Hercules — What moves us is keeping you in motion

Case study

Hercules

Hercules has two decades of leadership in personal protective equipment for extreme environments in Brazil and, since 2013, is part of Ansell. Facing internationalisation, BRBAUEN led the rebranding while preserving the recognition it had earned — evolving the logo and the verbal platform around 'Courage to go further' — with brand strategy, verbal and visual language and guidelines.

Hercules has an established two decades of market leadership in extreme workplace safety equipment across Brazil — a reputation as strong as its name that was built by more than just developing safety equipment — Hercules focuses on understanding and educating the entire value chain within its reach.

In 2013 Hercules was acquired by Ansell; a global leader in protection solutions with 1.4BI USD in global revenue.

Hercules
Client
Ansell Hercules
Year
2024
Sector
Manufacturing & Industry
Services
Brand StrategyVerbal LanguageVisual LanguageBrand Guidelines

Challenge

Faced with its biggest challenge so far, Hercules' rebrand comes at a crucial moment for the brand's internationalization. Ansell Hercules' latam team reached out to us to begin a rebranding process after the completion of Ansell's acquisition and the decision to keep it as an endorsed brand for the south american market.

Hercules
Hercules
Hercules

Newchallenge

A new challenge on the horizon

A strategic evolution

Along with Ansell Hercules' latam team we understood it was the smarter and more cost-efficient move to keep certain characteristics of the previous brand to minimize the rebrand impacts on awareness and recognition.

The new logotype respects the previous one despite its flaws and looks within it for key characteristics to expand on. Due to the internationalization need we advised the accent on "Hércules" to be removed — and as it did before, the same "H" present on the word mark continues to be isolated in a protective rectangle — but now it's moved to the right of the word mark to avoid a double H reading.

Hercules' verbal language also evolves to speak about its challenges and roles front and center around the idea of "Courage to go further" — one that embraces how serious the challenge of protecting bodies of men and women on a daily basis.

Hercules
Hercules
Hercules
Hercules
Hercules
Hercules
Hercules
Hercules
Hercules

Impact

←Recognition preservedThe rebrand came at the most critical moment in the brand's history and kept what twenty years of leadership had built: the new logotype grows out of the previous one, keeps the "H" in its protective rectangle and minimises the impact on hard-won familiarity.
→Ready for internationalisationThe brand moved from the Brazilian to the South American market: the accent in "Hércules" was dropped, the wordmark works in any language and Hercules now operates as a brand endorsed by Ansell.
↗Endorsed architecture clarifiedDefined Hercules' role within Ansell's portfolio — the endorsed brand for South America — without diluting either the local leadership or the parent's global strength.
↑Verbal platform with purpose"Courage to go further" puts the brand's real challenge up front — protecting the bodies of people who work in extreme environments — and gives the LATAM team a shared language for the whole value chain.
↗System built to scaleVerbal and visual language guidelines so the LATAM team can sustain the brand consistently after the project.

Recognition

Team

Strategy & Design DirectionRodrigo F. Pereira
Research, Strategy & Verbal LanguageAntónio DellatoreRodrigo F. Pereira
Visual LanguageGustavo Crispim
Motion DesignFelipe Castro Vargas
Ansell Hercules LatamLuis Bautista (Marketing Director)Alan Souza (Marketing Manager Brazil)Glaucia Fernandes (Marketing Coordinator)

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