Lambie-Nairn
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This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (August 2009) |
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| Type | Private Subsidiary of WPP Group |
|---|---|
| Industry | Branding agency |
| Founded | 1976[1] |
| Headquarters | London, England, UK |
| Area served | United Kingdom |
| Key people |
Christian Schroeder (Chief Executive) |
| Website | lambie-nairn.com |
Lambie-Nairn is an international branding agency within the WPP Group, headquartered in London with offices in Munich, Madrid, Abu Dhabi and Prague. Lambie-Nairn works with a number of high profile clients such as O2, BBC and Telefónica.
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[edit] Company history
In 1976 Robinson Lambie-Nairn was established by Colin Robinson and Martin Lambie-Nairn, in January 1993 it was renamed Lambie-Nairn & Company.[2] In 1992, Glenn Tutssel and Martin Lambie-Nairn conceived Brand Union as a cross-platform entity that could allow areas of design beyond their branding and broadcast heritage to work together.[3] Brand Union was the ultimate holding company for Lambie-Nairn & Company and in October 1999 Brand Union was acquired by WPP.[4] Throughout this period the Company's trading name was Lambie-Nairn.
Martin Lambie-Nairn left the company in April 2008.[5]
[edit] Notable work
- Channel 4 (1982)
Channel 4 was the first new British television channel since BBC2 began broadcasting in 1964. The Channel 4 identity was the first corporate identity programme specifically devised to exploit the medium of television to the full and to provide effective branding which could be developed as the character of the channel evolved. As well as the various versions of the animating logo and the entire on-screen presentation system, the corporate design scheme covered stationery, a signing system and the branding of Channel 4 products, particularly books, records, videos and merchandising.
Channel 4's corporate identity has had a profound influence on the style of television presentation in this country and beyond and helped to establish LN as the absolute leader in this particularly specialised area of activity.
- Anglia (1989)
Anglia Television, part of the UK’s ITV Network, was perceived as down-market despite broadcasting to some of the most affluent communities in the country. The original identity, featuring photography of a silver hunting trophy of a knight, reinforced this perception, while also being stale, static and old fashioned. They began to think about how knights communicated their identities, using heraldic devices on their shields and pennants. They went on to design a heraldic, flag-like pennant for the station, creating an ‘A’ out of a series of triangles. The pennant had strong associations with the knight but was infinitely more flexible. They went on to implement the new identity across all on and off–screen elements, from actual channel idents to stationery and vehicle livery. It was one of the most comprehensive corporate identity projects that Lambie-Nairn undertook in the early years.
- TF1 (1989)
TF1 was the largest of France’s six television stations and, in 1989, had just been privatised. Lambie-Nairn was commissioned to design a new identity to reflect its positioning as France’s No. 1 Television Channel and to modernise the channel’s image. We created a bold new logo, which embodied a complex range of references to French design and culture, from the Pernod-style lettering to the red, white and blue of the national Tricolour. The logo remains one of the most widely recognised in Europe today.
In 1997, Lambie-Nairn was asked to revisit the identity in light of research undertaken by the BBC. Our strategy was to reposition it away from being ‘traditional’ and ‘established’ to be perceived as: forward looking, universally popular, self confident, diverse, solid, and feeling of oneness and unity. The concept of the balloon articulated all these values in a larger than life way and celebrated the nation by communicating: ‘BBC ONE brings the whole world to every corner of the UK.’
BBC TWO is the second channel for BBC Television in the United Kingdom. It has a high quality mix of culture, current affairs, award winning documentaries and innovative entertainment. The problem was that the audience perceived the channel as being worthy but dull. The identity that we created in 1993 completely reversed these negative perceptions of the channel. It was a long term creative property specifically designed to be continually updated to reflect the diversity of the channel’s output. Today, many of the new idents are produced by the BBC themselves.
- S4C (1993)
S4C is ‘Channel Four for Wales’: a general entertainment channel for both Welsh and English language speakers which shares much of Channel Four’s prime-time schedule. Proudly Welsh, the channel sought a contemporary image that avoided folk-culture clichés. The solution involved a new look at a very traditional symbol, the fire breathing Welsh dragon, reinterpreted as ‘everyday objects brought to life’. The identity breathes life into a hitherto static heraldic beast. It becomes an exciting and contemporary symbol which S4C have made their own by constantly surprising the audience with the different interpretations of the dragon theme. Importantly, there is no one definitive interpretation of the dragon, but an on-going series, constantly updated.
- Arte (1994)
Arte was a European cultural channel broadcasting in French and German. However, the channel was mentioned as cold, elitist and lacking fun. It also had an inconsistent identity that was confusing on-screen and off. Lambie-Nairn re-branded the channel to help change perceptions of the channel; first, by simplifying the logo.
- Orange (1994)
Sky Television in New Zealand wanted to launch a new pay-television channel providing general entertainment.
However, at least three other channels already provided very good general entertainment with budgets to match at the time of its launch. It was in effect a ‘me-too’ product launching into a crowded market. The only way to stand out in this crowd was to adopt a radical approach. Avoiding the well-worn use of numerals, initials or descriptors, Lambie-Nairn positioned, named and branded Orange in a very different way from all its competitors.
Within 6 weeks of its launch, awareness far exceeded 80% of all expectations.
- Disney Channel (1995)
Disney is one of the world’s biggest and most powerful brands. When Disney decided to extend their Disney Channel franchise to the UK, they recognised the need to take account of cultural differences outside the United States. The task was to customise this well-known brand for television viewers in the UK and elsewhere. The solution was devastating, but effective; it revolved around maximising the universally recognised icon of Mickey Mouse, using a variety of visually distinctive devices to create Mickey’s silhouette.
Following the success of this brand identity in the UK, Disney Channel had planned to use it on their other upcoming channels worldwide.
In response to a Belgian government decree and VRT’s Board of Directors goal to increase the visibility, salience and relevance of its public service network, we were commissioned to look at the organisation’s network and genre branding.
TV1, now Een, was re-launched in September 1997. The key objectives were to differentiate it from broadly similar competitive landscape and to communicate core values of leadership, entertainment, Flemish roots and modernity. The sun was chosen as a universal symbol of warmth capable of a variety of entertaining executions.
VRT’s second channel suffered from low awareness and therefore the agreed brand strategy was quite different from the more populist TV1. A completely new name was chosen to position the channel more distinctly.
The chosen name – Canvas – formed the basis of the big brand idea – an empty canvas waiting to be filled with colour and movement. A two metre high mirror in the shape of the Canvas symbol was filmed in a variety of locations throughout Flanders including a beach, a fun-fair, an industrial greenhouse and the main concourse at Brussels airport.
At relevant times of the day the Canvas branding was replaced by genre branding aimed at children. Ketnet was positioned around the idea of ‘making your mark’. Animated network ID's were based on graffiti, doodles and finger painting.
CBBC and the new CBeebies channels required a look and feel that would reflect and meet the diverse needs of children. Focusing on one of the universal themes of childhood – kids feeling ‘in control’, our creative idea aims to position both channels as an adult –free place.
The identities created needed to stimulate, surprise and be the fun friend who gives you access to different worlds. Overall, the channels aim to be infectious viewing for kids.
From this point, our creative core thought was, ‘its alive and it’s catching’, which led to the creation of brightly coloured green/yellow monsters that would interact, play and disrupt to build a reputation of the naughty child of BBC.
- BBC Three (2003)
Lambie-Nairn has created the identity for BBC Three, the latest digital channel from the BBC which launched on 9 February 2003.
The channel offers a wide range of programming including documentaries, news, comedy, drama and music. Its target audience is made up of attitudinally young men and women in the 25-34 age bracket who are influenced by, and aim to influence youth culture.
For the identity, we needed to find a way of delivering against the core values of the channel (bold, challenging, young, risky, fresh, intelligent, British etc.). We felt that if we created a character, it could act as the intermediary between the audience and the BBC – a character that could surprise, challenge and behave unpredictably.
The character had to be unique to BBC THREE, and embody its unique tone of voice whilst retaining its link to the BBC.
Through Stuart Murphy, Channel Controller of BBC Three, we came across a character called the ‘blob’ which Aardman Studios had created.
It fitted all of our criteria for the BBC Three identity so we commissioned Aardman to develop the blobs for the idents. They exhibit a wide range of character traits, from tough and likeable to impulsive, sweet and mischievous.
- UKTV (2000)
UK Gold is the best of British TV entertainment, with the emphasis on comedy. Lambie-Nairn created their long-established ‘fireworks’ identity used from 2000 to 2004.
Meanwhile, UK Drama is exactly what its name suggests; emotionally gripping storytelling. The new identity creates a series of drum ‘fanfares’, suitable both for ‘classic’ period drama and more contemporary material. Three drummers perform in unison under suitably dramatic, sometimes startling, lighting effects.
UK Horizons offers a broad range of factual programming, with the accent on accessibility. The identity features a flying bumblebee (nicknamed ‘The Bug’ by the production team) which goes anywhere and sees everything while relaying sounds and images to the viewer.
UK Style is presented as a colourful, multi-faceted and inspirational source of ideas for the home, garden and kitchen. The central image is of a ‘palette’ of ideas, represented on screen by the split-screen device and off screen by a simple four-part arrangement of colours or colour photography.
Play UK is a digital music and comedy channel which attracts a youth audience. We wanted to develop the idea of the 'sound' of music and comedy, and so created visuals that react to sound in a way that recalls oscilloscopes and graphic equalisers. The result is dynamic, startling and hopefully fashion-proof.
The change of name from UK Play to Play UK is a minor change, which nevertheless significantly distances the channel from the rest of the UKTV family. The identity has been implemented on-air, online and across all print material.
- LCI (2005)
Following an international pitch, we have re-designed LCI (La Chaîne Info) France’s number one dedicated 24 hour satellite and cable news channel.
Whilst maintaining the core brand values of authority and integrity, our task was to modernise both the channel and its programming brands by refreshing and evolving all elements of its on-air identity.
In addition to the master channel ident and headline news title sequences, we created a flexible toolkit including a comprehensive graphic information and presentation system for use across a range of news, sports, economic, cultural and political programming. This system enables information to be presented in a clear and accessible way with maximum impact.
From the start of the project it was important that we demonstrated our in-depth understanding of LCI’s business and the competitive nature of the French news marketplace. An in-depth review of the brand’s visual and audio identity revealed an opportunity to add new branding elements. In terms of the creative execution, the flexible and ownable split-screen device echo’s the logotype and strengthens brand recognition across all elements of the identity.
[edit] O2
Lambie-Nairn created the O2 brand identity after BT Cellnet asked them to create a new brand which would change perceptions. The consumer insight of “my phone is as essential to me as my house keys or my wallet; I wouldn’t leave home without it” helped to create the brand platform of ‘essential for life’ which was manifested in the name, oxygen’s chemical symbol (O2), and the key visual property of the O2 bubbles, which have become inherently associated with the brand. Peter Erskine, the Chief Executive Officer for O2 Telefonica Europe said that “The O2 Brand is the envy of all our competitors in terms of its single-minded clarity - both visually and tonally”.[6]
[edit] Clients
Qatari 2022 FIFA World Cup bid
[edit] Awards and industry involvement
The company is also involved with several industry bodies having judged the branding and design categories of the Roses Design Awards,[7] D&AD,[8] and Eurobest.[9] The company is also a member of D&AD’s educational council.[10]
[edit] Awards won
2009 – Design Week Awards – Point of Sale – Sainsbury’s Bags
2009 – Benchmark Awards – Media – BBC News
2008 – Gold, WPPED Cream Awards - BBC News
2008 – Silver, WPPED Cream Awards – Wunderman
2008 – Gold, Cannes Lion - Broadcast Design – The Business Channel
2007 – WPPED Cream Awards
2006 IPA Gold - O2 UK
2006 D&AD - In-book status for D&AD Annual 2006
2005 Runner up - Marketing Week - Design Agency of the Year Award
2005 Marketing Design Award – O2
2005 Promax – Hall of Fame Award
2004 Silver. D&AD – BBC3
2003 Winner, Graphic Design, RTS – BBC3
2003 Platinum, BDA – BBC 2
2003 Platinum, BDA – CBBC
2003 Silver, Promax USA – Sci Fi idents (Sci Fi)
2003 Gold, Promax USA – Fly Boy (Sci Fi)
2003 Gold, Promax USA – Bird Eater (Sci Fi)
2003 Silver, Promax USA – Weird Pet (Sci Fi)
2003 Silver Award, D&AD – Sci Fi
2003 Golden Pencil, One Show – Sci Fi
2003 Silver, Promax Europe – Weird Pet (Sci Fi)
2003 Commendation, Marketing Society Awards – O2
2002 Gold, Promax UK – BBC Four
2001 Silver, Promax/BDA – Play UK
2001 Silver, Promax/BDA – BBC World
2000 Silver Award, D&AD – BBC Corporate Identity
2000 Silver, Promax/BDA – BBC News
2000 Silver, Promax/BDA – BBC News 24 Set Design
1999 Gold, Best On-Air Ident, Promax UK – BBC 1
1999 Winner, Corporate Identity, Design Week Awards – BBC
1999 Best of Show, Design Week Awards – BBC Corporate Identity
1999 Gold, Promax Europe – UK Play
1998 Gold, RTS Graphic Design – BBC 1
1998 Prince Philip Award for Design Excellence
1998 Gold, Promax UK – BBC 2
1998 Silver, Promax/BDA, BBC Radio 3, To Be Or Not To Be
1998 Silver, Promax/BDA – UK Style
1998 Silver, Promax UK - BBC Radio 3 – To Be Or Not To Be
1997 Design Week Award for Television Graphics – PowerGen
1997 D&AD President’s Award
1996 Special Award for Graphics, Creative Club Belgium – Ka2
1995 PROMAX Gold Medallion Award for Orbit Satellite
1995 Gold, PROMAX UK, Best On-Air Ident – Ka2
1994 Silver, PROMAX/BDA, Lambie-Nairn Showreel
1993 Silver Award, BDA – High Interest – Channel 4 title sequence
1993 Gold Award, BDA – TV5 Nordic
1991 Silver Award D&AD, Most Outstanding TV Graphics
1988 Creative Circle Honours
1986 Creative Circle Honours
1986 D&AD Silver Award for the most outstanding animation
1985 Creative Circle Honours
1985 D&AD Silver Award for 30 second television commercial
1985 D&AD Silver Award for the most outstanding animation
1983 D&AD Silver Award for most outstanding graphics in a television commercial
1983 D&AD Silver Award for most outstanding range of packaging
1983 D&AD Silver Award for most outstanding corporate identity
1983 D&AD Gold Award for Design
[edit] References
- ^ WPP - Our Companies WPP Group
- ^ http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/23c80cb6299d2f8c9053197897f28f04/compdetails
- ^ http://www.britannica.com/bps/additionalcontent/18/27677628/Enterprises-move-to-revive-an-old-name-could-set-a-trend
- ^ http://www.ukbusinesspark.co.uk/wppaaaaa.htm
- ^ http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/856529/Lambie-Nairn-unveils-Creative-Britain-conference-design/
- ^ http://www.lambie-nairn.com/#/blog/2008/05/15/the-usp-or-the-csp/
- ^ http://www.thedrum.co.uk/events/75-roses-design-awards-2010/
- ^ http://awards.dandad.org/2010/juries/brnd/branding/42/adrian-burton
- ^ http://www.eurobest.com/
- ^ http://www.dandad.org/2009/05/education-council
