Velocity Branding

Project Description

Frantic Films is a local Manitoba company with four lines of business: visual effects services for the film industry, television commercials, live action division (development of documentaries, television movies and lifestyle shows) and visual effects based software solutions. Along with the head office located in Winnipeg, Frantic has locations in Vancouver and Los Angeles.

Recognition came from Manitoba Business Magazine where they were listed #5 of Manitoba’s fastest growing companies for 2006. A company growing this fast and furious at some point recognizes the need to take stock of how far they’ve come and how well they’ve realigned to deliver in their changing environment. Frantic did just that in 2004 when they realized that their original identity no longer communicated the kind of company they had ‘grown up’ to be. Being a creatively driven company, they could have embarked on redeveloping their own identity, however they saw the value in an external perspective, someone who could integrate their four divisions and develop their brand.

Velocity immediately modified their standard approach for brand development by making the process of discovery and concept development more inclusive while still guiding from a strong external standpoint. This approach raised the comfort level and paved the road for the resulting concept, which highlights television / film as the unifying factor between each division and pinpoints the film reel as the symbol to communicate Frantic’s line of business. The look of the brand is indicative of Velocity’s sophisticated design solutions and has raised the bar for Frantic, positioning them in the upper echelon in the industry – a match for what they’ve achieved.

Integrating the brand across all materials and divisions became the next high priority goal. Velocity created corporate stationery, building signage, a sticker solution for VHS and DVD’s, corporate folders, invitations, t-shirts and holiday promotions, including chocolates packaged in film reels, that have created quite a buzz.

COO and co-founding partner, Ken Zorniak, says the resulting brand has clearly helped the company reach the next level of sophistication and professionalism. He says, “On the live action side, margins are thin and a lot of the competitors don’t have the kind of package we do. It’s a tough business and we stand out in the crowd. Prospects comment on how great our promotional packages are frequently."

Since the launch of the new brand in 2001 Frantic has had a dramatic sales growth. Sales have grown from 2.8 million in 2001 before the launch of the new brand, to 18 million in 2007. Frantic have recently sold its visual effects division to Prime Focus, one of India’s leading post-production and effects companies.

Testimonial

Jamie Brown, CEO

“Velocity has an incredibly talented and creative team who have been a pleasure to deal with. On every project we’ve worked on together, they’ve answered our needs with a unique solution that has wowed us and our clients. Management at Velocity is committed to client service and quality and the creative team is superb. I would recommend them to anyone looking to create something special that will stand out in the crowd.”