“GWK has an existing great brand legacy that was created over a long period of time. Together with a modern format, the revamped brand aligns to our existing values,” says Neil de Klerk, GWK executive manager - corporate marketing.
“We have partnered with the best in the business to continue the brand legacy and innovate all touch points for GWK. It was a natural progression to modernize our logo to represent the intimate relationship between farmers and GWK.”
Research for the re-branding and advertising campaign started at the end of 2014 through a partnership with
Lowe and Partners. Lowe Cross Colours, and Oil, its marketing strategy division, created the rebranding campaign. The team was led by Joanina Pastoll of Lowe Cross Colours, who has won several international awards for design.
“GWK endeavours to be on the forefront of technology, to innovate agriculture and to always keep discovering,” Pastoll says. “They are business people that happen to be in agriculture and we were delighted to work with them to bring to life what they strive for with a modern progressive look. GWK is a future-based company portrayed in a dynamic new logo.”
The new GWK logo illustrates innovation, collaboration and value: GWK in blue intercepts the farm-based producer in green. The darker green midway point symbolises a place where GWK and producers innovate agriculture, culminating in a brand that truly represents the modern producer.
The marketing objective behind the GWK rebrand is to establish a culture of continuous discovery. The rebranding team felt that companies are classified under different archetypes, allowing for consumers to understand the brand and create experiences that connect them with the company. Archetypes includes descriptions such as ‘performer’, ‘caregiver’, ‘artist’, ‘philosopher’, ‘ruler’ and ‘motivator’.
From exploratory research done ahead of the rebranding process, GWK adopted the business archetype of "The Discoverer", as it believes that it has established a standard that seeks to chase innovation and discover new and smarter solutions in agriculture.
"Our positioning of continuous discovery is rooted in the fact that producers and entrepreneurs are entrepreneurs - modern explorers of our era. Exploration is part of our company's DNA; this is who we are and how we do things," says de Klerk. "The world needs farmers who work in ways that no one ever thought was possible to meet the growing demand for food.
"The level of introspection we did among ourselves and within our sector was an insightful process. We literally looked at the heart and soul of our company," says de Klerk, adding that the research team interviewed producers, media, academics, industry leaders and politicians from across South Africa. "Our goal was is to shape perceptions about agriculture and the highlight the importance and our love for farming. We want to create something unique to share with others.”