jovoto / Brand the Lab / DB Mobility Logistics AG / Briefing

The new Deutsche Bahn Lab needs a unique brand identity.

Background

The pressure on companies to be innovative is increasing on a daily basis. At the same time, product cycles are getting shorter. Classic strategy and innovation processes, which can last for up to several months or years, are often too slow to keep up with the competition and the constantly changing needs and demands of customers. This development is proving to be challenging for large companies and organizations in particular, which, due to complex structures, are losing the flexibility required to develop innovative concepts quickly and in an uncomplicated way, as well as to carry out their prototyping and testing.

The Deutsche Bahn “Lab”
In order to fulfill its own innovational aspirations, Deutsche Bahn AG is planning its own innovations lab (working title: “DB Lab”). The aim is for this lab to develop into a competence center and incubator for group-relevant, design-driven product and business innovations. Primarily, the lab’s role should be one of innovative inspiration, consultation and enabler for all the sectors of Deutsche Bahn that deal with the mobility of people (passenger transport). In order to receive many different, innovative and outstanding branding suggestions, Deutsche Bahn is appealing to you, the jovoto community.

Deutsche Bahn (German Rail)
Deutsche Bahn is a globally leading mobility and logistics company, with rail transport at its heart. Deutsche Bahn currently employs 300,000 people worldwide and in Germany alone transports over 5.5 million passengers daily and transports 929,000 tons of goods on the 33,400 km long rail network. Throughout Europe, the DB group transports almost 12 million people per day on railways and roads and transports over 488 million tons of freight worldwide over railways, roads, air and sea annually. As an integrated organization, Deutsche Bahn, with its worldwide transport network, pursues the goal of developing and promoting sustainable mobility and logistics chains.

Aim

The aim of the project is to develop outstanding branding for the “DB Lab”, which communicates the independence, creativity and expertise of such a visionary hotbed and incubator of innovation.
In the mid-term the brand should become a seal of quality that stands for innovation, progress and sustainability.

Task Definition

Develop a name and a logo for the new “DB Lab” that satisfy the high international standards of the DB.

The brand should function independently.
“DB” or “Deutsche Bahn” (German Rail) can, but doesn’t have to be part of the name.

Target Group

The target group of the “DB Lab” are both the employees of the Deutsche Bahn group, particularly the employees on a management level, existing and potential partners (B2B), founders, visionaries & entrepreneurs as well as the general public and their perception.

Tonality

innovative
creative
expert
agile
based on partnership
visionary
entrepreneurial

Your branding may be:

playful
emotional
modern
fresh
unconventional

But it should not be:

classic
company-oriented
hierarchical
conservative
dull

Mandatory requirements

Before submitting your idea, please check whether the name you are suggesting has already been submitted by someone else.
Please briefly check whether the name you wish to use already exists by entering it into a search engine. However, we do not expect you to research your name suggestion in any great depth or with regards to possible legal ramifications.

There is no guideline as to whether you depict the content with photographic or purely graphic elements. But in both cases you should only use images:
1. for which you own the full copyright
2. for which you can, if required, pass on the exclusive rights to the client.
If 2. applies, please clearly highlight the third-party image material

Halftime Feedback

Dear All,

we just had a fruitful half-time feedback with an inspired and very open minded client!

A big Thank you so far!

First of all the client is very happy to see you being so active in submitting a wide range of ideas as well as very engaged discussions about names. Basically they do not want to limit your creativity in any way to let your inspiration flow – there are just very few key points to keep in mind that will answer questions you had until now, too.

A subtle Reference to DB

Do not limit yourself in creating an outstanding innovative brand for the DB lab! Just keep in mind a subtile reference to DB. Its up to you how you want to create the best composition of such a connotation – DB might be mentioned in a subline, you can use the DB logo but you don´t have to, the name can be close to the DB world but doesn't have to. The composition is up to you – just keep a subtile reference in mind. (Please just don´t modify the original DB logo. )

Language and Wording

Some of you had hot discussions about the language of the brand´s name. Same here. Go wild. Of course the name should work internationally but the brand's name can be german as well, if you have something great and strong in mind. So both is ok. The focus of the wording is innovation – but still names with connotations to DB and trains are ok if they are bold. Keep in mind DB is not just rails and long distance transport but innovation and mobility as well.

That´s it. = )

If you still have any questions feel free to ask us. We are excited to see your creativity being opened up even more and your ideas to create a strong outstanding brand for the DB innovation lab!

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