Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Are Residents and community groups being short-changed?
Haringey Council slammed for £65,000 re-branding amid austerity (today's H&H Broadway)
Is a re-branding exercise for the Local Authority justified, in these difficult times, when the Council is cutting here, there and everywhere?
Some of the cuts are to front-line services, such as the closing of adult day-care centres.
£65,000 isn't a huge amount in the context of the Council's overall budget, but I believe it's a symptom of wasteful, irresponsible spending on a larger scale. I suspect the cost of the full roll-out will be more than the £25,000 suggested.
The last vanity branding refresh was only nine years ago and I'm not convinced it was justified then, either.
CDC
Haringey Councillor
Liberal Democrat Party
Tags for Forum Posts: PR, facelift, judgement, priorities, re-branding, refresh, vanity, waste, £65,000
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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Capital punishment was for wimps John. We had the iron maiden at school and it did none of us any harm, apart from a lot of the boys being a bit leaky.
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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on
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But Angela, LBH has been stationary for a loooonnnng time.
To Liz & John D, not just spartan in your discipline but laconic in your riposte.
But to save LBH the price of 2 issues of HP, if this rebranding can be restricted to the Leaderene's right buttock I'll search the doggone wagon for ma ole branding iron and do the job for free.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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This is what a "Haringey Council Spokesman" said in response to the criticism of the £65,000.
“We want Haringey’s brand to better express the unique attitude, ambitions and aspirations of local residents, businesses and the council, and our shared vision for the borough now and in the future."
Now, I don't know about you, but I read that sentence with shocked surprise. Then went back and reread it with pleasure. And a third time, intoning it slowly, out loud, with deep reverence. It's not often that we in Haringey are presented with such weighty thoughts, expressed in language of such noble poetic force.
For the Spokesman is an honourable man. So are they all, all honourable PR women and men. Whose salaries did the general coffers empty. And when the poor have cried, Spokespersons hath wept. Yet they are made of sterner stuff. And here I am to speak not to disprove what Spokestaff hath said. But what I do know. Of our attitude unique. Our brand refreshed. Our aspiration perspiration and expiration shared now and in the future.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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YOU've highlighted the best bit Alan.
With that single sentence, the Council's PR spin doctors have attained a new heights of empty nonsense. The re-branding of nine years ago was likely justified with similar vacuous waffle, but like then, it didn't come without cost.
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Are they not entitled to a refund from the previous rebrand. You can't really say that the logo is good, can you.
I quite understand why they see the need but don't think it is appropriate at this point. But then is the hiring of PR people appropriate?
Tells you the real priorities. Etre ou paraitre? C'est ca la question.
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You can't really say that the logo is good, can you.
Er, no JJ !
The squashed-spider logo is in my opinion, ugly and is surely the least attractive Local Authority logo in London.
However the decision to have another branding refresh is a (misguided) party political one.
It is a choice and perforce, a priority of the Council, ahead of other priorities.
This, at a time of austerity when there are surely better calls on the £90,000+ cash involved.
I'm not aware of a single Labour Councillor saying they know of a better use for this money. Which is disappointing.
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If they really do want to go ahead with it there are some fantastic examples of that they could achieve here.
http://www.boredpanda.com/worst-logo-fails-ever/
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£9 0,000 now Clive? So where does that new figure come from?
Though I'm not surprised. Once you start by repainting the hall, the rest of the house looks pretty dull and in need of refreshment.
Kober and her friends have no shame and no clue. Faced with serious problems they start rearranging the logo and have an isn't-it-all-luverly conference roadshow in a Town Hall building they sold off. And a Party in the park. Rejoice! The last passengers standing have taken over the Titanic. Icebergs? Wot icebergs? Party On!
If you've got a fancy logo, clap your hands
When your services are no-go, clap your hands
If your leader is a dodo and her policy is promo,
And the only game is roadshow, clap your hands!
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Alan, meet article! (link at top):
The council, which last re-branded in 2007 to create their green and gold starburst logo, is set to spend a further £25,000 on implementation costs.
I was never great at maths but according to my calculations, £65k plus £25k equals £90k.
However, is it credible that in the long run, this branding refresh will be limited to stationery and not extended to cars and vans etc?
Even if this PR exercise were to cost a mere £10,000, it would in my opinion be a misplaced priority. And a waste of £10,000.
It hardly matters whether wasteful expenditure by this Local Authority is made inside or outside the Borough. The point is that the alternative would be to ameliorate some of the slashed front-line services, inside the Borough.
I haven't seen the latest re-branding as its being developed/explored behind closed doors. Which is a worrying of itself: I understand the current ghastly logo came as a shock to almost all Councillors when it was suddenly announced in 2007.
Other things equal we need a new logo as the current one is so awful.
But this is not the right time to do it. Other things are more urgent.
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How about something clear and simple, Clive? The letter 'H'. Signifying 'Hopeless'. Leaning well to the right, of course.
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Alan, forgot to say, like your lyrics.
Could you come up with a re-fresh of the Council's motto?
Progress with Humanity
This tired old slogan hasn't seen a refresh or facelift for up to 50 years. It's surely crying out for an update and I reckon you're the bloke best suited to do it. I hope you'd charge less than £1,000/day.
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Thanks, Clive. A motto to replace: "Progress with Humanity"? Thing is, many people may not realise that our Dear Leader belongs to a faction in the Labour Party called "Progress". Which has a website and magazine and claims to be a lobbying group. But behaves more like a Party within a Party. So the words "progress" and "progressive" are really code for right-wing.
Odd really, that there are such shy Tory-policy supporters in the Labour Party. Though you can see why they'd be reluctant to move across the border to Barnet to get elected.
On the general logo/branding/mission statement issue, Michael Anderson hits the bullseye. Spending even small fortunes on this nonsense is waste dreamed-up by people who work in PR and brand management.
My recommendation for common sense in this area is Charlotte Pell. In 2014 she gave a talk at Newcastle University called: "How to save public services from silly slogans and weasel words". Explaining that:
"... investment in modern corporate slogans, mission statements and logos is a sign of a troubled organisation." ... "Councils, hospitals and police forces spend millions on corporate branding yet far from improving the reputation of an organisation, it has the opposite effect. Corporate branding is at best ignored. At worst, it invites ridicule and damages trust amongst both staff and the public."
I've mentioned Charlotte's blog before. Here's a page about straplines making wordles. Or "clouds of drivel", as she puts it. On the other hand Charlotte has a strapline for her own blog which would be perfect as a new Koberville motto:
"It's not supposed to be funny"
P.S. Her previous blog included a historic Haringey mission statement - "Achieving Excellence". That wasn't supposed to be funny either.
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