate
recognition,
awareness
of NRCE’s
brand,
achieve
higher
visibility
and
Brand
recall.
New NRCE Logo: Integrating contempo-
rary, crisp, clean typography on a graphic
device – a grey coloured triangle
designed to highlight the new NRCE logo
and communicate a cohesive NRCE story,
in particular the breadth and depth of its
brand as one of the leading retail industry
conferences and expos in Asia and
internationally.
An iconic device designed to draw
attention to its forte, Retail, with key
components applicable to brick and
mortar and online retailing: a sales
tag that forms the letter R, including
a string of sales tags and an
infrared laser beam.
Three horizontal lines designed to
encapsulate ‘Who NRCE is’ and
‘What NRCE does?
• National Retail Conference
• Stores Asia Expo
• Retail Learning Lab
“The graphic device pointedly directs all
focus to the new logo this year but offers
a very flexible graphic system for NRCE
to apply different graphic approaches to
promote its events in upcoming years.”