Behind the brand: Agency talks challenges of Mondelēz gum rebrand across Europe

By Kacey Culliney

- Last updated on GMT

The aim of the rebrand was to give  Mondelēz's three European brands a similar 'feel'
The aim of the rebrand was to give Mondelēz's three European brands a similar 'feel'

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Mondelēz International invested in a European-wide revamp of its regional gum brands this year and the agency involved said consistency demands were the biggest challenge.

The gum major fully redesigned its Trident, Hollywood and Stimorol brands across 11 countries this year as part of a strategic push to better strengthen the portfolio as a whole.

Mondelēz has been struggling with gum sales for a considerable time, posting a 2% drop in August for its second quarter. The European rebrand marks part of its four-pronged strategy to revitalize the segment through creating displays with better impact, getting the right product assortment on shelf, the right price and size balance and marketing fresh breath and oral care.

Penny Thomas, design technology project manager at  Mondelēz, said the project required very close attention to detail to ensure there was consistency across each brand.

“It was a massive undertaking, but an essential evolution for the brands, to bring them under a common positioning,”​ she said.

Consistency: The logistical challenge

It was this ‘common positioning’ and consistency that design lifecycle agency Sun Branding Solutions said was the biggest challenge in the project.

Sun Branding Solutions worked with  Mondelēz and UK-based design agency LPK to realize the design expectations and demands for packaging in print terms.

“The brands are like an institution in each of the European regions – Stimorol in the Nordics, Hollywood in France and Trident in southern markets like Greece and Spain,”​ said Anne Martinet, account director at Sun Branding Solutions.

“Pretty much everything was changed. They revamped the logos for each of the brands – they now have more of a dynamic look; the logo is a bit less static but still similar to what they used to be. Then they also changed illustrations, background colors and the layout – it was a full redesign,”​ she told ConfectioneryNews.

“Our biggest job was to make the designs consistent across different materials and when using different printing techniques. We had to ensure that when printed on flexible materials it looked the same as on cardboard boxes,”​ she said.

Sizeable project in a tough market

Sue Thompson, business unit director at Sun Branding Solutions, added that the scale of the project also added to the challenge.

The revamp involved more than 700 SKUs (stock-keeping units) across multiple markets, pack formats and print materials. The project involved packaging using lithographic, flexographic and gravure print methods on three different materials.

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