CHALLENGE

Sanmar represents the modern and prosperous face of maritime Turkey. The company is in the business of building tugboats, providing pilotage services and operating tugs and workboats. It plays an important role in the industry – both in national and overseas markets.

There wasn’t anything inherently wrong with this brand and they certainly weren’t hurting for business. Their reputation is well-known in the tugboat industry, both in Turkey and in Scandinavia, and they had already lined up a substantial amount of work for the coming year. What did concern them, however, was that all communication efforts outside of a testimonial or face-to-face interaction fell short of what really set them apart as a company.

ACTION

In the tugboat / maritime industry, most competitors present their work in a similar way; renders and drawings that are highly technical and sterile. While that may actually be reflective of their brand’s personality, Sanmar is far more personal in their approach. There’s an inherent desire to help make client’s visions come through, as opposed to forcing them into a pre-determined design.

We carried out extensive research that included interviewing staff and customers alike. We re-positioned them with a new brand identity and a look and feel which was rolled out in print and eventually applied to all of their communications materials.

IMPACT

The brands repositioning and the new materials not only made sense for customers and employees, but also set the benchmark in the maritime industry for future story development.