Matmut - FutureBrand

Matmut

Designing mutualism in motion

Introduction

La Matmut is an insurance company firmly rooted in France, with more than 450 branches and 4 million members in 2020. Embracing the pioneering mutualism movement of the 1950s founded on a mutual benefit, each insured becomes a member of the company and earns the right to vote in each yearly assembly. The ambition of its founder, Paul Bennetot, was to offer a mutualist and non-profit alternative to private-sector insurance.

Challenge

Proud of this strong heritage, La Matmut and its employees have since committed to developing their know-how while respecting the mutualist values of proximity, solidarity and humanity.

In 2021, as a result of a great consultation of its members, La Matmut published its sense of purpose, "Our reason for being, our reason for acting" ("Notre raison d’être, notre raison d'agir"), marking 60 years of commitment and revealing its mission: "We insure, we accompany, we protect, we are steadfast, this is our reason to act daily to help everyone building and dreaming their future".

In 2022, following this significant milestone, FutureBrand was tasked to embody La Matmut's new era and positioning: a mutualism in motion.

We identified five objectives to achieve:

1. Maximise brand attribution and memorisation

2. Develop an identity system that is consistent with its time

3. Reinforce the perception of reliability

4. Convey a multi-business and multi-target offer

5. Deploy the brand internally and create ambassadors

Solution

With this new visual identity, FutureBrand addressed La Matmut’s significant challenges by reconciling three brand behaviours in line with today’s society and the competitive market.

1. A traditional insurance company, with 60 years of existence… in tune with its time, competing with digitally pure players

2. A reliable, steady and recognised group with a complete offer of insurance… embodying a dynamic and inclusive mutualism in motion

3. A commercial brand with excellent quality of services… having the strength of a unifying organisation, both externally and internally

The new visual identity needed to maintain a link with Matmut’s former one, paying tribute to 60 years of legacy

Results

The typography was specifically designed to reveal the human connection; the lowercase "m" embodies proximity, while the deep blue reassures and anchors the brand status. The symbol acts as a unifier, bringing together the petals, each distinctive but forming a whole and highlighting the dynamism of a colourful and inclusive France. We strengthened brand distinctiveness by affirming an unbreakable link between the wordmark and the brand symbol.

This new identity was deployed across the entire brand universe for enhanced consistency. The colours set the brand personality with warmth and vibrancy. Dedicated fonts - including creating a proprietary "Mammut" alphabet - give rhythm to the brand territory. The petals – extracted from the symbol – unfold to create the visual system in motion and are easily adaptable to all formats. The photographic and illustrative styles seek to represent the everyday, capturing straightforward and spontaneous glimpses of life.

The result is an exciting visual identity, unanimously considered the obvious next step and enthusiastically adopted by the whole organisation.