The inspiring story of the Safran brand

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Now world-renowned, the Safran brand is the fruit of changes in our group, business lines and scope. Heir to the historical firms that form it, at the turn of the XXth century, its fame and value have never stopped growing: it now ranks among the world’s top 500 brands, recording a substantial increase in the 2019 "Brand Finance" ranking*, published last month.

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Following the plenary sessions participants were invited to put on their caps and T-shirts in Safran's colors (blue, light bue, white) and form a "human" Safran logo. The event finished with a visit to one of the most impressive aerospace collections in the world, at the Le Bourget Museum of Air and Space, followed by a party.

In 2005, the merger of Snecma and Sagem (today Safran Aircraft Engines and Safran Electronics & Defense), gave rise to Safran, a new group with worldwide reach, uniting business activities in aerospace, defense and security.

To build its new identity, both alongside its internal and external targets, several projects have been launched during these two previous decades to give the Group greater visibility, recognition and awareness.

Revamping its logo and brand structure

In May 2010, Safran unveiled a new logo design with a fresh emblem featured the name Safran alongside a statement of its business activities: Aerospace, Defense, Security. At the same time, the firms’ brand structure changed. The name Safran subsequently featured just before the names of the companies that made up the Group. Before, it was the other way around. Technically, Safran henceforth endorsed its daughter brands.

Several communication campaigns accompanied this transformation. And in particular, messages were structured around the employer brand to make the group more appealing to job applicants, whether young graduates or seasoned professionals.

A single brand uniting all business activities

The year 2016 marked a major new stage in the history of the Safran brand. On 19 May 2016, under the leadership of Philippe Petitcolin, CEO, the Group’s companies were brought together under one same brand name, the emblem of the Group becoming their unique logo. All the firms were renamed so that their titles would begin with Safran and a description of their business activities. What was the purpose of this change? To bolster Safran’s position as one of the world’s industrial leaders and speed up its development, both in France and internationally.

A strong brand image

In 2017, Safran refocused its business on the aerospace and defense markets, and sold Safran Identity & Security. By incorporating Zodiac Aerospace into the group the following year, Safran put the finishing touches on this new focus and became the world's third-biggest player in aerospace (excluding aircraft manufacturers).

With this acquisition, the Group went from 58,500 to 91,000 employees, all brought together under a common brand. So, on December 3^rd 2018, day of the merger, it was a natural progression that the three new societies created from the former company Zodiac Aerospace’s activities joined the Group under the names of Safran Aerosystems, Safran Cabin and Safran Seats. “It’s a great way to bring together and unite all the new employees,” says Pascale Dubois, Group Communications Director. She continues: “We’ve sensed real enthusiasm and willingness about being part of Safran!”

* Safran ranks 328^th vs 420^th the previous year