As CitySprint launches our new brand identity today, it has given me an opportunity to contemplate what a brand really means and why companies rebrand. The English dictionary defines the verb ‘to rebrand’ as “to change or update the image of an organisation or product”, which is certainly technically true. Some people might see a rebrand as no more than a ‘lick of paint’ and, in principle, this is also partly true - we wanted a fresh, new image for 2012.
While we are very much the same company that we were yesterday, we have evolved considerably from the company we were when we launched our old brand, over 10 years ago! All in all, it was definitely time for an update.
Don’t get me wrong; our original brand has served us well. It was created at a time when we wanted to help give a more professional image to the same day courier industry. And over those years it has assisted our growth and accession to the market leader slot in the UK’s same day industry.
Importantly, our new image incorporates views from our clients about CitySprint and what it means to them and their businesses. Their generous feedback, through questionnaires, helped us to gain a 360° perspective. This feedback informed the key elements and messages that underpin the new brand. It reinforced the fact that our old branding needed a fresh, innovative look and tone and that it lacked some impact. As a result, it was our clients’ views that inevitably contributed to our final decision to freshen up our ‘look and feel’ but retain all the positive equity we’d built up in the old brand.
That brings me back to the question of what is really meant by the word ‘brand’. Well to me, brand is something that our staff and clients should be proud of – something that is based on, and reflects, our ethos and the reputation we build on the back of the service we deliver to our customers.
Brand is what defines a culture, not just how it looks. It is something that says you are proud of your achievements to date but recognise the value of continual improvement. The CitySprint brand is definitely more than just a logo – it’s a philosophy that runs throughout our company and which is summarised by our new strap line: ‘we deliver’. This works on so many levels. We deliver a service for our customers, on behalf of our customers. We deliver your best work, original ideas, valuable data, award winning designs, life saving organs, critical machinery and everything else in between. We deliver collaboration.
Whichever way you look at it, we deliver more than just parcels.
So, the new brand is less a new beginning and more the next stage of the journey that builds upon our successes to date and renews our commitment to service excellence for clients. I also think it looks nice and I hope you do too...
