Airbus
118
Sites rebranded across the estate
26
Countries, five continents
60+
Service centres in the follow-on programme
0
Airbus staff pulled off their day jobs
- Sector
- Aerospace
- Location
- 26 countries, 5 continents
- Project type
- Strategic rebrand rollout
- Service scope
- Strategy & design
- Signage & wayfinding
- Illuminated signage
- Implementation
Airbus needed its strategic rebrand, including signage and wayfinding, rolled out across 118 sites in 26 countries and five continents, while keeping disruption to day-to-day operations to a minimum.
At that scale, managing the rollout internally would have meant dedicating significant people and resources to coordinating sites, specifications, suppliers and local requirements.
GLIMMA translated the brand guidelines into technical specifications that could be tendered locally, used local production to reduce transport and environmental impact, and phased the rollout around priority sites identified with Airbus’s branding and facility management teams.
GLIMMA delivered Airbus’s rebrand across 118 sites in 26 countries on time and within budget, leading to a follow-on rollout across 60+ helicopter service centres.
118 sites, 5 continents, no disruption
Airbus needed its strategic rebrand, focused on signage and wayfinding, rolled out across 118 sites in 26 countries and five continents, while keeping disruption to day-to-day operations to a minimum.
Carbon footprint was a priority from the outset, ruling out a centrally manufactured and shipped approach across multiple continents. Each market needed a practical way to produce and deliver the required signage locally.
The scale also created a coordination challenge. Airbus needed to align branding and facility management teams across multiple markets, while establishing the technical specifications, priorities and delivery process needed to keep the rollout moving within the available resources.
Produce locally. Phase deliberately.
With carbon footprint a priority, GLIMMA used local production to minimise transportation and environmental impact. We translated the brand guidelines into technical specifications that could be tendered locally, making it easier for each market to source and produce signage without relying on central manufacture and shipping.
A phased implementation, developed with Airbus’s branding and facility management teams, identified priority sites first and aligned the rollout with each site’s operational requirements.
Technical translation made the global guidelines practical for local production, giving each market a clear specification to tender against while maintaining consistency across the rollout.
Explore rebrand and brand refresh solutions118 sites, 26 countries,
produced locally.
GLIMMA delivered signage, wayfinding and illuminated signage solutions across all 118 sites. Brand guidelines were technically translated for local tender use, so each market could produce to specification without shipping from a central plant — cutting transport emissions alongside manufacturing and shipping costs. Site prioritisation was developed jointly with Airbus’s branding and facility management teams, giving a phased rollout built around minimum operational disruption rather than a fixed calendar.
Local production against locally tendered specifications — the same finish in 26 countries, without shipping signage across five continents.
The relationship extended into a second programme: 60+ helicopter service centres across 17 countries, run the same way.
“When facing a rebrand of this scale, it is often difficult to bring together the right team internally to make it happen within the timescale required. By working with GLIMMA, we were able to efficiently roll out the new signage and wayfinding branding globally. The central team brought technical knowledge and expertise. By using their extensive global network we were able to ensure that the work was completed on time and within or below budget, leaving us to get on with our day jobs.”
Verena Korte
Head of Brand Project Management, Airbus
On time, within budget,
across all 118 sites.
The rebrand was completed on time and within — or below — budget across all 118 sites, giving Airbus a central team with the technical knowledge and global network to deliver at this scale without pulling Airbus’s own people away from their day jobs.
The relationship has since extended to a rebrand of more than 60 helicopter service centres across 17 countries, run on the same locally produced, phased model.
Local production kept the programme’s transport emissions and shipping costs down throughout, which is what made a five-continent rollout affordable as well as achievable.
26
Countries, five continents
60+
Service centres in the follow-on programme
118
Sites, on time and within budget
A central team you can trust
A rebrand across 118 sites on five continents needs a central team that can be trusted to run the programme without pulling client staff off their day jobs.
GLIMMA’s local-production model and phased, jointly-planned rollout delivered Airbus’s rebrand on time and within budget — and earned enough trust to take on a second rebrand of 60+ helicopter service centres afterwards.
GLIMMA continues to support Airbus in maintaining brand consistency across its global site and service centre network.
Global partner network. Local manufacturers tendering to specification in 26 countries on five continents.
Read about usSignage and wayfinding. Exterior, interior and illuminated signage delivered as one technical scope.
View servicesCentral programme team. One accountable team, so Airbus’s own people stayed on their day jobs.
View processGlobal brand implementation expertise. GLIMMA has extensive experience executing global brand implementation programmes.
Global Brand Implementation