Alpha Bravo Collins
B2B Brand Strategy
In fall 2018, United Technologies completed a $30 billion acquisition of Rockwell Collins, resulting in the largest aerospace supplier ever: Collins Aerospace. The two merging parties worked with Iris to build their new brand. Having recently launched another United Technologies brand (Otis Elevator Company) in 2017, Iris was poised to give Collins a strong identity that, like Otis’ brand, honored a long legacy but embraced a promising future.
In an industry where blue skies, distorted angles and over-designed renderings reigned, Collins opted for the opposite: minimalism. Almost all of what Collins produces is complicated – they make nearly everything that goes inside a plane, after all – so a sleek, stark brand helped eschew the complexity and instead show the massive emotional impact of aerospace on the world.
The foundation of any Iris brand is the Passionate Purpose – our framework for uncovering and defining a brand’s reason for being. For Collins Aerospace, it was:
UNLEASHING INTELLIGENCE. ELEVATING RELATIONSHIPS. REDEFINING AEROSPACE.
It was important for the Collins team that we emphasize partnership and customer-driven solutions, as it was the personal dedication paired with vast expertise that would fuel the final outcome: redefining aerospace.
The high contrast black & white photography, limited palette and simple lines were a true manifestation of Collins’ brand purpose: redefining aerospace. They were changing the way we look at the industry – moving from manufactured and corporate to profound and promising. The copy did some heavy lifting, too. We took the NATO alphabet, commonly used in aviation, and quite literally redefined it, changing “alpha bravo Charlie” to “alpha bravo Collins.” That alphabet construct became central to our launch campaign.
Client
Specialisms involved
In fall 2018, United Technologies completed a $30 billion acquisition of Rockwell Collins, resulting in the largest aerospace supplier ever: Collins Aerospace. The two merging parties worked with Iris to build their new brand. Having recently launched another United Technologies brand (Otis Elevator Company) in 2017, Iris was poised to give Collins a strong identity that, like Otis’ brand, honored a long legacy but embraced a promising future.
In an industry where blue skies, distorted angles and over-designed renderings reigned, Collins opted for the opposite: minimalism. Almost all of what Collins produces is complicated – they make nearly everything that goes inside a plane, after all – so a sleek, stark brand helped eschew the complexity and instead show the massive emotional impact of aerospace on the world.
The foundation of any Iris brand is the Passionate Purpose – our framework for uncovering and defining a brand’s reason for being. For Collins Aerospace, it was:
UNLEASHING INTELLIGENCE. ELEVATING RELATIONSHIPS. REDEFINING AEROSPACE.
It was important for the Collins team that we emphasize partnership and customer-driven solutions, as it was the personal dedication paired with vast expertise that would fuel the final outcome: redefining aerospace.
The high contrast black & white photography, limited palette and simple lines were a true manifestation of Collins’ brand purpose: redefining aerospace. They were changing the way we look at the industry – moving from manufactured and corporate to profound and promising. The copy did some heavy lifting, too. We took the NATO alphabet, commonly used in aviation, and quite literally redefined it, changing “alpha bravo Charlie” to “alpha bravo Collins.” That alphabet construct became central to our launch campaign.
Highlights
