TBWA
Brand Guide
Hello and welcome to the TBWA brand bible! The business of creativity is always evolving – as are we. So we’ve created this resource to help us unify TBWA’s creative expression and communications, across everything we do. Plus, find all our brand assets, download-ready.
Can’t find what you need?
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HOW TO USE
THIS GUIDE
We believe in an 80/20 rule. 80% of our TBWA brand is our root identity, a shared foundation that connects us all and stays consistent. But 20% is meant for change. We are a creative collective. Whether it’s for your local agency, a unique project, content series or a specific audience, that 20% is the space for expression. No clones here.
So, this guide lays out the 80%. The TBWA brand elements that always remain consistent, from our values to our logo and more.
Refer to this guide when you’re crafting anything in the TBWA brand or voice – writing, designing, brainstorming, pitching…
WHO
WE ARE
TBWA’s backstory and fast facts
Founding
TBWA was founded in 1970 in Paris, France, by four partners: William G. Tragos (Greek-American,Management), Claude Bonnange (French, Marketing), Uli Wiesendanger (Swiss, Creation), and Paolo Ajroldi (Italian, Client Services).
Name
Our company’s name is derived from the initials of these founders’ last names: Tragos, Bonnange, Wiesendanger, Ajroldi. In the 90’s, TBWA would expand into a truly global advertising company, and continue to transform into the creative collective it is today.
Collective
Today, our collective consists of 11,000+ creative minds, with agencies in over 40 countries. The TBWA collective also includes brands such as Auditoire, Digital Arts Network (DAN), Designory+, GMR, TBWA\Media Arts Lab, TBWA\Health Collective and TRO. Our global clients include adidas, Apple, Gatorade, Henkel, Hilton Hotels, McDonald’s, Nissan and Singapore Airlines. TBWA is part of Omnicom Group, one of the world’s largest marketing communications groups.
TBWA
VALUES
What we stand for
1.
We are a Collective (*proper noun), not a network.
We believe that none of us is better than all of us.
2.
We are the world in, not HQ out.
Our agencies are both born and grown local, but united by our shared belief in Disruption®.
3.
We believe in uncommon humanity.
Everything we do, we do with kindness and generosity.
4.
Good enough is not enough.
We hold ourselves to the highest standards. It’s hard, but nothing great was ever easy.
5.
Don’t do the right thing, do the brave thing.
We don’t mean, do the wrong thing. Rather, the “right thing” is what’s safe and expected. Instead, do the brave thing.
6.
Make it smart. Make it beautiful. Have fun.
We hold ourselves to the highest standards. It’s hard, but nothing great was ever easy.
7.
“Why join the navy when you can be a pirate?”
We have a healthy disrespect for rules and live by our own code of conduct – just like a pirate crew.
Tone & Voice
Write content in the spirit of TBWA
Our Tone
The TBWA tone of voice has five qualities that are expressed in what we say, and how we say it:
DO
DON'T
Disruptive
Be inspirational; Be smart
Be contrarian
Curious
Provide perspective; Be optimistic
Be overly intellectual; Use jargon
Fiercely creative
Be magnetic; Be storytellers
Be edgy, formal
Humble
Be kind, welcoming, supportive
Allow modesty to stop us celebrating the amazing things we do!
Full of joy
Be fun, warm, respectfully cheeky
Be wacky, eccentric
Our Key Messages
On Disruption
On Creativity
On Innovation
Culture
DISRUPTION®
Effectively present our trademarked methodology
What is it?
Disruption® has been TBWA’s trademarked methodology since the 1990s, and a unique strategy long before that. TBWA Chairman Jean-Marie Dru coined the term at a time when the word itself had a largely negative meaning: a disturbance, an interruption. Dru’s idea was that, in order for brands to achieve meaningful growth, they had to break from convention, both their own status quo, and that of their industry. To depart from the routine, the comfortable; they had to embrace a strategy of disruption.
The Disruption® Roadmap
Disruption methodology consists of three elements: the convention, the vision, and the disruption. This roadmap, and the exercises that accompany it, bring us to the brand platform that guides all elements of the brand experience.
The Convention
the status quo for the category
The Disruption
an idea and brand behavior that gets you to the vision
The Vision
where you want to go: a projection of the company into a more purposeful and profitable future
How to use our trademark ®
TBWA holds the following trademarks for Disruption:
Disruption®
The Disruption Company®
When using these terms in any TBWA material, you typically only need to place the trademark symbol in the first use case. For example, in the first sentence or paragraph. You can always apply it in more places if it makes sense in your narrative or the purpose of the asset.
Always capitalize the D in Disruption when referring to TBWA’s Disruption® methodology.
RIGHT
WRONG
Protecting our Disruption trademark
In order to protect our rights to the Disruption® brand, it is important that our unique ownership of the term is clear. Overuse or misuse of a trademark in non-specific ways can dilute its purpose and meaning — opening it up to dispute. Here are some actions you can take to protect our trademark:
- Use a generic term immediately following Disruption® at least once in each document, preferably the first time the mark appears. EX: Disruption® methodology, Disruption® thinking, Disruption® platforms
- Use Disruption as an adjective, not a noun or a verb
- The trademark should be used in a consistent format. Do not vary the spelling or abbreviate it. For example, avoid use of “Disrupt” and “Disrupting”.
Above all, we should use our trademark intentionally, to describe what it means specifically to our business.
COLORS & FONTS
Create materials in the TBWA look and feel
Color Palette
Yellow is the
brightest color
in the spectrum,
making it the most
optimistic and the
most disruptive.
#FECC00
R 254 G 204 B 0
C 0 M 20 Y 100 K 0
Pantone® 116C
Cool Gray serves
as a neutral
counterpoint
to the boldness
of our yellow
#53565A
R 83 G 86 B 90
C 44 M 34 Y 22 K 77
Pantone® Cool Gray 11C
Black should be
used sparingly,
given its intersity
and visual dominance
#000000
R 0 G 0 B 0
C 0 M 0 Y 0 K 100
Pantone® Process Black
White provides
a clean slate. It
allows us to
achieve simplicity
and elegance.
#FFFFFF
R 255 G 255 B 255
C 0 M 0 Y 0 K 0
White
Localization and customization are encouraged, but for the majority of our evergreen materials, the TBWA colors should remain consistent to unify and distinguish our efforts–particularly our TBWA yellow.
Fonts
TBWA Grotesk
TBWA Grotesk is our primary font, a custom typeface made
just for TBWA. It uses elements of the backslash to create unique characters, as well as a secondary italics font in the backslash slant. TBWA Grotesk is available in a variety of font weights from extra light to extra bold and more.
Can’t use TBWA Grotesk?
In situations where TBWA Grotesk is not available, please use the following font guidance:
Disruption Font
TBWA Grotesk
The Disruption® Font is a one-of-a-kind online tool that allows real-time customization of TBWA Grotesk. Users can select from an expansive selection of filters, weights, and sizes to create disruptive, unique, and eye-catching text. It quite literally disrupts our own font! This is an easy way to add energy and interest to any TBWA materials.See our visual identity brand guidebook for full instructions and ways to use the tool.
View the full visual identity guidebook for more designers’ tools.
LOGOS &
ICONOGRAPHY
Apply our brand mark and unique brand assets
Brand mark
Our brand mark is the most recognizable element of our identity. It’s a combination of the backslash symbol and the wordmark.
Tagline and variations:
Note that our TBWA brand mark is not in TBWA Grotesk. However, when our tagline appears after the brandmark, or when agency names are placed before or after the brand mark, that accompanying text should appear in TBWA Grotesk, per thee examples below:
Incorrect usage:
Incorrect usage of the brand mark can dilute a brand’s message and harm its reputation. To ensure that the TBWA logo is used consistently and correctly, it is important to follow these guidelines.
Logos & Iconography
The backslash
The backslash symbol is our brand’s representation and is often used on its own. It’s crucial to make sure a clear space, equal to the symbol’s width, surrounds it both horizontally and vertically whenever it’s used as a brand logo (versus a design element).
The globe
The globe and backslash combination logo represents our global collective. Use it when creating materials related to our collective, for TBWA\Worldwide, or when positioning your agency as part of the global collective.
The Disruption roadmap symbols
Disruption® is represented by a triangle with five lines surrounding the top point. When illustrating the Disruption roadmap, TBWA uses three symbols: a square for convention, the triangle for Disruption, and the circle for vision.
The skull and crossbones
Historically, the pirate is seen as the ultimate anti-establishment figure — a rebel maker and out-of-the-box thinker. This ethos comes from Los Angeles, tethered to our unique relationship with Apple. Steve Jobs famously said, “Why join the navy when you can be a pirate?” — a reminder to view things differently, to be brave.
The pirate is not a primary brandmark but can be used as desired. We understand the pirate has different meanings in different contexts and cultures – please use it appropriately.
3D iconography
TBWA’s 3D icons are an expression of our joy, creativity and diversity. Use these icons to add an element of optimism and creative depth to our brand materials. Certain TBWA icons are specific to a product, market or value. Use them accordingly.
View the full visual identity guidebook for more designers’ tools.
MARKETING RESOURCES
& TEMPLATES
Grab-and-go materials
Email signature
Files and instructions
Latest creative showreel
Global reel 10.2022
- Internal use only
For TBWA’s latest great creative, case studies, showreels and more, head to the Creative section on Knowledge Hub.
TBWA Brand Guide
