Identity Heft, Part II
Land O’Lakes freshens image with new
co-op brand identity, logo and tagline
ditor’s note: In the Sept-Oct. issue, CoBank
responded to a series of questions dealing with the
co-op’s decision to update its corporate image with
a new logo and tagline. In this issue, Barry
Wolfish, senior vice president for corporate
marketing and communications at Land O’Lakes (LOL), discusses
the same process as LOL approached it. This discussion refers to the
co-op’s corporate logo, not the co-op’s famous Indian Maiden brand
logo, which is still used for its dairy foods division.
Land O’Lakes is a farm supply and dairy foods cooperative with
3,200 direct producer-members and 1,000 member-cooperatives
which serve more than 300,000 agricultural producers. The co-op
handles 12 billion pounds of milk annually and produces a wide
variety of dairy food products.
Question: Why did your co-op decide it was time to change
the logo?
Barry Wolfish: “In late 2007, the company conducted a
communications audit, which looked at all aspects of our
communications efforts. We took a really deep dive,
examining things like culture and process, as well as the
vehicles and elements we saw and used every day. We
recognized that there was a significant opportunity to
increase the visibility and awareness of our corporate identity
and that our existing corporate brand identification was not
working very hard to establish personality and distinctiveness
for Land O’Lakes Inc.”
Was this part of a larger “re-branding” effort?
“Again, the pursuit of a new corporate brand identity came
out of our communications audit. We felt it was an element
of our overall corporate communications we could enhance.”
Did you do it in-house, or hire an agency?
“We worked with a Twin Cities-based integrated
communications firm called OLSON. The agency conducted
the communications audit for us and eventually developed
the new corporate brand identity in conjunction with our
Corporate Communications department.”
What was the timeline and budget? Did you stick to it?
“We had a very accelerated timeline and were working on
a number of projects connected to, and driven by, the
updating of the corporate brand identity. Some of those
projects included redesigning our corporate website and
creating new marketing collateral, such as our corporate
brochure and first Corporate Social Responsibility report.
“So, from the time we started thinking about creating a
new corporate brand identity until it was introduced, it took
between 4 and 5 months. A meaningful amount was invested
in the various aspects of the project as part of an ongoing
commitment to increase our investment in corporate
identification and awareness.”
Did this effort also involve a new tagline to go with the
logo?
“Yes. We developed our “growingtogether” tagline shortly
after the completion of our communications audit and used it
throughout most of 2008. The tagline was incorporated into
the design of the new corporate brand identity.”
Did you have any problems
registering logo as new
trademark?
“No. We had our Law
Department register the new
corporate brand identity;
they encountered no
problems registering it.”
What kind of review or
approval process did you
follow?
“Land O’Lakes President
and CEO Chris Policinski
and the Corporate
Marketing and Communications team worked closely with
the agency throughout the process. We went through a
number of iterations before we got to the final version. Chris
shared our recommended approach with the Land O’Lakes
board.
How many revisions did it go through?
“There were three rounds of review before we arrived at
the final version.”
Did you do consumer/customer testing?
“Our communications audit involved asking employees,
members and other stakeholders about their thoughts and
feelings about the co-op.”
In what ways is the new logo being used?
“We are using our new corporate brand identity
extensively. You’ll find it on our corporate website,
letterhead, business cards, corporate brochure, signage,
annual report, Intranet site, member magazine and clothing
and other collateral items. Moving forward, the corporate
identity will be featured prominently in all public endeavors.”
Any special effort to launch the new brand?
“We introduced the new corporate brand identity to
employees during an employee meeting in February. The
meeting was held in our corporate headquarters and
broadcast to more than 20 facilities around the country. So,
we had a very large, captive audience that heard about it
firsthand.
“Employees returned to their desks after the meeting to
find a screensaver of the new corporate brand identity. We
also added the new corporate brand identity to the employee
Intranet site that morning. We rolled the corporate brand
identity out to members the following week at our annual
meeting. Chris introduced it to all the members in
attendance.
“All the presentations and materials handed out after that
point contained the new corporate brand identity. We
continued to communicate the rollout in our member
magazine, Internet site and other vehicles.”
What was the biggest mistake you made?
“Waiting so long to update the old logo. The old one used
a common font and really didn’t convey much about the
organization. The new corporate brand identity is much
more dynamic and appealing. The more we see it, the more
it really feels like we made the right decision.”
Major lessons learned?
“To develop something like a new logo or brand identity,
you need a foundational document from which to base it.
This document articulates exactly what the brand is and
should convey. It’s something that needs broad alignment
among your key decisionmakers before moving forward. The
creative aspect of designing a logo will be based almost
entirely on it.”
What was the smartest thing you did?
“We hosted luncheon meetings for our administrative
assistants to discuss the rollout of the new corporate brand
identity. These employees are really in the front trenches as
far as the rollout is concerned. They order the business cards
and letterhead; they create presentations; and they advise the
people they support on its use and misuse.
“So, we felt it was really important to discuss the
philosophy behind the new corporate brand identity, its
proper uses and how to get the resources they needed to
incorporate it into their departments or businesses. We
believe this step really helped to facilitate the introduction of
the new corporate brand identity throughout the company.”
What has the reaction been like so far?
“Very positive. We’ve received great feedback from
members, employees and others outside the company. People
seem to have embraced it quickly.”
