'The brand conveys an exciting, surprising country, where different people and traditions work creatively together.'

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Above Wolff Olins envisages official (identity card, top) and product (Holsten Pils beer, Smart) usages for the German national brand. These products can then play on the positive images of new Germany.

   The German national brand, firstly, must be truthful to succeed. Therefore, Wolff Olins went to Germany to research the forces at work. It is difficult to brand a nation which has had less continuity than, say, France or Britain: Germany has been in constant change this century. Most recently, German reunification has had profound and unexpected effects and the country has yet to settle into a definitive character. Right now it has a new chancellor and its Parliament is due to move to Berlin.
   Clichés, often formed during times of war, were highly negative: Germany was still seen as conformist, regulated and cold, while lederhosen represented the country in terms of costume, even though they are strictly Bavarian. The fact is that Germany is at once a diverse and united nation. This forms the basis of Wolff Olins' proposed brand, in which Germany can be more relaxed and more human without weakening its image of commercial and technical prowess.
   The brand conveys an exciting, surprising country, where different people and traditions work creatively together.
   The brand itself is characterized by three colours. The black of the German flag has been replaced by the EU blue, showing Germany's participation in Europe. The letters 'DE' stand for 'Deutschland Europe' and are already familiar to web surfers as the suffix for German sites. The three primary colours can be mixed to form all other colours, symbolizing the potential of the German people, their diversity and connection with simple, enduring values.
   Wolff Olins includes a brief strategy of how such a brand might be implemented. A national brand steering committee is proposed which will organize research, addressing sceptics who might find such a task too herculean. Wolff Olins believes the plan could be implemented by the middle of 2000.

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