Market volatility and a downturn in commodity prices have created a new normal for the mining and metals industry where cost cuts, automation and operational efficiency are vital. In the uncertainty, Shell and IBM bundled their strengths and reputations to accelerate services in mining and heavy industry. We were invited to support their ambitious joint venture - a digital marketplace for innovative decarbonization and operational efficiency solutions within heavy industry.
Our approach began by digging into the challenge, understanding the state of the industry with an audit of mining companies and other complementary heavy industries. Our research revealed traditional and conservative industries are oversaturated with straightforward names and conservative identities. We aimed to create a new name for a brand to become a symbol for digital transformation leadership and sustainable growth. It needed to be a name and a brand that appealed to a diverse range of stakeholders including mining facilities managers, innovation experts and high growth solution providers.
Through multiple team workshops we identified several important branding characteristics: trust, strength, global scale. With future ambitions to expand beyond mining, the name also had to be industry agnostic, yet rooted in natural resource heritage. An agnostic brand was vital in attracting additional industries interested in bringing the marketplace to their verticals.
We arrived at the name Oren. A bold-sounding name derived from the masculine name “Orin” and lightly associated with the natural resource, “Ore”. Oren was inspired by a word bank of language-agnostic keywords, predominantly of Greek and Latin origin. The name brough personality and a human touch to the industry whilst amplifying the brand’s mission of facilitating exchanges between multiple parties. On completion of the naming exercise the subsequent visual identity became a symbol of strength, leadership and innovation within the heavy industries sector.
Armed with a new brand, Shell and IBM launched the Oren marketplace at IBM conference in Summer 2020.
