Development of an international, sustainable B2B brand
Quick Read
With a 400-year heritage of experience, knowledge, and passion for papermaking, the “Decor Papers” division separated from its parent company Ahlstrom-Munksjö in 2022 to forge its own path. Driven by a strong spirit of pioneering and ambition, the new brand munksjö set out with the goal of opening up international markets through sustainable product innovations and maximum customer focus. We supported this journey both strategically and visually — from positioning and corporate design development through to implementation.
Customer Challenge
At the start of the process, intensive work was carried out with stakeholders from Management, R&D, Sales & Marketing, Finance & HR, (Technical) Customer Service, Engineering, Chemicals & Energy, as well as Plant Management, to develop a market-distinctive positioning that above all should be one thing: as unique and sustainable as the brand itself. Throughout the collaboration, the question repeatedly arose: Why do we do things differently from others — in other words, the “munksjö-style” — and what does that mean for us? For our brand? The result of this reflection was a strong brand purpose developed from within — including stories.
Solution
Munksjö aims to contribute with its decorative paper innovations so that everyone can afford comfortable and sustainable living and working environments. This mission and vision should be made visible and tangible through the design. This commitment was realised through an authentic visual world that reflects both closeness to nature and to customers and their living spaces, through a harmoniously and appealingly designed wordmark with more curves than edges, as well as through carefully coordinated brand colours that reference its Nordic origins. In developing the design, we drew upon the texture of the product itself and, in keeping with the multilayered structure of the decorative papers, developed a layering principle for consistent application across all measures.
Insight & Impact
A repositioned brand must not only attract customers and applicants but first and foremost convince management and employees. This was achieved at Munksjö through a closely coordinated, collaborative development process with the Munksjö Management Board, which allowed the project to resonate across departments throughout the organisation. The result: not only were employees early on enthused about the new identity, but also the company’s new owners.
For the external brand implementation, a new corporate website was initially developed for the NewCo. This not only elevated the site to a new level of design but also created the blueprint for the company’s and brand’s storytelling. In addition to the newly aligned customer communications, the new employer brand was also introduced — featuring the successful apprentice campaign “Bock auf Papier”.
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