Manpower Refreshes its Brand to Encompass its Full Range of Services

February 21, 2006 at 12:00 AM EST

TORONTO, Feb. 21, 2006 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX News Network) -- Manpower announced that it has refreshed its brand across its global network in 72 countries to align with the range of services that the company offers today. The company is rolling out a new logo, marketing materials and advertising campaign across its 4,400 offices worldwide. Manpower's branding initiative also has encompassed streamlining the brands under which it provides services worldwide, as well as training its 27,000 employees on the new brand.

"Manpower is a leader in the employment services industry, and this new brand only reflects the full range of services offered by Manpower," said Lori Procher, Vice President and General Manager for Manpower Canada.

"Today marks a pivotal point in the journey that we embarked upon six years ago to expand our service offerings beyond our heritage in temporary staffing services," said Jeffrey A. Joerres, Chairman & CEO of Manpower Inc. "In today's contemporary world of work, the dynamics are changing faster than ever before, and we have been quietly re-engineering our company and our service offering in order to help our clients, employees and associates to understand and navigate the challenges of today's workplace. The new brand aligns the company with the image we project in the marketplace."

As part of the re-branding process, Manpower has streamlined its brand architecture from over 200 brands worldwide down to only five brands that now represent its total service offering. These brands are Manpower, Manpower Professional, Elan, Jefferson Wells and Right Management.

The biggest change that will be evident in the marketplace is the transition from an array of brands in 31 countries that have represented Manpower's recruitment services for professionals, to the Manpower Professional brand. The Manpower Professional brand existed previously in the United States, Canada and Sweden and as of today is now present in 34 countries. In Canada, Manpower Banking and Manpower Direct Hire now fall under the Manpower brand. Right Management and Jefferson Wells will continue servicing their customers under the same name, while Elan is not present in Canada.

"This is the first time that Manpower has undergone an extensive re-branding process since the company was founded in 1948," Joerres noted. "The refreshed brand respects our heritage as the innovator and thought leader in the temporary staffing industry, while celebrating our evolution to a full service employment services company."

The new Manpower logo consists of five oval shapes in five different colors, which comprise the initials "MP" and reflect the range of services that Manpower now offers. The Manpower Professional, Elan, Jefferson Wells and Right Management logos have all been redesigned to align with the new corporate brand.

Today, Manpower's services include permanent, temporary and contract recruitment; employee assessment and selection; training; outplacement; outsourcing and consulting. Over the past six years Manpower has added permanent placement, outplacement, outsourcing and consulting services worldwide. These additional services enable the company to play an important role in helping the world's leading multi-national corporations to manage their total workforces across their global networks.

At the same time, the company continues to adhere to its philosophy of local people serving local markets, which is critically important in serving more than 300,000 small and medium size employers per year. The company's ability to leverage its global expertise and resources, as well as the expertise of its local employees, to serve local companies is a clear differentiator against the thousands of local and national competitors.

Since 2000, Manpower Canada has opened seven store front retail branch offices that utilize our Self Service Intake system, which automates the application process for candidates. Our Direct Hire service offering has been significantly increased with additional dedicated Direct Hire Consultants in all major markets. Worldwide, the company has added over 700 offices to its network and begun operations in 13 countries. Revenues have grown from $10.8 billion in 2000 to $16 billion in 2005.

"In any branding effort, the most critical success factor is the employees' ability to deliver on the brand," said Joerres. "Over the past few months, we have delivered training to all of our 27,000 employees worldwide, and we will continue to provide training and tools to ensure that our brand is consistently delivered."

In offices all over Canada, the Manpower team will celebrate the launch of our new brand with most of our employees seeing the new Manpower logo for the first time. Our employees will also participate in Webinar events facilitated by Lori Procher, Vice President and General Manager of Manpower Canada. Clients and associates will be joining in on the celebrations and given a clear understanding of what's next with the new Manpower brand in the weeks to come.

Today's announcement coincides with the release of a survey that reports the top 10 jobs for which employers around the world are struggling to find suitable candidates, and the related publication of a new Manpower White Paper, "Confronting the Coming Talent Crunch: What's Next?" The white paper highlights the growing talent shortages around the world and what businesses, government and individuals should be doing to adapt their human resource strategies. Visit the Press Room on manpower.ca for results of the survey and a copy of the White Paper.

Joerres added, "No other company in the world has its finger on the pulse of the labor market like Manpower, and no other company has the wealth of experience and expertise that we have gained over our 58 year history and our vast international network. We help employers and individuals to understand what's now and what's next in the changing world of work, and we provide them with services to help them win."

    Notes to editors

    1. For Downloadable images of the new Manpower logo and advertising
       campaign, please visit manpower.ca.

    2. Manpower engaged two leading international agencies to help develop
       its new brand. Wolff Olins, a branding agency based in London, created
       the logo and corporate identity. Grey Worldwide, based in New York,
       created the new advertising campaign.

    About Manpower Inc.

Manpower Inc. (NYSE: MAN) is a world leader in the employment services industry; creating and delivering services that enable its clients to win in the changing world of work. The $16 billion company offers employers a range of services for the entire employment and business cycle including permanent, temporary and contract recruitment; employee assessment and selection; training; outplacement; outsourcing and consulting. Manpower's worldwide network of 4,400 offices in 72 countries and territories enables the company to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, including small and medium size enterprises in all industry sectors, as well as the world's largest multinational corporations. The focus of Manpower's work is on raising productivity through improved quality, efficiency and cost-reduction across their total workforce, enabling clients to concentrate on their core business activities. Manpower Inc. operates under five brands: Manpower, Manpower Professional, Elan, Jefferson Wells and Right Management. More information on Manpower Inc. is available at www.manpower.com.

Celebrating 50 years, Manpower Canada's employment services delivered through its network of over 50 offices, include administrative, industrial, skilled trades and contact centre personnel as well as the assignment of contract professionals in information technology, scientific, finance, engineering, telecommunications and other professional areas under the Manpower Professional brand. More information on the company can be found on Manpower Canada's Web sites, manpower.ca and manpowerprofessional.ca.

SOURCE: Manpower Inc.

Contact: John Settino, The iPR Group, (416) 901-5963, john@theiprgroup.ca

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