BRANDING

RGA Branding and Visual Identity

Client

Reinsurance Group of America

Scope of Work

Research
Competitive Audit
Engagement
Brand Strategy
Logo
Visual Identity System
Annual Reports
Website
Stationery
Signage
Brand Guidelines

With over 20 offices worldwide, 1500 employees and with AUM of $1.3 billion St. Louis-based RGA (Reinsurance Group of America) is the world’s leading Life Reinsurer. A Fortune 500 company and it is also recognized among Fortune’s “Most Admired Companies”.

RGA's senior management team asked KerrSmith to help with a range of branding challenges and update their Visual Identity after we completed their annual report. They realized that their ongoing success needed to be marked by signaling a new chapter in their growth. RGA produces a wide range of collateral material including reports newsletters, invitations, banners, and advertisements, in addition to a full range of stationery products, a large annual report, signage and power point presentations. The range of communication vehicles in use was widely inconsistent as growth had pulled the company in multiple directions.

Scope of Work

Most business processes are about making selections from a set of existing alternatives. A business must continue to make new viable choices available as well as provide new solutions to problems. Our new brand identity for RGA wanted to emphasize a confident difference from the competition. We chose red as a provocative distinction in the sea of blues of the reinsurance world. We applied rigourous sans serif typography in combination with an image strategy, tagline and strong layout style to project confidence and make RGA stand out. The minimalist palette was created to specifically address the lack of coherence that was so muddling their brand message. We created a detailed Style Guide to manage the system for all RGA materials and to create consistency and ensure message alignment.

The updated bold logo has a no-nonsense straightforward appeal. The linked red letters create a confident and simple design representing focus and consolidated team effort. The system we created makes communications easier to produce and builds a unified front and identifiable platform from which RGA can build business. The work has more than delivered. Brand recognition is up. Consistency is in hand. The overall brand coherence has led to record growth and persistent stability.

Promoting Fresh Produce in Toronto

Harvard Graduate School of Design

KerrSmith Design
550 Queen St. East, Unit 335
Toronto, ON M5A 1V2
416-703-5377