Elanco — Tracy Mathews

Elanco Animal Health verbal and visual rebrand

WHO?

Elanco Animal Health (Elanco), a division of Eli Lilly and Company, was at a point of significant transition, nearing the completion of a merger with Novartis Animal Health. The merger would dramatically alter its product and service portfolio, corporate culture and global footprint, catapulting it from seventh to second largest animal health company in the world. Consequently, Elanco sought a comprehensive rebrand—encompassing the development of a new corporate brand positioning and messaging, brand architecture and visual identity—that would represent the “new Elanco” and enhance the profile of the company globally among customers, stakeholders and employees.

WHAT?

After analyzing Elanco’s business strategy, product and service portfolio and existing corporate positioning and communications approach, we conducted desk-side and stakeholder opinion research to understand its position in the marketplace vis-à-vis its competitors, as well as customers’ and stakeholders’ opinions of and expectations for the company. This research revealed several critical business challenges that we believed the refreshed positioning must address, as well as competitive differentiators the positioning needed to leverage. Based on these insights, I worked alongside the Account Manager and Senior Creative Director to develop a new corporate positioning that aligned with and supported its business plan, capitalized on the company’s heritage and marketplace strengths, mitigated perceived areas of weakness and was proven to build attachment between the company, its customers, employees and other external stakeholders.

In order to align with the new brand positioning, I developed a new visual identity for the company in order to humanize the brand and put more emphasis on its customers. I created new comprehensive corporate brand guidelines, including new brand colors, logo and sub-brand treatments, curated photography and imagery standards, iconography, stationery and templates for use. These are now in use throughout the organization and has helped guide the creation of trade show materials, social graphics and more.

SO WHAT?

All of this work led up to the official launch of their rebrand, where I supported Elanco in rolling out the brand internally and amongst its other agencies, by creating training materials and conducting brand trainings to help employees understand the new brand positioning and implement the new visual and verbal identity.

With acclaim from the CEO, CMO and Director of Global Corporate Communications, Elanco implemented the refreshed brand across the organization, launching a new website and developing an external corporate brochure and ad campaign to further enhance brand awareness, which I helped to write copy for and designed.

Mood board exploration