ntl to rebrand.

[Neil]

Well here are details of ntl's impending 'rebrand'

Personally, I think it's a complete waste of time & money, especially in light of redundancies/bonuses to execs etc, & also the impending Telewest merge which will completely rebrand everything anyway.

What are we doing?

We are making some minor changes to the way we use the ntl brand and logo for our customers. The changes will help to promote the image of ntl as one company. Branded goods, vans and so on will be updated when they are replaced in the normal course of business.

ntl:home / COBI

Key changes to the ntl home brand include:

New strapline †“ †œmore choice. better value.ââ‚Ã⠀šÃ‚¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ÂÂ� - and new visual icons.
We will only use the terms †˜ntl homeââ‚ ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢ internally; to the external audience we will be simply †˜ntlâà¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚¬Ã¢â€žà ƒâ€šÃ‚¢. This will be reflected in external literature, internet sites, etc.
Associates who use these terms when talking to customers †“ e.g. when answering the phone †“ will need to answer †˜ntlâà¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚¬Ã¢â€žà ƒâ€šÃ‚¢ from now on.
The new brand guidelines are available here.
Other divisions

To provide a consistent face to our external customers, all other divisions will be making the following changes to their external brand:

We will only use terms like †˜ntl:broadcastà¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢ââ ‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢, †˜ntl:businessÃÂà ‚¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚¬Ã¢ââ⠀šÂ¬Ã…¾Ã‚¢ internally; to the external audience we will be †˜ntlâà¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚¬Ã¢â€žà ƒâ€šÃ‚¢. This will be reflected in external literature, internet sites, etc.
Associates who use these terms when talking to customers †“ e.g. when answering the phone †“ will need to use 'ntl' now on.
Why are we doing this?

A strong, recognisable brand sends a clear message to customers and associates about what a company stands for, so itâ₠¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s important that we use our brand consistently.

As we are now in a period of consistent growth, this is an appropriate time rethink our brand and maximise understanding of what ntl stands for.

How and when will these changes be made?

Changes to telephone answering should be made by the middle of next week. Call centre teams should receive confirmation through their normal briefing processes.

Changes to internet sites will be made as soon as practical.

We will not spend a lot of money re-branding existing items, so branded goods, vans and so on will be updated when they are replaced in the normal course of business.

So there you have it.

Can someone just remind me of the point of this again........

[poolking]

Shouldn't NTL be spending the money on the technical side? It doesn't matter how much money you throw at rebranding, it doesn't matter what it says on the tin, it will still be the same rubbish inside.

Talk about skewed priorities.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by poolking

Shouldn't NTL be spending the money on the technical side? It doesn't matter how much money you throw at rebranding, it doesn't matter what it says on the tin, it will still be the same rubbish inside.

Talk about skewed priorities.

Even if this 'exercise' only cost them 10p in terms of money to spend, the cost in terms of man hours (consultants??) etc must surely be phenomenal?

[poolking]

Originally Posted by Neil

Even if this 'exercise' only cost them 10p in terms of money to spend, the cost in terms of man hours (consultants??) etc must surely be phenomenal?

I know,

Look how much money the BBC spent producing the dandelion logo a few years ago.

Talk about a waste of money.

[orangebird]

Read the news again, they're not spending any money......

Also, there aren't any consultants being used for this. It's all from within ntl.

[bob_builder]

I think that we will see a similar situation to the Sky and BSB merger. The new company was called BSkyB but is still referered to as Sky on the customer facing side.
When NTL and Telewest merge they could call the company NTelewestL (or something similar) but continue to refer to its as ntl for customers, hence the above rebrand.

[Stuartbe]

How can you rebrand vans/letterheads ect without spending money ???

[Russ]

Remember the Post Office changing to 'Insignia' or whatever daft name they rebranded with?

Still, it all seem pretty straightforward, so let's see if NTL manage it and whether any customers notice or care....

[Neil]

Originally Posted by orangebird

Read the news again, they're not spending any money......

Also, there aren't any consultants being used for this. It's all from within ntl.

We will not spend a lot of money re-branding existing items, so branded goods, vans and so on will be updated when they are replaced in the normal course of business.

They are defo gonna spend money on this-but my point is why??

What a complete waste of time (if not money )

Surely it would be better on concentrating on running the business properly prior to the TW merge than re sodding branding?

[orangebird]

Originally Posted by Stuartbe

How can you rebrand vans/letterheads ect without spending money ???

As it states, they'll only get rebranded when they need replacing.

[Stuartbe]

Originally Posted by orangebird

As it states, they'll only get rebranded when they need replacing.

What about letterheads and paperwork ? I can see the printers changing the artwork for free !

[Neil]

Originally Posted by Stuartbe

How can you rebrand vans/letterheads ect without spending money ???

In fairness to them Stu, I think what ntl are saying is that they will wait until vans etc need an update (perhaps after an accident repair for example?) rather than just doing it now for the sake of it.

[orangebird]

Originally Posted by Stuartbe

What about letterheads and paperwork ? I can see the printers changing the artwork for free !

Of course they will. Either that or they lose a bloody great contract.... Think about the size of the compnay and the amount of money that is spent in a year on headed stationary for example.... A bit of a no brainer really...

[orangebird]

Originally Posted by Neil

In fairness to them Stu, I think what ntl are saying is that they will wait until vans etc need an update (perhaps after an accident repair for example?) rather than just doing it now for the sake of it.

That's correct.

[Russ]

Shock horror!! OB and Neil agree!!!

Seriously though, does there actually feel like any need for this?