Challenge
Super Bock is Portugal’s top-selling beer with a business that is rapidly spreading to new markets such as the USA and China. Unicer is Super Bock’s mother company and the largest Portuguese beverage company. Despite owning other successful sparkling water and still water brands, the company decided to reconnect its corporate brand with its business roots - beer-making (in a country world-famous for its wine) and Portuguese, with a legacy dating back to 1890. In order to up its game in the global arena, Unicer decided to change its name to Super Bock Group. In the ensuing rebranding process, the company would have to challenge itself to the core.
Work
Our insight. We wondered why Super Bock beer was named ‘super’ (Latin, meaning ‘beyond’) in the first place – the brand was launched in 1927. Was “Super Bock” just a random selection of words or was it something else? Could it be that the company that produced the beer always felt it was in the Group’s nature to continuously outplay itself? Could this be the real reason why it renamed itself Super Bock Group? Not just to create a direct link to the beer, but to honour its own soul?
Our thinking. We needed to convey this story of overcoming challenges through a myth.
Creative idea. We reimagined the company’s image and storytelling using the age-old Portuguese tradition of maritime exploration as inspiration. We created a story where three entrepreneurs cross the ocean, building and transforming their boat along the way. This mythology was the kick-start for an integrated rebranding project that went well beyond the customary brand ID package comprising a logotype, stationery and signage. It touched every area and every platform of the company: a mythical short film, an event launch concept, internal communication, internal platform renaming, new stock photo bank, site, everything.
Client feedback
“(…) it’s as if the people who conducted the project were able to get inside our minds and understand what the stakes were and what path we should follow.”
“Wonder\Why was amazing. They have a lot of experience in corporate identity rebranding projects. In terms of creativity, they captured what we wanted; they also helped us in hard-core project management. They have a broad vision of what needs to be done.”
“(…) we found the same level of quality and expertise (of renowned British agencies) in a Portuguese company. We developed ideas and concepts with them, which became a great working basis. They’re a team that demonstrated a growing ability to rise to our challenges and to understand our doubts.”
Rui Lopes Ferreira, CEO Super Bock Group
Marketeer Magazine (December 2017)
