Susanna Freedman: ‘The public might assume Council staff are private contractors’

Published on 19/11/2012 13:11

EDINBURGH City Council has clearly worked on its image and reputation as an organisation which serves the public.

It has also worked to promote Edinburgh as a great place to live. It does that in part through its people on the ground, uniforms and vehicle livery.

To introduce another brand may well dilute the work it has been doing. The public might even assume it’s a private contractor providing services.

If you are an organisation working with a partner to provide a service, it may well make sense to have dual branding on 
uniforms.

But if it’s purely for revenue purposes, and the second brand is just a commercial business which is advertising with you, that may well lead to confusion.

The Murray Volvo branding for lollipop men and woman made sense. It’s all about association and in this case you associate a brand with an emphasis on safety.

Even if the branding is just for revenue purposes, it will in a sense be an endorsement of that business, and the council would have to chose carefully.

• Susanna Freedman is Director of the Edinburgh-based brand and communications agency Emperor