UPDATED: Rusu+Borțun created Loteria Romana’s rebranding

UPDATE: The newly announced identity was received on Romanian market with a wave of criticism, many voices observing that the newly announced logo is a stock image available on Shutterstock. The agency came up its own position related to the issues signaled by the market the next day after the issue was signaled.

Below, agency´s statement:

As a result of the false information of a tendentious character, which recently appeared in the public space, and which insinuates that the logo created by the Rusu+Borțun agency as part of the rebranding process (reconstruction of the brand identity) for the Romanian Lottery is inspired by an image found in a public database, we specify the following:

– The Rusu+Borțun Agency participated in the procurement process organized by the Romanian Lottery whose object was “CLRR SA identity manual update services”, a public and transparent process.

– According to the specifications, the final deliverable that was the object of the request of the Romanian Lottery and that the Rusu+Borțun agency developed was a brand manual (identity manual), a complex document of 78 pages developed in about 60 days of work of an extended team, document that includes the following chapters requested by the client (each with a detailed description):

+ Market analysis and strategy

+ Brand

+ Visual identity

+ Imagery

+ Communication

+ Digital communication

+ Signage

– The logo was a one-off element, part of the identity manual, and it was created from scratch, based on the strategy, by an experienced and award-winning designer (Alex Macsoda) who went through several stages of the drawing process, in an attempt to combine several symbols of reference and explicitly requested by the Romanian Lottery – the clover, the balls used in draws and the tricolor. For example, you can find in the annex attached to the statement the forms through which the logo went until its final version which will be used only in corporate contexts, in retail maintaining the clover under a varied color scheme.

– So we are talking about an original design process also demonstrated by the fact that no image from the public databases referenced was viewed or downloaded from any computer belonging to our team members or the partner.

– It should be noted that the Rusu+Borțun agency has had, throughout its history of over 15 years on the local market, varied clients, local and international, both in terms of the shareholding structure and the industries they represent, accumulating awards and distinctions in national and international festivals dedicated to the advertising and branding industry.

– We also mention that the revenues from the contracts with public institutions currently represent less than 10% of the turnover of the Rusu+Borțun company (Rusu & Bortun Consultanta SRL) from 2023, and the contract with the Romanian Lottery is also the only ongoing contract with a public institution for the last 5 years.

In conclusion, we are open to a dialogue based on arguments and to any form of specialist expertise or auditing that attests to the originality of the creative endeavor whereby one of the developed visuals was associated, in an absolutely accidental and unfortunate way, with a visual generic from a public database.

Visuals extracted from the brand manual are available here

Initial announcement:

The anniversary of 117 years of activity and tradition brought for the Romanian Lottery a spectacular rebranding carried out by the Rusu+Borțun agency. Thus, the brand marks the entry into a new stage of modernization and digitization, with a new visual identity specially tailored to highlight the brand values ​​and the evolution of the brand.

It is the first Rusu+Borțun collaboration with the Romanian Lottery, the agency being contracted through a public procurement process.

“We selected Rusu+Borțun based on a rigorous approach that assumed eligibility from the perspective of expertise in the gambling category, the agency’s turnover, the branding portfolio and of the recommendations written by the agency’s top 3 clients of the last 5 years.

More than that, we were delighted with the way they approached the brief, the strategic direction chosen and the creative proposition provided. It is not easy to find an agency that encompasses all these qualities and with whom we fit in so easily. We thank Rusu+Borțun for their professionalism and dedication!” said Ionuț-Valeriu Andrei, General Director of Loteria Romana (C.N. “Romanian Lottery”) S.A.

The work process started from the desire of the Romanian Lottery to achieve an image refresh in order to increase the relevance among the younger target and in the digital environment on the Romanian market, as well as at the European level, at the business-to-business level, in relation to the other lotteries, being one of the oldest national lotteries in Europe.

The stake of the new identity consisted in redefining the brand from a visual and positioning point of view, with the secondary objective of preserving and exploiting the already accumulated heritage. Thus, the Rusu+Borțun agency chose to reposition the brand as a national good from which all Romanians can benefit, the new slogan, deriving very easily from this idea: “Luck for all Romanians”.

More precisely, the Romanian Lottery is a collective good whose positive impact is realized both at the individual level by winning the lotto, and at the national level, by redirecting the profit to social projects, state taxes and contributions to the Ministries of Education, Culture and Sports .

“We were honored to have the opportunity to collaborate with Loteria Română, a company with a 117-year history. Each of us, those who worked on this identity project, grew up with lotto and pronosport and have happy experiences and stories related to the Romanian Lottery. Many Romanians had the chance to change their lives with the help of the Romanian Lottery and many had fun playing. The new promise “Happiness for all Romanians” talks about the impact of the Lottery in people’s lives: the players’ money goes back into society, and the visual identity evokes the digitization of the institution.

We are glad that through this historical rebranding, Rusu+Bortun is consolidating its expertise related to the entertainment market. We have grown leading brands in the category and now we had the opportunity to redefine the authoritative brand of the market, the state institution of gambling,” said Miruna Macsoda, Managing Director & Head of Strategy Rusu+Borțun.

The brand’s key values ​​are: honesty & integrity, empathy and consumer orientation, diversity & inclusion, evolution, accessibility, joy and optimism. Based on these qualities, the new logo of the Romanian Lottery takes into account 3 essential elements: the four-leaf clover, the symbol of luck, associated for a long time with the image of the Romanian Lottery, the balls from the lotto draws (the moment most expected by Romanians) and the dose of optimism.

From a chromatic point of view, the new logo is composed of blue, yellow and red, the colors of the Romanian flag, and green, the defining color of the Romanian Lottery, which denotes optimism and a state of well-being.

The Rusu+Borțun team that carried out the rebranding consists of: Miruna Macsoda – strategy; Cătălin Rusu – creative direction; Alex Macsoda – design.

Rusu+Borțun is a strategy and creative brand manifestation agency. According to the Art Directors Club, Rusu+Borțun is among the most creative agencies in Romania in 2022. Since 2008, Rusu+Borțun integrates advertising, branding (through Brand Growers) and digital (through Cyber ​​Growers) services to support the entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial spirit. In 2021, the advertising and identity businesses of Rusu+Borțun exceeded 20 million lei in turnover.