Gaz Metro
Énergir, the new Gaz Metro

The Purpose

To update the name and corporate identity to better reflect the inclusion of renewable energy sources in its product and service offerings. Gaz Métro has been the leader in natural gas distribution in Quebec for the last 60 years. In the past decade, it has diversified its portfolio with renewable energies like wind, solar, and renewable natural gas. Our purpose was to find a new name and develop a brand identity that better reflects what the company has become.

The Challenge

The challenge was threefold: find a name that evokes a complete energy offering, promote the organization’s evolution but ensure continuity with the previous brand to facilitate the brand
equity transfer and Stand out by positioning the revitalized company as an active leader in Quebec’s energy transformation.

The Insight: Energy transformation is an action, not a noun

One of the company’s core values is action. Whereas the old name ‘Gaz Metro’ was more of a noun, and therefore stable and unchanging, the brand needed a dynamic sense of forward momentum, a sense of hope for a more positive and renewable energy future. It needed to communicate the positivity of energy transformation and to engage all stakeholders in embracing an exciting new world of energy production and usage.

The Execution

Name: The agency coined a new word, ‘Énergir’, a melding of “energy” and “act” (in French: énergie + agir). This new name expresses the company’s desire to see energy differently and to be part of a progressive movement. As a ‘verb’, it invites all stakeholders to initiate change. And as a portmanteau (a combination of two existing words to create a third, never-seen-before term), it easily achieves the kind of uniqueness – semantically and syntactically - that every brand wants, but so few have.

Visual Identity: The Énergir logo is assembled using flexible strokes that express the fluidity of all energy types. Each stroke plays a role in the final result just like every citizen, solution and stakeholder plays an important role in building a more sustainable future.

The logo uses lower-case lettering and rounded shapes to highlight the organization’s accessibility. The team was able to develop an entire alphabet based on the custom logotype to further enhance the uniqueness of the brand. To maintain continuity with the previous GazMetro brand identity, we used the same blue colour scheme, adding more shades of blue in the use of both form and photography. Moreover, to facilitate the transition, we temporarily added the descriptor “the new Gaz Métro” to the new logo to link the two brands.

The brand platform uses individual parts of the logo, like curved strokes in constant evolution, to create something new. When grouped together in an illustration, the strokes represent the various types of energy. When integrated into the imagery, they act as the trigger for action. People also play a key role in the imagery because they are the drivers of the energy transition.

In November, the new brand identity was launched in Quebec. A multi-channel campaign highlighted the company’s ambitions and vision by melding “energy” and a series of verbs that are the foundation of the new name. The logo typography was used throughout to represent the organization’s unique voice. The campaign not only promoted the name change, but also encouraged people to see energy differently.

The Impact

Since the campaign ended in early January, most of the results are pending. Some highlights include brand awareness up by 54% (Énergir) and 89% (Énergir, the new Gaz Métro). 67% of people surveyed understand that Gaz Métro has changed its name, has evolved and now offers renewable energy.