GERPHOS
Shaking up the chemicals industry with a red hot B2B product brand
Client
Gulec Chemicals, Germany
Industry
Chemicals Engineering & Manufacturing
Services
Brand Strategy, Brand Identity Development, Web Design
Year Completed
2020
Project Photography
Startling Brands
Gulec Chemicals is a chemicals company headquartered in Nuremberg, Germany. They are a leading producer of non-halogenated flame retardants used in various products spanning the fields of aviation, architecture, transportation, and furniture.
PEOPLE VS FLAME RETARDANTS
Addressing the burning public image issue
We live surrounded by highly flammable plastics. They are an integral component of our phones, computers, furniture, cars, trains and airplanes. When accidents, mishaps, and technical failures occur, flame retardants prevent or slow the spread of fire in these dangerous materials.
For decades, toxic and harmful conventional halogenated flame retardant solutions compounds were the norm, impacting public perception of these products. With reports on their toxicity piling up and an increase in regulation efforts, flame retardants have come to have a profoundly negative public image.
CHANGING THE CHEMICALS INDUSTRY PARADIGM
Developing a B2B industry-changer brand strategy
We partnered with Gulec to develop a new B2B product brand aimed at achieving the following goals:
🔥 changing negative public opinion about flame retardants by increasing awareness of their safer non-halogenated flame retardant alternatives
🔥 enabling expansion to conservative markets that are stuck with hazardous legacy flame retardant solutions
🔥 creating and executing a long-term brand strategy to support Gulec to become a world leader in non-halogenated, safer flame retardant solution
A NOVEL APPROACH TO B2B BRAND DEVELOPEMENT
Designing a red-hot, trailblazing B2B product brand
A disruptive product in its class needed an equally daring branding approach. We’ve created a distinctive GERPHOS brand with a bold visual language. It’s easily recognizable and efficiently communicates Gulec’s message about the product’s novel features across global markets.
The GERPHOS logo and visual identity borrow their triangle graphic elements from Gulec’s company logo. The constructed flame symbol, paired with bold, technical typefaces helped us to stretch the new visual identity beyond the conservative visual language of its parent brand.
BUILDING BRAND AWERENESS
Activating the new brand across all channels
GERPHOS is not only a safer flame retardant; it is also a product which has created a new industry category. While conventional flame retardants are exclusively designed to prevent or slow down the fire, GERPHOS represents a new, next-generation flame retardancy framework. It does so by adding additional features to its primary function. Some of these features include improving PVC and polyurethane material properties, either by enhancing their electrical conductivity or strengthening their resistance to harsh weather conditions. To communicate these novel features to B2B prospects, we have formulated a content-robust communication strategy.
A technical journal – Ignite Industries, reveals insights into research and application of next-generation flame retardants. The journal produces engaging content, distributed on Gulec’s social media channels, in email newsletters and industry trade fairs.
