Who protects the protectors? This question is at the heart of Mehler Systems, previously known as Mehler Vario Systems Group. Headquartered in Fulda, in the German state of Hesse, the company is Europe’s leading provider of comprehensive protective systems for police, military and special forces. In recent years, Mehler Systems has expanded its portfolio to include numerous brands that are renowned in their respective fields and have therefore retained their independence.

This led to the desire to reposition Mehler Systems as a strong corporate brand that meets the protection requirements of its customers with perfectly coordinated products characterized by precision, quality, and innovative strength. The product brands were to reflect the group’s look while retaining their individual character and distinctiveness.

Functional branding, from the logo to the product

For the brand development, Mehler Systems relied on Peter Schmidt Group for strategic and creative support. Under the leadership of creative director Ulrich Aldinger and design director David Driscoll, a completely new brand identity was created on the basis of the specific functional requirements. They translated the idea of “system solutions” into a precise design grid from which the new corporate logo for Mehler Systems derived, as well as the logo for the new sub-brand Mehler Protection.

Various brand patterns also derived from the design grid serve as concise key visuals for communicating the company values. They also appear on the products themselves, in textured iterations that enable the best possible ergonomics and improved handling, while also providing a subtle but effective branding opportunity.

Holistic color system that does justice to the industry

A completely new color system provides a visual connection between the corporate brand and the individual subbrands while also helping to differentiate them. Mehler Systems combines black, white, and shades of gray with a color called Tactical Green, a light shade of olive that pays homage to the codes of the security sector and at the same time looks very technical. Adventure Green, Tactical Brown and Security Yellow are used by the sub-brands UF PRO, Lindnerhof, and Mehler Protection.

“Branding should always pay attention to the most important touchpoint. For some brands, that may be the website, but for Mehler Systems it is indubitably the product itself. The better it works, the greater the protection,” said Ruediger Goetz, managing director at Peter Schmidt Group. “So we looked for a texture that would improve product functionality – and derived the overall brand identity from it. This makes the logo itself a credible symbol of quality.” To ensure this, the agency closely linked the strategic analysis, positioning, and design processes – and also revamped the brand’s communication concept. The new corporate tagline for Mehler Systems is, “When precision matters”.

“With the new corporate design, we are bringing the individual brands of our group of companies closer together,” explained Nejc Zavrl, head of Marketing at Mehler Systems. “It gives us the opportunity to consistently communicate not just our product portfolio, but also the overarching values that guide us.”

The new look was presented in late November at the Milipol trade fair in Paris, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. The new design has also already been applied to Mehler Systems’ digital channels. All other communication media will be converted successively.