Revealing Hidden Champions

Austrian Trade approached Philip to help them with a fundamental problem re. their positioning – it hardly existed! They are a semi-governmental organisation responsible for promoting Austrian business abroad. Headquartered in Vienna, but effectively operating from over 100 small offices based in Austrian embassies around the world, they were presenting a very narrow and old-fashioned view of the country’s business landscape.

Each country office acted virtually autonomously, pursuing their own promotional approach – something that lead to mixed messages. There was no ‘central proposition’ that could help to define what Austrian business was all about. There was also no well-developed visual or verbal identity system that both the centre and local offices could use to create a single, unified ‘look and feel’, wherever they were in the world.

Philip first researched the current positioning of Austrian business. It became clear, very quickly, that senior business people around the world had very little idea about the scope of Austrian business or, collectively, what its distinguishing features were. Very few people were able to name a single Austrian brand! Through analysis of all its 30 business sectors, we were able to conclude that the vast majority of Austrian businesses are small to medium-sized and are often ‘hidden champions’ – great at what they do, but very few people know about them. Many exhibit high levels of specialism and a passion for innovation, precision and top quality. They are, in very many ways, ingenious – Surprisingly Ingenious.

Working closely with the Director General and his senior team, we renamed the organisation – ‘Advantage Austria’. Philip and Solveig then created a comprehensive set of identity guidelines covering logotype, all the standard identity elements and a very wide range of applications from corporate stationery and brochure styles to designs for exhibitions and major events. Philip also wrote and guided the design of a sister ‘marketing guide’ for use by both Advantage Austria staff and by Austrian businesses generally – to raise marketing standards across both the organisation and the country.

A key element of the whole system is the power of storytelling – telling the great, but often hidden, stories of Austrian business success.

Three years on from the introduction of the system, it is now extremely well embedded across the whole organisation. It is recognised by the International Trade Centre (ITC), a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation, as one of the most powerful identity and promotional systems used by any trade association.

In 2012 Advantage Austria was voted the ITC-sponsored Trade Promotion Organisation of the Year in the developed world, and in 2016 it received the Silver Award. We are retained as principal brand advisors by the Director General.