Below: Before and After Images in Slide Show, Video, Summary, Credits
Over the last century, Sentry has grown from a small, Wisconsin-based organization into one of the country’s largest mutual insurance companies. In 2015, they divested their personal insurance offering and moved forward as a pure B2B provider. The time was right to revisit their brand to ensure it communicated their offering in a compelling way, and stood out from the competitors in their space.
While Sentry maintained strong equity with policyholders, few outside the organization were aware of the brand. Their identity, centered around Revolutionary War captain John Parker, had been in place since the 1960s. While it highlighted conventional industry values of strength, protection and vigilance, it said nothing of the company’s true center of gravity—deep expertise, personalized care and relationship building.
Inner strength—not the outward strength conveyed by the Parker logo—became the launch pad for a modernized expression. Sentry nurtures customer relationships by being experts in every line of business they cover. Rather than offering a “one-size-fits-all” approach, they listen to their clients’ individual needs, then create customized coverage.
The new logo expresses Sentry’s strong legacy of partnership and collaboration, with a modern twist. Reminiscent of the timeless yin and yang, this two-piece symbol represents the dialogue that Sentry fosters with its customers—because there are always two parts to every conversation. And when both sides of the logo come together, they form a greater ‘S’—a greater, united Sentry.
From a more conversational tone of voice to a graphic element reminiscent of quotation marks, a color palette always presented in complementary pairs, and a new photographic and icon style, every part of the identity now reinforces the idea of partnership and open dialogue.
Sentry’s modernized brand launched in September 2016 and has continued to roll out across all customer experiences. Our work has enabled Sentry to convey their new brand across new channels, including their first advertising campaign in over three decades—one that focuses on how Sentry earns customers’ trust by sitting down, talking, and listening to them.
Our reimaged logo redesign earned us a 2017 Graphis Award.
Client: Sentry – www.sentry.com
Brand Strategists/Designers: FutureBrand- www.futurebrand.com
Chief Creative Officer: Sven Seger
General Manager: Holmfridur Hardardottir
Executive Creative Director: Doug Sellers
Design Director: Henri Kusbiantoro
Associate Creative Director: Joo Yeon Chae
Senior Designer: Ju Hyun Lee
Creative Director: John Malozzi
Account Director: Clare Smith
Writing Director: Patrick Attenasio
Verbal Identity Writer: Caroline Welch
Associate Strategy Director: Philine Eisbein
