Prior to being acquired by BlackRock in 2009, Barclays Global Investors (BGI) was an industry leader in exchange-traded funds (ETFs)—its iShares® brand being the world’s most extensive family of ETFs, offering more than 320 funds globally. ETFs are index funds that track the performance of specific market indexes and are bought and sold like common stocks on securities exchanges. And even though BlackRock retired the BGI brand, iShares remains a global leader in the category.
Since its beginning in 1978, Banana Republic has grown from a purveyor of safari-inspired clothing with two stores and a catalogue to a global lifestyle brand. Purchased by Gap, Inc. in 1983, Banana Republic today encompasses nearly 500 stores across North America, Japan, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. Characterized by elevated design and luxurious fabrics, the brand's collections include apparel, handbags, jewelry, fragrance, and eyewear.
The Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association sought to reposition Baltimore as a preferred tourist destination for business and leisure travelers within a 250-mile radius to boost the city’s economy. Research with leisure travelers and convention planners revealed that Baltimore did not rate highly as an unaided dream destination. However, it rated considerably higher among travelers who had visited in the previous two years. Landor thus concluded that Baltimore did not have a product problem, but a perception problem.
British Petroleum (BP) and Amoco merged in 1998 to form BP Amoco. Subsequent acquisitions of Arco and Castrol resulted in a Fortune 10 company with over 100,000 employees in 100 countries. The new organization needed an identity that symbolized its dynamic category leadership and reflected the attributes it aspired to: performance, environmental leadership, innovation, and progressive ideas. BP Amoco asked Landor to develop an identity that would signal to its employees and the world that the new BP was more than just a petroleum company.
In 1969, Paolo Vitelli started Azimut, a company to charter sailing boats. He eventually transformed his passion into the business of manufacturing motor yachts, and in a short time had a number of luxury motor cruiser models on the market. In 1985, Azimut took over Benetti shipyards, which enabled it to gain advanced technical expertise and development and planning methods as well as a completely revitalized yard and plant. Known for its diversification in boat construction, Azimut now offers a full range of flybridge motor yachts in a variety of lengths.
Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) enjoyed a position of prominence in the Australian financial trading markets. However, the competitive developments in the global financial markets prompted ASX to reassess its position. Over time, the competing messages, objectives, and subbrands of the various business groups within ASX fragmented the corporate brand. To better manage the complex functions and diverse customer groups that included brokers, institutions, and household investors, strategic decisions were made, including demutualizing the company to become a listed company.
In the summer of 1996, the city of Atlanta hosted the Centennial Olympic Games. More than four years prior to the games, ACOG had set out to create a symbol that would both identify the games of the XXVI Olympiad and commemorate the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympic movement. The symbol would be used to identify all publicity, promotions, activities, and retail merchandising surrounding the Atlanta event. It would also be used by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and more than 100 worldwide Olympic committees to celebrate the centennial.
The American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) is an international association with over 200 member organizations. The Association's goal is to build North America’s largest wildlife conservation movement by inspiring and engaging over 143 million annual visitors and their communities to care about and take action to help protect wildlife. The AZA provides members with the tools to achieve best practices, as well as advocacy at local, national, and international levels.
O’Gara-Hess & Eisenhardt is the world leader in vehicle armoring systems, protecting against ballistic and blast threats for over 60 years. The company armors limousines, SUVs, sedans, and commercial trucks for customers such as U.S. federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies, foreign heads of state, multinational corporations, high net worth individuals, and cash-in-transit operators. Acquired by Armor Holdings in 2001, O’Gara needed to integrate its culture and business operations with Armor’s other armored vehicles brands in Europe and Latin America such as Trasco and AMS France (formerly Labbé).
Altex retail network is the biggest electronics & home appliances retail chain in Romania. After a booming period in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Romanian retail market reached a certain degree of maturity that required Altex to review its strategy and positioning.
