PHD launches new global visual identity

LONDON, Tuesday: Global media network PHD, part of Omnicom Media Group, has introduced a new mark and refreshed brand identity to reflect its philosophy ‘Make the Leap’ – a call to action for leveraging the power of imagination to drive disproportionate growth for its clients’ business.

UK-based worldwide ceo Philippa Brown said: “For over 30 years, PHD has put creativity, innovation, and thought leadership at the heart of the business.

“Creativity and the power of imagination are what fuel our industry and we believe that only by making imaginative leaps in creativity can we best help our clients flourish and, therefore, leap forward commercially.

“The evolution of our identity brings this idea to life, with a contemporary and dynamic mark that positions us for the future.”

Chief strategy officer Mark Holden (also London-based) said: “In the modern world, advancements in data and technology have enabled marketers to improve how they target and measure their campaigns.

“However, while this is hugely important, at PHD, we know that every great campaign starts with a great creative idea.

“Our new identity is strategically designed with digital and motion in mind. The mark has been designed to harness a sense of kinetic energy.”

“That’s why our new identity focuses on creativity above all else – because it’s the power of imagination that drives disproportionate growth, not just reports and spreadsheets.

“The updated brand identity, created in collaboration with independent design director Cosmo Jameson, has been designed with digital, motion, and audio capabilities in mind and reimagined to fully embody the PHD brand ethos ‘Make the Leap’.

“At the core of the new branding are visual assets that represent PHD’s values of creativity, courage, openness, collaboration, and curiosity – a reflection of the fact that it’s the creativity and innovation of PHD’s talent that powers business growth.

“The identity comes alive with brand imagery and film that allows the viewer to feel the brand values by showing the duality of a world reimagined from one state to another through visual lateral leaps.”

Worldwide chief marketing officer Avril Canavan (London) said: “Our new identity is strategically designed with digital and motion in mind to reflect how we work today as well as being a symbol of our ethos. The brand mark is dynamic and flexible, capable of making a physical leap itself to trigger imagery or film and reveal a world reimagined.”

Design director Cosmo Jameson said: “PHD has an industry-leading intelligence born from the duality of strategy and creativity.

“The new branding is being implemented internally and externally across all of PHD’s 100+ markets.”

“The brief was to capture the imaginative leaps and it’s the visual theme of duality, along with ‘the leap’, that drives an ownable visual language throughout the identity, defining brand imagery and film but most noticeable in the brand mark which has been recrafted as an ambigram.”

“The mark has been designed to harness a sense of kinetic energy. Its rotational symmetry allows it to demonstrate its ambigram qualities in motion but in static, its form somewhat suggests it’s about to spring into action at any moment.”

The new branding is being implemented internally and externally across all of PHD’s 100+ markets.

About PHD
Since it was founded in London in 1990, as the first media agency to offer strategic and creative planning, PHD has been helping clients achieve disproportionate growth. Today, with 100 offices in 74 countries, PHD remains in the business of growth, with a challenger mindset and focus on creativity.

Using its proprietary gamified operating system, Omni Studio, which enables the network to work together in a live environment, PHD creates ideas that enable brands to move beyond incremental improvements and make the leap above their competitors.

PHD is ranked in the top four networks in the world (according to the 2020 WARC Media 100) and was named Media Network of the Festival for 2020 and 2021 at the Cannes Lions. In 2020, PHD was also crowned EMEA Media Network of the Year at the Campaign Awards and Media Network of the Year at M&M Global and Festival of Media North America.

The PHD network is part of the Omnicom Media Group, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC).