Forbo

Today, Forbo is one of the world's leading companies in the flooring and movement systems sectors. The question arose in 2007 as to which brand strategy could be used to achieve the company’s growth strategy. The options were either with a strong umbrella brand or, as before, with more than 25 individual brands. Hotz Brand Consultants has been supporting Forbo in all questions of brand strategy for 7 years.

The objectives: support the strategic brand development process for the systematic restructuring of the entire brand portfolio and transfer it into a single brand structure that radiates the power of the umbrella brand to all areas of activity. HBC was also entrusted to support the ongoing restructuring of the brand portfolio and brand strategy issues in the context of acquisitions or divestments.

The central challenge would be to find a supporting common idea to connect the varied business fields that displayed little natural overlap.

Based on the new brand strategy, a new group vision was developed in a comprehensive identity process, and overarching corporate values were defined. All results were translated into a multi-year internal programme to mobilise employees: ‘The Forbo Way to Win’. The new brand strategy was thoroughly documented and translated into action guidelines for the group divisions to ensure strong and consistent group communications.

Throughout, HBC provided ongoing support in implementing adequate and competitive communication that sustainably supported the brand identity and awareness. This ongoing support ensured effective brand management and implementation of related measures. For example, a new corporate website was launched in collaboration with Calydo that represented the new corporate identity.

The brand development gave the restructured Forbo Group a uniform identity with a strengthened self-image that shows off its paramount corporate values. Ultimately, HBC was successful in the creation of a strong global brand from 25 distinctly contrasting sub-brands.

Development and worldwide implementation of the positioning, values, and brand identity as part of the new brand strategy was met with highly positive feedback. In the process, the brand design, which corresponds to the high quality of the services and visually communicates the brand core, was awarded accordingly (Bilanz-Ranking 2011).