The Origins
The Bensaude Group is one of the largest Portuguese economic groups but few people outside the Azores islands even know it exists. This is due to an extreme low profile kept throughout two centuries, perhaps due to its Jewish origins. Still, the Group has been thriving since 1820, which is nothing short of amazing.
Every entrepreneur knows how difficult it is for a company to survive the first 10 years, let alone 200.
This is a group that has endured several economic crises, been through cycles of wealth and scarcity and while other groups rose to prominence but eventually disappeared, the Bensaude Group became an empire in the late nineteenth century and has remained so ever since.
The company’s history is intertwined with the Azores’ own history. They started shipping oranges from the Azores to the British Isles, clothes from England to the Azores and passengers from the Azores to Brazil. After a few years they started buying their own ships, became the owners of a fleet, started dealing with coal to fuel their ships, went into the logistics business to manage their cargo and ended up managing other merchants’ cargo, created insurance for the ships, launched tobacco and alcohol factories, created a bank, and so on and so on.
This is a company that had a second plan for everything. Typically, they started a business with a market expert as a partner, learned the trade, expanded the business, and eventually became sole owners. But if the business wasn’t successful, the Group would cut its losses and move on to a new business.
The Beautiful Now
In 2020 the Group reached the 200-year mark with unusual strength: 3300 employees, operating in markets as diverse as tourism (hotels, rent-a-car, travel), energy, shipping & logistics, services (insurance, transport) and stores & distribution centres; the Group is also still owned by the same family, the Bensaudes. It is an unparalleled case in the national economy.
The Challenge
To celebrate its bicentenary, the Group decided that the time had come to embrace the communication challenges of the new millennium as a forward-thinking economic powerhouse. It understood it needed to raise its brand & communication profile.
The Work
We wondered how a company could last for as long as it had and still be profitable. One of the traits that stands out is that the Bensaude Group has always been what you could call a serene force. It moves gently but steadily towards tomorrow, with an iron commitment to the evolution of its business, its people and the Azores.
New logo
New symbol – a strong B monogram leaning forward. Bensaude has been so economically relevant for so long that it can be visually represented by a B. But this is a Group that doesn’t forget where it comes from: behind the B, a triangle whose apexes represent not only the present and the future, but also the past, the learning and experience acquired over the last 2 centuries.
New colour – a serene green, symbol of hope and of the Azores.
New motto – “evoluir em nome do futuro” (meaning, “evolve in the name of the future”). This is a Group that plans ahead of its time.
New visual pattern – geometrical, precise, elastic, inspirational.
First movie ever
The Group needed to tell its story in a movie. How could it be done? The Azores is a beautiful archipelago, with breathtaking landscapes but it has been shot a zillion times. We wanted this film to show the real Azores, the deeper, industrialised, people-focused Azores, the islands the company had known and worked on over the last 2 centuries.
Work in progress
The rebranding includes a series of brand & communication projects still in the making, which will be showcased when launched.