Eni is one of the global oil and gas super-players employing over 30.000 people in nearly 70 countries in the world. Eni engages in oil and natural gas exploration, field development and production, as well as in the supply, trading and shipping of natural gas, LNG, electricity and fuels. Through refineries and chemical plants, Eni processes crude oil and other oil-based feedstock to produce fuels, lubricants and chemical products that are supplied to wholesalers or through retail networks or distributors.

Eni’s strategies, resource allocation processes and conduct of day-to-day operations underpin the delivery of sustainable value to all of our stakeholders, respecting the countries where the company operates and the people who work for and with Eni.

Integrity in business management, support the countries development, operational excellence in conducting operations, innovation in developing competitive solutions and renewable energy sources, inclusiveness of Eni’s people and development of know-how and skills, integration of financial and non-financial issues in the company’s plans and processes drive Eni in creating sustainable value. These elements lead to wise investment choices, prevention of risks and the achievement of strategic objectives in the short, medium and long term.

Eni is working to build a future where everyone can access energy resources efficiently and sustainably. Eni’s work is based on passion and innovation, on unique strengths and skills, on the quality of the people and in recognising that diversity across all aspects of the operations and organization is something to be cherished. Eni believes in the value of long term partnerships with the countries and communities where it operates.

The six-legged dog - a symbol of passion and tradition

The story of our trademark

The idea at the outset was to create a company logo that would make the Italian company immediately recognisable around the world. Enrico Mattei, founder of the Eni Group, therefore launched a national competition to design a logo in 1952 which initially was only supposed to represent the major products produced by Agip: Supercortemaggiore petrol and Agipgas natural gas. But with the successful founding of the Eni Group the following year, the new trademark became the now iconic symbol of the whole company: the six-legged dog with the tongue of red flame.

In May 1952, an open invitation was sent to all Italians to enter this unique competition, with prize money totalling 10 million Lire (the equivalent of c. 160,000 Euros today). The prestigious panel of judges was made up of experts from the media and art world, and over 4,000 submissions had been received within just a few weeks. The winning design was finally announced in September: the six-legged dog; a graphic synthesis that still expresses strength, energy and optimism, all the values that were evident in Italy as it was going through an economic miracle.

The award-winning design was created by the sculptor Luigi Broggini, who never publicly acknowledged his authorship, and the work was attributed instead to Giuseppe Guzzi.

The new trademark and its original appearance caused a sensation at the time, and is still the subject of numerous interpretations. The logo not only reminds us of a dog, but also of a Persian lion, which is walking towards the west with its head turned to the east. Its shape is reminiscent of a chimera with its curved body and tail, so unlike the tail of any dog, but it also resembles a fire-breathing dragon with spikes along its back.

As mobility increased sharply in the wake of Italy’s economic boom and car travel became more commonplace, the image of the six-legged dog united the north and south of the country. The group also grew during the economic miracle, and Eni expanded beyond its national borders into Africa and the Middle East. The six-legged dog, that climbed every morning up the flagpoles on platforms and oilfields all over the world, became the unifying emblem of all those men and women who shared a passion for challenge.

Restyling in the 1970s and 1980s

In the decades that followed, the six-legged dog was used to promote all the company's activities, from the filling stations designed by the architect Baciocchi to the furniture and furnishings in the Agip Motel chain, to company buildings and also advertising initiatives. After the death of Enrico Mattei, the company felt the need to restyle the corporate image, in particular to separate the aspects of the Group associated with vehicles from those intended for people. Designer Bob Noorda was therefore commissioned to supervise two redesign projects for the six-legged dog in 1972 and 1998 respectively.

The six-legged dog brand book

Once it was decided that the six-legged dog should remain a central element of the Eni brand, Noorda placed the now also internationally famous six-legged dog in a yellow square with rounded corners to optimally integrate the new design into the rectangular shape of advertising signs at filling stations which was standard at the time.

The company’s new typeface was based on a classic Standard-Bold, with the insertion of a central white line which, according to Noorda, was reminiscent of the central white line painted on roads to separate the two lanes of traffic.

The new corporate identity

All the Eni Group companies immediately adopted the new image which boosted the corporate identity and brand awareness: the dog was now shorter and placed within the yellow diamond shape and the company name was now written in capital letters.

As Eni was seeking to privatise the company in 1992, the six-legged dog served to bolster the confidence of private and institutional investors. The stock exchange listing and the conversion into a public limited company in 1995 prompted a redesign of the brand to reflect an agile, modern business organisation, and the company again turned to Bob Noorda. His design now took the form of a progressive abstraction based on simple key elements to represent the unity of the Group companies. The dog was taken out of the rounded, black-bordered yellow diamond and placed in a perfect square with the Eni lettering, now supplemented by the word “Group”. A horizontal red line now ran through the middle of the square to separate the six-legged dog from the lettering.

The Eni brand now symbolised all the company activities – from the extraction of raw materials to the sale of fuel, gas and electricity to the listing of the company on the stock market.

The adoption of a single brand name and trademark has encouraged greater cohesion across the various sectors, and above all encouraged the emergence of a strong corporate identity – the result of a great history and a great tradition.