History of Philips Brand

Wherever we encounter it, the Philips brand is a familiar sight in millions of households and buildings throughout the world with its instantly recognizable wordmark of seven blue capitalized letters. Although the company has evolved and grown over more than hundred years, Philips’ visual brand identity is rooted in its early years at the beginning of the 20th century.

Philips in 20th Century: First Lamp Advertisements

Established in 1891 in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, Philips & Co. was founded to meet the growing demand for light bulbs following the commercialization of electricity.

In the early years of Philips & Co., the representation of the company name took many forms: one was an emblem formed by the initial letters of Philips & Co., and another was the word Philips printed on the glass of metal filament lamps.

One of the very first campaigns was launched in 1898 when Anton Philips used a range of postcards showing the Dutch national costumes as marketing tools. Each letter of the word Philips was printed in a row of light bulbs as at the top of every card. In the late 1920s, the Philips name began to take on the form that we recognize today.

Philips Identity Trademarked: Origins of the Shield Emblem

The now familiar Philips waves and stars first appeared in 1926 on the packaging of miniwatt radio valves, as well as on the Philigraph, an early sound recording device. The waves symbolized radio waves, while the stars represented the ether of the evening sky through which the radio waves would travel.

In 1930 it was the first time that the four stars flanking the three waves were placed together in a circle. After that, the stars and waves started appearing on radios and gramophones, featuring this circle as part of their design. Gradually the use of the circle emblem was then extended to advertising materials and other products.

At this time Philips’ business activities were expanding rapidly and the company wanted to find a trademark that would uniquely represent Philips, but one that would also avoid legal problems with the owners of other well-known circular emblems. This wish resulted in the combination of the Philips circle and the wordmark within the shield emblem.

In 1938, the Philips shield made its first appearance. Although modified over the years, the basic design has remained constant ever since and, together with the wordmark, gives Philips the distinctive identity that is still embraced today.

Advertising Philips Brand Today

Whilst the logo of the company has been consistent since the1930s the way in which Philips has advertised and communicated to the outside world has varied. In general, until the mid-1990s all advertising and marketing campaigns were carried out at product level on a local market basis. This led to many different campaigns running simultaneously, not giving a global representation of Philips as a global company.

To establish consistent global presence, in 1995 Philips introduced the first global campaign in 1995 under the tagline “Let’s make things better”. This theme encapsulated the “One Philips” thinking and was rolled out globally in all markets and on all Philips products. This was also the first campaign that bought the whole company together, giving the employees a sense of belonging and providing a unified company look for an external audience.

In September 2004, Philips launched its “sense and simplicity” brand promise, which marked a new way forward for the company. “Sense and simplicity” reflects Philips’ commitment to be a market-driven company that provides products and services that fulfill the promise of being “designed around you, easy to experience and advanced”.

In 2008, the total estimated value of Philips brand increased by 8% to USD 8.3 billion and was ranked the 43rd most valuable brand in Interbrand’s 2008 ranking of best global brands.