A couple of months ago we noticed that Becta had changed its logo. So using the Freedom of Information Act we asked Becta the reason for the change and how much it had cost. According to a spokesperson for Becta, the organisation ‘recognised that there remained considerable confusion amongst key audiences of what we do, who we work with and what we are trying to achieve.’

Becta’s solution was to engage an agency and spend £65k on, ‘the development of a tighter vision, mission, values and messages for the organisation and, as a by-product, provide a refreshed brand identity.’ The cost breaks down into: £26k to ‘define’, that is talk to some key stakeholders; £8k to ‘design’, that is develop the ‘vision, mission, values and refreshed identity concepts’; £23k to ‘deliver’, that is, to apply the design to all the ‘assets’ and issue guidance for implementing the new design and finally; £8k on ‘message development’.

These numbers exclude implementation costs including exhibition stands and publicity collateral. The good news is that to ‘minimise costs’ Becta has chosen a gradual roll out of the new brand and is not doing everything at once!

www.becta.org.uk