01st Jul 2008
Brand Belfast launched
Belfast’s latest brand was launched yesterday and the local papers today are full of a pretty girl with pretty a ’B’ to illustrate the event.
I was involved in the reference group which was consulted on the development of the new brand and am happy with the results but like all brands the logo is simply the tip of the iceberg. What matters is the proposition on which it is build, whether it fits the product - in this case Belfast city, and whether it is capable of being understood and adopted by the target audiences. City Brands are difficult to get right because they have to appeal to visitors and residents alike. The biggest risk is local rejection fueled by cynicism and a popular view that it is all about a logo which cost too much.
As a reference group we worked hard and long to develop a brand based on core elements. These have been formally expressed in the brand guidelines as follows:
Brand essence
This is Belfast’s moment.
Brand proposition
A unique history and a future full of promise have come together to create a city bursting with energy and optimism.
Brand identity
Through application of this new identity, the energy and optimism of the city is brought to life. The logo acts as the heart of Belfast – reflecting the warm and welcoming nature of the city. The capital ‘B’ of the logo puts Belfast on the map. It highlights that this is Belfast’s moment by using the ‘B’ as a call to action, as in ‘be here now’.
What this means to key audiences is what is called the brand experience and so we settled on the following:
For citizens…
The time is right for us to build a thriving, vibrant city. Bringing together our strong sense of identity, our resilience and enterprise, and our renowned warmth and wit, we are seizing this opportunity with both hands. Proud of our heritage, we embrace the future to build an even better Belfast, providing a warm welcome to visitors, an exciting environment for business and a great place to live.
For visitors…
Here, between the mountains and the sea, is a dynamic city with a big personality. Proud of its heritage Belfast is alive with possibilities and open to change – vibrant, energetic and exciting. The people of Belfast provide a welcome which is not just warm, but genuine and generous, inviting anyone and everyone to join in. Belfast provides a vivid and memorable experience with new things to discover every time you visit.
For investors…
Belfast is a vibrant city full of opportunity. A spirit of optimism and a real sense of purpose fills the air, inspiring enterprise, creativity and change. The people of Belfast – witty, lively, welcoming and determined – are proud of the city’s past, positive about its future, and ready and able to seize the opportunities on offer. Now is the time, and Belfast is the place, where anything is possible.
As I said, today’s papers are full of pretty pictures. They get the message across that there is a new brand in town but do not in any way explain the proposition or bring the brand to life in a meaningful way. The City Council faces a significant challenge to ensure buy in from key stakeholders and the business community although in their defence the work on this is already underway. The bigger and more daunting task is to secure public acceptance and adoption. That will take a lot more then a photo and a short press release.
The opportunities to use digital and social media to bring the new brand to life are immense I will be watching with interest to see if City Hall adopt them.
Were the public and private sector consulted on this, I’m thinking more like local government Cllrs and regional MLAs?
I like the idea of branding in order to compete for investment and attract new people. People need a sense of branding in order to act as shortcut to decision making in terms of visiting destinations for tourists.
However, the brand needs to be truthful and believable, I believe the people are open and warm and do have great heritage; however, our local high-profile politicians up that mile long madhouse of an electoral mansion, aka Stormont, are seriously working against such pleasant notions.
Take Iris for example and those seriously deficient homophobic comments, take the complete lack of cultural recognition cutting across Irishness to Orangeism in the political system, take the Maze situation hesitancy and unshared vision. Then to cap it all off, Sammy Wilson and his inexplicable stance on the environment. Seriously bad stuff.
You need only see the aftermath in the media to see that the way certain people talk about this region/country to see the damage of caused to the reputation of Northern Ireland from having such loud mouths. Would I want to stay here and spend money after hearing all that, also the Paddywagon bus was also burnt out, seriously bad stuff for the tourists.
This executive is like a basket full of crabs, all moving in their own direction and standing out for being completely out of sync with the populace and more worryingly the concept of regional identity which needs a clear strategy which all executive members should work to. And such comments above are in contrast to such a principle.
I do like the idea, but without buy-in in the form of sincere actions from politicians and people, branding will stand out only because of its expensive packaging that is wasted for the want of a true consumable product.