Consistency & creativity
Strong brands are consistent brands, but being consistent doesn’t mean we cannot be creative. Quite the contrary.
At DSM we have a two-layer brand architecture. The first is our company brand and the idea here is simple.
Our products and solutions come from a single company with a consistent, cohesive message behind it. This means we communicate as DSM, not individual Business Groups (other than for financial or reporting comms) – and with no additional taglines or logos – as this Feedback Empowers showcase explains.
The second layer concerns individual product (or category) brands.
If you want to brand a product (old or new) there are three categories:
These comprise the vast majority of our product portfolio, and are loaded with DSM brand identity elements to help maximize their value and impact (e.g. Arnitel®, Delvo®Cheese, Parsol®, CAROPHYLL® etc.)
For a handful of DSM products with significant size and scope, you can create a Product Brand with its own logo and unique visual elements. (e.g. Dyneema®).
Finally, there’s one rare breed of DSM product brand: the Ingredient Brand (e.g. life’s™OMEGA).
As well as its own logo and unique visual elements (based on the DSM color palette), you can also add an inspirational product promise (tagline) – in the case of Dyneema®, ‘With you when it matters’.
Please note: your potential Product Brand first needs to meet these criteria:
If your product meets these criteria you can go ahead and create your DSM Product Brand.
If it doesn’t, you have a Company Branded Proposition. If you’re unsure, just contact the Marketing & Sales Team for more info.
Please remember: It’s essential to have the correct trademark approvals and registrations for all Product Brands. For more information contact the Global Trademarks Center of DSM Intellectual Property (for employees only) or send them an email.
On certain consumer products you’ll find a DSM Ingredient Brand such as life’s™OMEGA referenced on the product's label, representing a guarantee to the consumer of the quality they’re buying.
In other words, while most of our product brands are B2B, our Ingredient Brands are B2C - thus making that direct connection with the consumer, usually at point-of-purchase.
Obviously creating an Ingredient Brand is not solely DSM’s decision and needs to be considered very carefully with the third party. For more information contact the Global Trademarks Center of DSM Intellectual Property (for employees only) or send them an email.
Strong brands are consistent brands, but being consistent doesn’t mean we cannot be creative. Quite the contrary.
Our brand is forged by six core building blocks: our purpose, brand promise, core values, personality, positioning, and our ways of working.
If we want our voice to be heard above the noise it’s essential that our brand identity matches our ambition.