LKAB was founded in the 1890s and is one of the world’s leading iron ore producers. We helped them rediscover their soul: the LKAB spirit. We brought the Group together under a common brand identity and gave them the tools to continue as leaders. Today the new brand is easily recognizable on everything from cars to office interiors in Shanghai.

It has been possible to surf on your mobile for many years, but it’s only now that it’s actually become part of everyday life. 2011 saw a breakthrough for mobile users, and more and more of them are now using their mobiles to quickly get information about products and services. On many of our clients’ websites, mobile traffic increased by 400-500 per cent during 2011.

A successful mobile web is founded upon an adjustment of form and function to suit the conditions of the service the user has chosen. What needs do your customers have when they are on the move? Do they need to find a nearby shop, take a queue ticket or find the right phone number?

We recently completed a project for FM Mattsson, in which we focused on identifying the needs of users working in the field. By means of interviews and a field study where we followed installers on the job, we got a fair picture of the everyday challenges they face.

The result was a mobile web with functions specially adapted to both professionals and DIY people on the move – for example a service that helps you find a retailer using the GPS in your phone or another that provides you with an instructional video showing you how to sort out a dripping tap.

We are sad to say goodbye to our CEO Charlotte Laike. During her three years with us, she has taken Essen to a new level, culminating 2011 with a dynamic and cohesive team of 40 people passionate about branding. At the same time we’re exited and proud to see her become Head of Strategy and Corporate Development at Nordea and wish her all the luck in the world. We are also proud to announce our new CEO Alex Holmén, who is a Graduate Economist from the University of Gothenburg School of Economics and has been a strategist at Essen since 2010 and part of the management team since 2011.

Until today it has only been possible to register a domain name within a certain number of Top Level Domains (TLD) such as: .com, .org, .se etc. As the result of long and intense discussions, from today and for the next three months it will be possible to register nearly any word, generic term or brand as a new TLD.

The new system, while offering exciting opportunities, imposes considerable responsibilities on those who choose to register. Registering a generic term or your own brand as a TLD means that you will be running your own registry business and controlling the second-level domains sorted under your specific TLD. The application process is enormous and requires large investments e.g. application fee 185 000 USD, yearly fee 25 000 USD.

It is still uncertain whether this is going to be a success or not, and to what extent the growing number of new TLDs might create confusion for Internet users. If you want to learn more about the new system or find out how to prevent your brand from ending up as someone else’s TLD, please contact one of our legal experts at legal@essen.se or call +46 8 503 001 00.

We welcome 2012 and Felicia, our new Brand Strategist. After completing her studies in Media and Communication at Södertörn University in Stockholm, Felicia was active for four years at Henrik Nygren Design.

We are really quite fed up with all the forecasts for 2012. We feel energized and optimistic for a great and progressive 2012. So, from the bottom of our hearts, we would like to wish you a big and fuzzy Merry Christmas and an Optimistic New Year!

Book your favourite classes. Follow up your statistics. Experience Group X classes and get inspired on the new SATS website, developed by our friends at Doberman. If you are on the move, use the iPhone and Android app, instead. See you there, or at the gym.

In February 2012, we are opening another SATS in the historical Spårvagnshallarna, the former tram depot on Birger Jarlsgatan. Since the Stockholm trams stopped running in 1967, the building has been used as a museum and offices. In February, it will be brought to life again as a fitness centre, with a new identity and retail concept. Get ready to start sweating, as you won´t find a more charming place to keep your new year’s resolution.

Branding is the process in which we either create new brands or give a helping hand to brands that have lost their way. Or, in the case of brand portfolios, we optimize the brand architecture to best support the holding company’s business strategy. In most cases, this means deleting brands rather than creating new ones.

Booms have a tendency to create unnecessary and costly brands that have little or no added value to their holding company’s business strategy. In most cases, these “unnecessary brands” not only drive up costs but also add to the muddled image of their owners. More brands mean more messages. More messages make it harder for stakeholders to understand and take action. They add to the market paralysis that stands in the way of growth and ultimate success.

So, do not use more brands than you need. They drive up your costs and decrease your chances of success. Instead, focus on the brands you need and make sure that these brands are developed and supported to perform at their best.

We are strengthening our Legal Department with the arrival of Alexandra who is particularly focused on intellectual property, media law and settlement of disputes. Alexandra received her law degree at Uppsala University and also studied business administration at Boston College. Her most recent position was at the law firm Danowsky & Partners where she worked as a legal advisor for three years.

Values, or brand values, are among the most important features of a brand, for both authorities and commercial organizations.

Our values do not only allow us to fulfil our promises to our stakeholders, but they also lay the foundations for a cultural shift in a positive direction. They allow us to be an attractive employer going way beyond our everyday duties.

When a regular nine-to-five job at a company is no longer attractive enough for prospective talent, our values suddenly become a very competitive factor. It is our experience that the process of developing successful values is all about participation and inspiration. It is a process not only for the few but for the entire organization. It is a process that, when done correctly, can act as a catalyst to bring about organizational change.

If you are interested in knowing more about how you can develop your values, please contact brand strategist Alex Holmén.

Source: Universum Global/IDEAL Employer Rankings/Business 2011

We proudly announce that Halens is no. 1 on Internetworld’s 2011 list of Sweden’s top 100 sites once again. Just like last year. We worked together with Halens as they transformed from traditional mail order into e-commerce, and developed their new brand platform and visual identity. Hopefully we will repost this message a third time in a row next year.

Stationery has always been a much loved touchpoint in the eyes of both designers (us included) and those who buy design. Much loved? Yes. Important? Sometimes.

With the exception of consulting organizations, stationery only amounts to a fraction of the total experience of the brand. It might not even be more important than the tiles in the restrooms.

So, how do you know which touchpoints matter the most? The two-second answer is simple: draw up the itinerary for your stakeholder journey, then make the trip yourself and let others do the same. What touchpoints did you meet the most? Which ones made the greatest impression? Which ones did you consider most important for added value?

The downside of prioritizing stationery in the wrong situation becomes apparent when it is time for activation. A worst-case scenario might leave you with an elegant serif font (which, by the way, is off-brand, but it did look beautiful on your business cards…) that is practically impossible to use on a billboard, to animate to your web or it’s in a colour that you can’t even find in the NCS for your retail environment.

The lesson to be learned here is to figure out which of your touchpoints matter the most before you develop your new identity. When your identity is optimized for your brand and business, you can enjoy the beauty of your stationery with no regrets.

This is what we did when developing the new identity for SATS. We knew that large physical environments would be our main challenge when it came to activating the brand. To overcome this, we used a bold typeface and large-scale patterns as keys for their identity. Thinking ahead is the only way to avoid the stationery effect.

Yesterday we launched a new website for Praktiska. The website is the latest new feature in an ongoing branding process. The process has included a new visual identity and naming strategy, message platform, tonality and a strategy for web and social media. And there is more in the making…

Praktiska is a high school with its sights set on working life. The school attracts students aiming for a job right after graduation, since the programmes it offers are a combination of school studies and pratical experience at the workplace.

What we express on the website and through Praktiska’s visual identity is a strong focus on jobs, the practical touch and the friendly atmosphere of the small schools located all over Sweden.

Jörgen previously held a position within finance at KF Media, working with the publisher Norstedts and the book seller Akademibokhandeln. Prior to that, he gained experience from the world of IT and banking, both locally and internationally. With a degree from the Stockholm School of Economics under his belt, he is now ready to support our future business.