Auto Channel

Star always shines from above

1 November 2007 will be the day that Mercedes-Benz will go through a brand identity facelift. The new brand identity means that all communication materials will be revised with a new design and a new company motto: The Star always shines from above. The New Mercedes C-Class Estate will be the first product campaign with the new design.

"A strong brand primarily distinguishes itself by a presence and positioning that is immediately and unmistakably recognisable. The new brand identity of Mercedes-Benz revives our entire presence, and ensures an unmistakable image which combines tradition with a future-oriented approach", says Dr. Klaus Maier, Executive Vice President Mercedes Car Group.

The Mercedes star is of course the main focal point in the new idenity, even more so than in the current designs. The three-pointed star is one of the world's most recognisable trademarks and has shared in the success of Mercedes over the past decades.

The new lay-out (in print) will feature the main text between the star (two dimensional) and the written trademark (Mercedes-Benz), with the star always above and the written trademark below the written or pictured communication.

In order to make the new brand identity 'fit' with all aspects of communications, the star will not just be linked to automobiles anymore, but also architecture, people and landscapes, putting the emphasis on uniform imagery. Mercedes will attempt to portray the personality (vitality and dynamism) of the brand through 'inventive use of focal depth and unfocused images and generous compositions with unusual perspectives'. Signature colours will be Arrow Silver for the Mercedes-Benz brand and Midnight Blue for usage in dealerships.

Detailed content

• After 18 years Mercedes-Benz is renewing its brand identity across all business units

• C-Class Estate as first product with launch campaign in the new brand design

• Revised brand identity under the Mercedes star completes a more sharply focused Mercedes-Benz brand positioning

Mercedes-Benz has fundamentally revised its brand identity for all communication materials with a new design. The new, standardised brand identity will be introduced in all corporate units – from Passenger Cars to Commercial Vehicles – and in all the world’s markets from November 1, 2007. It was developed on the basis of the brand’s history, and concludes the process of a more sharply focused brand positioning which began in 2006. The central theme of the new identity is the motto "The Star always shines from above". With the launch of the C-Class Estate the new brand design will be applied to a product campaing for the first time in November.

As the inventor of the automobile, Mercedes-Benz is the world’s most valuable premium automobile brand. Over the last 120 years Mercedes-Benz has worked to achieve this position with trailblazing innovations, a clear brand positioning and management, and targeted expansion of its model portfolio. "In addition to having exciting products, a strong brand primarily distinguishes itself by a presence and positioning that is immediately and unmistakably recognisable – at any time, in any place and in any medium", says Dr. Klaus Maier, Executive Vice President Mercedes Car Group, responsible for Sales and Marketing.

The brand identity is a visible expression of what Mercedes-Benz stands for: it emphasises the company’s position as the world’s most traditional automobile manufacturer, and is also a reflection of innovative creativity. "The new brand identity of Mercedes-Benz revives our entire presence, and ensures an unmistakable image which combines tradition with a future-oriented approach", Maier continues.

The Mercedes-Benz star as the starting point for the new visualisation

"With our new brand identity we are completing the process of focusing the brand positioning of Mercedes-Benz for our customers", says Dr. Olaf Göttgens, Vice President Brand Communications, Mercedes-Benz Cars. Mercedes-Benz has one of the world’s most recognised trademarks in the form of the three-pointed star. Accordingly, Mercedes-Benz is also giving this world-renowned logo a central position in its future communications activities. "The image that has established our brand identity over the decades is and remains the star. In the future we will be featuring this even more prominently, where it is visible to our customers", Göttgens continues.

As a major innovation, the star as the central symbol of the brand always shines from above in the new brand design. Reproductions will show the star in two-dimensional form (for example in the print media), but it remains three-dimensional in physical representations (for example on vehicles or dealerships). Moreover, the star and the written trademark will be shown separately in communications activities in future. In this way the star shining above the written trademark will create a communicative linking effect. Whether in the form of an image or written communication, each core message will be visually placed between the star and the written trademark.

New imagery reflects the brand’s personality

In order to reflect the wide variety of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars and commercial vehicles, the focus of the new design will be on uniform imagery. In future the various communications activites will not only feature images of autmomobiles, but also photos of architecture, people and landscapes. Generous compositions with unusual perspectives and specific use of lighting will create excitement and illustrate the personality of the brand. Vitality and dynamism are major components of the visual idiom, as are the inventive use of focal depth and unfocused images.

The signature colour for the Mercedes-Benz brand will be the elegant "arrow silver". The primary colour for signage in the dealerships will be the powerful "midnight blue".

The new design for the Mercedes-Benz brand was developed by an in-house project team working in cooperation with the agency Claus Koch Identity GmbH.