If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward.
Today we are letting you all in on something we’ve been working on to move Air Tractor forward.
A NEW LOOK FOR THE AIR TRACTOR BRAND.
Two years ago we began thinking about Air Tractor’s positioning and company image. The process began by interviewing Air Tractor’s management team about their perceptions of Air Tractor and visions of its future. After working through these ideas, we did the same with a cross-section of Air Tractor employees. From there, we partnered with our long-time ad agency to begin on a path of exploration to position the company for the next decade and beyond.
As we went deeper into the process of crafting a forward-looking vision for Air Tractor’s brand image, it became more apparent that the green Air Tractor triangle logo we’ve all come to know and love has inherent issues in how it is used for marketing purposes. These issues haven’t affected us as much in the past, but are becoming more and more prevalent as the digital marketplace rapidly evolves, as people’s attention spans continue to shorten, and as all of us get more of our information from the screens of our mobile devices.
The problem with the Air Tractor triangle logo? It just isn’t easy to read… in small spaces like mobile phone screens… at a glance.
We and our customers no longer actually read the logo. We just see it and know what it says and means. But our future customers, operators, pilots, dealers and partners – those outside of North America — need better, easier way to associate our great airplanes with our company — no matter the size, color, type of medium, or time allowed.
But we didn’t stop there.
Our logo began as a green triangular background graphic with black crop rows on top of it. Around five years ago we removed the black crops to resolve the readability issues already outlined… but it still was difficult to use in small spaces. And it does not project a future image of what Air Tractor can become.
As we move forward in taking a big step forward with a new logo, we are also embracing the blue and yellow colors so instantly associated with Air Tractor.
These colors give us a vibrant, varied new palette to work with in new, bold ways. They are immediately recognizable to our current customer base, and will present Air Tractor in a more modern, progressive manner to prospective customers.
WE ARE EXCITED TO PRESENT TO YOU, THE NEW AIR TRACTOR BRAND.
As you can imagine, there are a ton of things we’ll need to do in order to have this new brand identity fully rolled out. We’ll be sending you more information regarding email signatures, powerpoint templates, digital files of the new logo, and more in the upcoming weeks. We hope you’re as excited as we are to take this big step forward!
HERE’S A LOOK AT OUR OFFICIAL LOGOS, INCLUDING OUR NEW ‘LEGACY LOGO’.
Primary Logo
This is now Air Tractor’s primary visual brand asset. It delivers not only the name of the company, but a sense of the stability and strength behind it. It will be used on all internal and external facing communications.
Secondary Lettermark
In instances where visual space is limited, it is helpful to have a more succinct version of a logo. This is Air Tractor’s new secondary logo, called a lettermark, which is simply our initials AT.
Brand Expression
The brand expression, or tag line, is Air Tractor’s singular, over-arching brand message. It is is a phrase that embodies our brand’s personality and expresses the principal benefit or impact it has on our customers. This should inspire us. Motivate us. And set a new bar for how we operate as a company, and individually. We hope that it becomes contagious.
Legacy Logo
We will not forget where we came from. The our old logo will take on a new life as the secondary brand mark – paying homage to the heritage of Air Tractor. The solid-fill green triangle logo will be known as the “Legacy Logo.”