AOL
2009
From access to content
In early 2009, global web services business AOL announced its departure from parent company Time Warner. Still under the name of AOL, the new independent business would offer online content, products and services for consumers, publishers and advertisers. AOL asked Wolff Olins to help it reach out to new audiences, stay relevant to existing customers, and create a brand for a 21st century media company.
Not more of the same
AOL’s CEO, Tim Armstrong, defined a new mission: to inform, entertain and connect the world – not with more of the same but with extraordinary content experiences. Wolff Olins worked with AOL to develop a brand identity that expresses this mission. The identity separates AOL from other media businesses and embraces the fragmented, non-linear online world. It’s fluid, flexible and changeable, and the name ‘AOL’ is revealed through ever-changing images. Some of the world’s best creative artists, including Universal Everything, GHAVA and Dylan Griffin, created art and animations for the brand.
Ready to disrupt
AOL’s new identity launched in December 2009 and has already made an impact with research firm YouGov listing it as one of its top five gainers in its December Brand Index. Behind the identity, AOL is making its new brand real through new ventures. AOL has left its old world of access, entered the new world of content - and is ready to disrupt the whole media industry.
