Centigon
New:
Name and logo
Launched:
August 26, 2005.
Story in brief:
“Armor” is a pretty good name for Armor Holdings, the corporate parent of the new Centigon subsidiary brand; various Armor companies provide such products as body armor to police, military and VIP markets. (Yes, it's a growth stock.) Armor also “up-armors” limousines for Presidents, ambassadors and other very important passengers (and Humvees, SUVs and pickup trucks for others who may be targeted). This is the business that is now “Centigon, the Mobile Security Division of Armor Holdings, Inc.”
Centigon integrates three acquisitions into one global brand. The French company Labbe and the German company Trasco had previously been renamed “AMS - France” and “AMS - Germany,” a notably weak branding solution. (This was a perfect example of naming units to meet internal communication needs, while forgetting the marketplace.) Then in 2001, when the O'Gara-Hess & Eisenhardt Armoring Co. was acquired, wiser heads said “Let's not compound this name problem; let's consider starting over.” Division President Gary Allen also insisted on best-in-class sourcing for the needed identity work.
Landor's Cincinnati office, led by Mary Zalla, won and handled the full assignment and credits designer Joe Stitzlein for the “Diamond Shield” solution, favored for its message of durability with elegance.
Credits:
“C.E.O.” - Gary Allen, Centigon president
Marketing director - Eva Keller
Identity counsel, naming and design - Landor (Cincinnati)
First Impressions:
Name:
Seeing “Centigon,” my spell check offered only “Pentagon.” When you're selling protection good enough for tanks, that's positive word association. (Landor's publicity says the name combines “sentry” and “paragon,” but I'll bet the 'Pentagon' association was more persuasive.) Bottom line, it's an excellent name; nothing more descriptive could be more effective, in the unlikely event it were available. And strategically, a “Centigon” can better determine its own destiny.
Design:
I think a symbol does work, here, to add distinctiveness and personality to the name. To me 'shield' comes across strongly, “diamond' less so and the line (or badge) version reads as a car wheel, all very appropriate. As intended, it will look fine on a Maybach.
Strategy:
Clearly, for the Division this new brand is a winner. In a highly fragmented category (think neighborhood garages) it coalesces several somewhat regional and specialized reputations into a compelling global offering, which preempts the global leadership position. It is less clear that it is a winner for the parent brand reputation, because it weights division autonomy more heavily than corporate coherence. Armor Holdings should now clarify its own intent, and perhaps its brand expression.
previous company
Source:
identityworks
