Marketing Excellence Awards 2013

Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility (Silver)

The Challenge

Olam was founded in 1989 in Nigeria with cashew as its first product. In 1998 Olam saw the need to evolve and develop its brand to a new level in the global market, and for the brand to be a platform for unifying the company across its diverse businesses and geographies.

The Insight

DIA helped articulate the guiding principles of the Olam brand, as enshrined in the ‘Olam way’ of value addition over time. This was communicated through a refreshed brand identity system and the tagline ‘Creating Value Is Our Business’ that became the standard bearer for the Olam philosophy. This was captured in an evolved brand identity system to unify its businesses globally.

In 2004 Olam took the decision to list the company and DIA helped communicate Olam’s complex businesses in a way that could be easily understood by investors and would reflect the genuine value of the company and its potential for growth. The resulting proposition ‘The Brand Behind The Brands’ helmed the public listing campaign and communicated Olam’s unique position as the leading supplier of food ingredients to many of the world’s best-known food and beverage companies.

The Impact

The public listing was one of the largest and most successful in Singapore then, and the branding campaign was credited as a key driver through simplifying Olam’s complex business for investors to understand. DIA has continued to help Olam develop its brand communications, launch its sustainability initiatives and manage its identity over the ensuing years.

Today Olam is an SGX 30 company and has become a leading global agri-business operating from seed to shelf in 70 countries, supplying food ingredients and industrial raw materials to over 14,000 customers worldwide, with a leadership position in many businesses including cocoa, coffee, cashew, rice and cotton.