Reflecting the stellar transition the company has embarked on since coming out of lockdown, Entec has started the new year with both new branding and image, including only their third logo change in 50 years.
Commenting on the repositioning of the company under its new ‘Entec Live’ moniker, chairman Nick Pendleton stated that COVID-19 had given them the opportunity “to pause, reflect and decide.”
He explained: “After celebrating our golden anniversary in 2018 and buying our warehouse, we started to formulate a bold plan to make the next 50 years even better. Part of that was refreshing our look and feel. We felt that we now offered far more than just sound and light, which seemed too restricting, and we wanted to get recognised for the full production and streaming we now offer. While we are proud of our heritage we have a clear vision of the future.”
Entec used the lockdown period productively, and in the absence of live event work, took advantage of boosting its infrastructure. The arrival of Dan Scantlebury as new head of sound placed them on a different trajectory, ensuring that they would have new avenues to explore when the period of inertia was finally over. At the same time their rental inventory was upgraded, with specifiable, cutting-edge lighting products from Ayrton and Elation.
Key to the company’s future in a post-lockdown world has been its excursion into UVC technology, leading them to establish the Entec UVC Safe Clean sub brand. Of this, Pendleton said: “We are excited to be able to apply our long history of innovation in how to operate safely, and having found a solution for environmental germicidal disinfection in our industry through UVC, we were eager to create a sub brand and apply the look and feel of the new logo.”
However, it was the core ‘Entec’ brand that occupied most thought. Much soul searching had taken place before deciding to retire a logo that had stood them in good stead for 30 years, as they sought “the look and feel of an identity that would carry us through the next 50 years.”
In designing the refreshed identity, Entec worked with Amanda Rhodes, Senior Designer at Chameleon, to blend the current logo with a more contemporary typeface and visual language. “It was important to reflect the growing importance of video, streaming and the real value of knowledgeable advice and support,” noted Pendleton. “Chameleon did a great job and was very much working with us to get to the right outcomes.”
To this end a new tagline was also born. Entec now describes its business as offering “Sound, Light and Vision”. The pre-existing logo’s iconic light and sound projection shape, which has been a visible signature of Entec maintained equipment for over 30 years, has of course been retained. “It would have been a mistake to lose that,” explained Pendleton. “I always remember some engineers telling me that when they went to gigs as punters they gave out a huge sigh of relief when they saw the Entec triangle of light and sound on any equipment, as they knew they would enjoy the show. We couldn’t throw that recognition away.”
“The new logo ticks all the boxes,” he remarked. While it enables Entec to celebrate its past, it simultaneously points to a dynamic forward-thinking future. “And this is what we are all about.”