The new brand identity exemplifies the STANLEY® positioning as a reliable and enduring total solutions brand for who use these tools as part of their daily work, such as builders, plumbers, electricians, mechanics, handymen, painters and others.

“STANLEY® has undergone a tremendous transformation in the past 15 years,” says Mayan Desai, trade marketing manager for Stanley Black & Decker. “Our primary target market for STANLEY® is enthusiastic DIY'ers to professionals who use their tools every day. They are authorities in their field and generally make their tool purchase decision independently. Many of these people fall into SME’s and tend to be entrepreneurs who own their own company.”

“Many end users are also familiar with our top quality hand tools, to the extent that the brand name has to some extent become generic for certain products, for example a ‘stanley’ knife. All STANLEY® tools have a reputation for excellence in performance, and therefore can be used across the board,” says Desai.

The new STANLEY® brand identity encapsulates the strength and endurance of the brand, communicating ‘Performance in Action’ and is synonymous with tools that won’t let one down. The new logo visually maintains the rich STANLEY® heritage and brand equity in the traditional yellow and black palette. The company last modified the STANLEY® logo in 1995, continuing an evolution that has progressed for nearly two centuries.

Desai says, “In 170 years, we’ve had three basic logos, this new logo has the strength and power to carry us for decades to come as a professional brand for tradesmen. The global strategy and design teams worked closely with Stanley Black & Decker leadership to decide the best direction for the brand.”

Lippincott, a leading branding and corporate identity design agency who have worked with brands such as 3M, Delta Air Lines, eBay, Hyatt, Infiniti, Samsung, Starbucks, and Walmart, were a key partner in the process.

“We truly looked to Lippincott as our strategic and creative partner as our company transformed the Stanley brand into the dynamic and diverse brand it is today. Based on this collaborative spirit and dedication to finding innovative solutions, our teams worked in harmony to usher STANLEY® into its new era while keeping the integrity of our heritage intact,” says Scott Bannell, vice president, Corporate Brand Management, STANLEY®.

STANLEY® is one of the the leading brand of the Stanley Black & Decker portfolio, and has been recognised as one of the leading global hand tool manufacturers since its inception, with its iconic products such as measuring tapes and utility knives. STANLEY® is moving beyond the common perception that it is a brand just for hand tools, to becoming a total solutions brand. This means that an end user will find everything from hand tools, power tools, storage and more under one brand.

The users of STANLEY® are conscious of the quality of a tool, specifically its strength and ability to last or durability. They also look for a product that is not necessarily the cheapest, but has the best value proposition as far as cost, durability and performance goes. Tradesmen are aware of which brands other professionals in their field use, but they make their own decisions and are not influenced by others when deciding which tool to buy.

They understand that STANLEY® tools are compliant with the highest quality standards and that they have class leading guarantees in place with excellent after sales service, which has recently improved as Stanley, Black & Decker has vastly increased its corporate presence in South Africa. STANLEY® users appreciate that it is a total solutions brand offering them a wide variety of tools. STANLEY® has enhanced its brand reputation by investing in various worthwhile environmental and CSI initiatives.

For more information on Stanley Black & Decker, visit www.stanleyblackanddeckersa.co.za.