Royalties

Royalties is a French brand management agency headquartered in Paris. It works across brand strategy, valuation, positioning, architecture, naming, verbal identity, visual identity, experience, and the ongoing management of brands and their communications. The agency began in 2008 as Publicis Royalties, a joint venture backed by Publicis Worldwide and Eurogroup Consulting. It was conceived as a specialist branding operation that could extend beyond the financial assessment of brands into the creation, transformation, and management of brand systems. The agency's founding team brought together complementary experience. David Jobin and Alexandre de Coupigny had worked at Interbrand, where Jobin was managing director and de Coupigny was director of Brand Valuation. Olivier Bontemps was a co-founder of View, an agency focused on motion design. Before creating their own firm, the three developed a branding-agency proposition and presented it to several large organisations, including Publicis. Publicis France, then seeking to strengthen its brand-management capabilities, partnered with Eurogroup Consulting to establish the agency. Royalties' early clients included Radio France, Orange, La Société des Bains de Mer de Monaco, and PagesJaunes. Its client portfolio subsequently expanded to organisations such as Atos, HSBC, Castorama, Deutsche Telekom Group, Galeries Lafayette, Kingfisher, Société Générale, SFR, and the Palace of Versailles. These assignments covered strategic and operational aspects of branding, from market positioning and portfolio organisation to identities and customer touchpoints. A decisive change occurred in 2014, when Publicis sold its 60 percent stake to the agency's founding members. The transaction made Royalties independent. Alexandre de Coupigny later left the business, while David Jobin and Olivier Bontemps became its principal owners. The agency has maintained an international orientation, with activity in France and China. In 2018, Sylvain Boyer, who developed the Ecobranding approach, joined Royalties. Ecobranding seeks to reduce the material, environmental, and financial resources used to express brands while preserving or improving clarity, recognisability, accessibility, and impact. Royalties incorporated this thinking into its brand model, adding resilience to the existing dimensions of meaning, appearance, and experience. In practice, the approach can involve reducing the amount of data required by digital assets, limiting ink use in printed materials, and designing simpler systems that remain effective across multiple channels. Examples associated with this direction include work for Orange, for which Royalties reviewed physical and digital touchpoints and developed a simplified digital logo designed to improve visibility while reducing data and ink requirements. For Atos, the agency proposed a refreshed visual identity based on the principle of keeping screens dark and paper white, with the aim of reducing digital energy consumption and printed-ink use. The changes were independently reviewed and validated according to the reference material. Royalties also participated in the identity work for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The selected design combined Parisian architectural references, French character, Olympic symbolism, inclusion, and Ecobranding principles. It used a simplified, single-colour graphic approach and was designed as one logo system for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The identity was notable for introducing a female face as the central human figure in an Olympic logo. Beyond client work, Royalties has contributed to professional education. In partnership with TWBA, it created and manages a master's-level branding course at Sciences Po's School of Communication. The programme is available in French and international English formats, is led by David Jobin, and involves senior Royalties consultants as guest lecturers. The agency also participates in arrangements involving the University of Oxford, the University of Bath, and the University of Birmingham intended to support student mobility. Royalties has received or been associated with recognition in design and innovation competitions, including an LSA Innovation Trophy for the Castorama smart-store concept with Carré Noir and a second prize at the Grand Prix Stratégies Design for the PagesJaunes redesign. Its work has also been nominated for Club des Directeurs Artistiques and Super Design awards. The agency's public profile has been particularly strengthened by its Ecobranding work and by the international attention surrounding the Paris 2024 identity.

Royalties was established in 2008 by David Jobin, Alexandre de Coupigny, and Olivier Bontemps. Jobin and de Coupigny brought experience from Interbrand, including expertise in management and brand valuation, while Bontemps contributed experience from View, a motion-design agency he had co-founded. Their proposed agency attracted the interest of Publicis France, which wanted to build a stronger brand-management capability. Publicis Worldwide and Eurogroup Consulting jointly backed the new operation, known initially as Publicis Royalties. The agency was designed to cover a broad definition of brand management. Rather than limiting its work to financial valuation, it addressed brand creation, positioning, architecture, verbal and visual identity, and the management of brand expression across channels. Its first clients included Radio France, Orange, La Société des Bains de Mer de Monaco, and PagesJaunes. It later worked for a wide range of public and private organisations, including Atos, HSBC, Castorama, Deutsche Telekom Group, Galeries Lafayette, Kingfisher, Société Générale, SFR, and the Palace of Versailles. In 2014, Publicis sold its 60 percent interest in Royalties to the founding partners. The sale ended the agency's status as a Publicis-controlled business and established it as an independent firm. Alexandre de Coupigny subsequently departed, while Jobin and Bontemps remained associated with ownership and leadership. The agency's proposition evolved substantially in 2018, when Sylvain Boyer joined Royalties. Boyer's Ecobranding method sought to make brand communication less resource-intensive by reducing unnecessary data, ink, and visual complexity. The method was intended not merely to make designs cheaper or smaller, but to improve the efficiency, accessibility, and clarity of brand systems while providing visible evidence of an organisation's commitment to change. Royalties incorporated this philosophy by adding resilience to a model previously organised around meaning, appearance, and experience. The Ecobranding approach was applied in work for clients including Orange and Atos. For Orange, the agency reviewed brand touchpoints and developed a more economical digital logo. For Atos, it proposed an identity system based on darker digital screens and white paper, aiming to lower energy and ink consumption. The agency stated that the relevant changes underwent independent review and validation. Royalties later gained broad international attention through its work on the identity for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The design combined French and Parisian visual references with Olympic iconography and inclusion. Its simplified, single-colour construction reflected the agency's Ecobranding principles. It was also the first Olympic logo system to use the same identity for the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the first to place a female face at the centre of an Olympic logo. Education has been another part of the agency's activities. In collaboration with TWBA, Royalties created and manages a master's branding course at Sciences Po's School of Communication. David Jobin leads the programme, with Royalties consultants serving as guest professors. The programme is available in French and international English versions, and the agency has also been involved in academic mobility arrangements connected with Oxford, Bath, and Birmingham. The agency's work has received design and innovation recognition. Examples include an LSA Innovation Trophy for the Castorama smart-store concept, developed with Carré Noir, and a second prize at the Grand Prix Stratégies Design for the PagesJaunes redesign. Earlier work was nominated for awards including the Club des Directeurs Artistiques and Super Design. Royalties remains an active independent agency with operations in France and China.

• 2019

  Paris 2024 identity is selected

  [1]Royalties (brand management agency)en.wikipedia.org

  The identity designed for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games is selected, combining inclusion, Parisian references, and Ecobranding.

• 2018

  Ecobranding becomes a major strategic pillar

  [1]Royalties (brand management agency)en.wikipedia.org

  Sylvain Boyer joins Royalties, which incorporates Ecobranding into its brand-management model.

• 2014

  Royalties becomes independent

  [1]Royalties (brand management agency)en.wikipedia.org

  Publicis sells its 60 percent stake to the founding members.

• 2008

  Publicis Royalties is founded

  [1]Royalties (brand management agency)en.wikipedia.org

  David Jobin, Alexandre de Coupigny, and Olivier Bontemps establish the agency with backing from Publicis Worldwide and Eurogroup Consulting.

• 2003

  David Jobin and Alexandre de Coupigny work together at Interbrand

  [1]Royalties (brand management agency)en.wikipedia.org

  The future founders worked at Interbrand, where Jobin served as managing director and de Coupigny focused on brand valuation.

An independent, strategy-led brand management agency combining brand consulting, identity design, implementation, and Ecobranding. Royalties positions brand expression as both a business asset and a social and environmental responsibility.

• Professional services · 2008

  Brand strategy and management

  Royalties advises organisations on the meaning, positioning, architecture, governance, and long-term development of their brands. Its work can span the assessment of existing brand assets, the creation of new brands, portfolio organisation, and the alignment of brand strategy with business and societal objectives.

• Brand identity · 2008

  Visual and verbal identity

  The agency develops naming, verbal identity, logos, graphic systems, typography, colour, motion, and guidelines for use across physical and digital environments. Its identity work is intended to connect strategic positioning with recognisable and practical brand expression.

• Sustainable design · 2018

  Ecobranding

  Ecobranding is Royalties' resource-efficiency approach to brand communication. It seeks to reduce data consumption, energy use, ink, and other communication resources while maintaining or improving visibility, accessibility, and brand distinctiveness. The method became central to the agency's proposition after Sylvain Boyer joined in 2018.

• Education

  Sciences Po branding master's course

  In partnership with TWBA, Royalties created and manages a master's-level branding course at Sciences Po's School of Communication. David Jobin leads the course, which is offered in French and international English and includes teaching contributions from senior agency consultants.

• 2024Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic identity

  France · International

  Royalties contributed to the identity for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The design brought together Parisian architecture, French character, Olympic symbols, inclusion, and a simplified Ecobranding-oriented visual language. It used one identity for both Games and centred a female face, a first for an Olympic logo.

  Outcome. The identity received substantial international design and media attention; Creative Review described it as one of the year's most influential logo releases.

  Source
• Orange Ecobranding identity review

  France · International

  Royalties reviewed Orange's physical and digital brand touchpoints and developed a simpler digital logo designed for stronger visibility and lower resource consumption.

  Outcome. The redesigned digital logo was reported as using 56 percent less data and 28 percent less ink.

  Source
• Atos visual identity transformation

  International

  Royalties proposed a refreshed Atos identity organised around keeping screens dark and paper white, linking visual expression to lower digital energy and print-ink requirements.

  Outcome. The identity changes were independently reviewed and validated according to the available reference material.

  Source

• 2018

  Royalties adopts Ecobranding as a core approachStrategy

  Background

  Growing concern about the environmental and financial cost of brand communication created demand for more resource-efficient identity systems.

  Action taken

  After Sylvain Boyer joined, Royalties added resilience to its model of meaning, appearance, and experience and integrated resource-efficiency principles into client work.

  Aftermath

  The approach informed subsequent identity projects for clients including Orange, Atos, and the Paris 2024 Games.

  Source

• 2014

  Founding partners acquire Publicis's stakeM&A

  Background

  Royalties had been established with Publicis Worldwide and Eurogroup Consulting, with Publicis holding a 60 percent interest.

  Action taken

  Publicis sold its stake to the agency's founding members, ending Publicis control and making Royalties independent.

  Aftermath

  David Jobin and Olivier Bontemps became the principal owners; Alexandre de Coupigny later left the agency.

  Source

1. 1Royalties (brand management agency)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Royalties official websiteroyalties.fr