Better brand governance please BBC

Every major business in the country knows the value of a strong corporate identity and consistent branding. It creates a strong visual identity which helps the business stand out in a crowded marketplace. And it can help symbolise and represent the company’s values.

This is taken very seriously. Design manuals are produced detailing just how a logo should or should not be used. When a company rebrands, things can get tricky.

If a brand new logo is introduced, as happened recently when BT rebranded, the company needs to have a clear timetable for replacing the old one to ensure proper consistency. The logo change in this case was very obvious.

If the new logo is merely a modification, the change may not be immediately obvious to the passer-by and may simply look like inconsistency.

So you might think a world class broadcaster which was noted for its marketing in the nineties and noughties would get this. Not so, it appears. Or at least, branding rules are not always being properly enforced.

The BBC corporate logo is used inconsistently – sometimes it looks like a less than convincing mock-up has been quickly created. And occasionally old versions of channel logos crop up too. It is almost unbelievable that a version of the BBC One logo retired 13 years ago can still crop up:

If nothing else, the BBC needs to start policing its brand properly. Perhaps some bits of the design toolkit may also need to be readily accessible? Significant breaches of the brand guidelines should be noted and corrected.

A strong visual identity which is properly enforced is a sign of a strong, confident organisation.

ASSOCIATED ARTICLES: BBC Logo Watch.

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