The launch of Circana last year helped transform two standalone data and research firms – IRI and NPD Group – into a company that “stood for something”, the company’s CMO, Misty Davis, has told Adweek.
“One of the things we knew we wanted to do, moving forward, was stand for something and be able to be understood, but a very low percentage of folks actually knew what either of the heritage companies’ acronyms stood for,” Davis told the trade publication.
Also, the two organisations collectively had more than 90 years of equity invested in consumer data services, which needed to be represented in its new positioning.
Complex Process
According to Davis, the company’s branding partners at Landor & Fitch led a process that involved working through some 2,700 names, 200 logo concepts and over 1,000 taglines, before deciding on the new identity.
The result was a ‘clean’ sans-serif font, a logo comprised of interlocking circles, and the tagline ‘Complexity into Clarity’, which encompasses the purpose of the new-look organisation.
As Adweek reported, Kirk Perry, the chief executive of Circana, was seeking a logo that could tell a story in itself, hence the use of six concentric circles that could stand in for ‘both overlapping data and complex consumer behaviour’.
This, in turn, was supported by the development of a series of retail-related images (such as the one pictured) from particles of data, produced using AI-powered art program Midjourney.
A New Chapter
“We are proud to begin this new chapter together as Circana, a name that conveys our 360-degree, full-circle understanding of the consumer and market, and our unique ability to bring clients a complete view of the consumer, store and wallet,” Perry said at the company’s launch in March of this year.
Circana tracks millions of products, spanning more than 2,000 categories across more than 500,000 stores in 20 countries, as well as advising nearly 7,000 brands and retailers worldwide.
