MTS (Mobile TeleSystems, or Мобильные ТелеСистемы in Russian) is a Russian digital ecosystem and telecommunications provider. In 2023, the company retired its long-standing egg symbol and introduced a new logo built around a red square with the letters M, T and S arranged along its perimeter. The new mark was presented publicly on March 30, 2023, at the MTS Platform partner forum by company president Vyacheslav Nikolaev.[1]
Design and History
The 2023 rebranding marked the end of the white egg on a red background that had served as MTS’s primary identifier since 2006.[2] According to the company’s 2023 annual report, the egg was introduced during a significant rebranding that raised brand awareness to 90 percent and was meant to convey the essence of modern technology: external simplicity hiding fascinating internal complexity.[2]
The new visual style is based on a square. MTS describes the new logo as dynamic and flexible, one that accommodates all products and serves as the foundation for the visual system. The left corner of the square remains free for branding individual services within the ecosystem.[1] For sub-brands such as MTS Auto or MTS Music, a corner of the square is cut away to make room for the subsidiary’s own logo.[3]
The brand concept was developed by MTS together with agencies Signal (part of ONY) and BBDO, while the identity concept was created by UtterDesign and ONY.[3] The project reportedly cost 20 to 30 million rubles.[4]
Research conducted ahead of the rebranding found that brand awareness in Russia was very high at 98 percent, but that consumers associated MTS primarily with the color red rather than the egg symbol. Younger audiences perceived the egg as something classic and traditional, even though the company had expanded into many new business areas.[3]
After the logo was unveiled, MTS held a public vote. According to company results, 71 percent of customers, employees and social media users supported the new logo, while 29 percent expressed support for keeping the egg.[1]
The rebranding was part of MTS’s broader transformation from a traditional telecommunications operator into a digital ecosystem offering services such as KION, MTS Music, MTS Link and MTS Marketer.[2] The company’s slogan, “To be better every day,” remained unchanged.[1]
Meaning and Symbolism
MTS’s own annual report describes the new square-based logo as conveying, on one hand, the strength and stability of MTS, and on the other, an open, flexible and adaptive character that reflects key brand concepts: energy and a willingness to change and make changes.[2]
The red color, which MTS identifies as its most recognizable brand element, was preserved in the new identity, though more diverse color solutions were added to the broader visual system.[1]
Typography and Design
MTS uses a proprietary corporate typeface called MTS Sans. The font was created by Ilya Ruderman and Yury Ostromentsky of CSTM Fonts, with ParaType Ltd. serving as the manufacturer.[5] The MTS brand portal, designed and developed by ONY in 2023, includes interactive demonstrations of how the MTS Sans typeface variations work within the brand system.[6]
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