Brand audit a sign of times for workers
Aug 14 2008 by Neil Mckay, The Journal
COUNCIL staff are being told to count stationery branded with logos amid fears that changing the authority’s name could cost £4m.
Office workers in County Hall, Durham, are being told to list business cards, writing paper, letterheads, pens, pencils, leaflets, brochures and uniforms bearing the Durham County Council title so bosses can work out the costs.
Next year a single unitary authority will run services county-wide and seven district councils will be abolished under a major local government shake-up.
The branding audit undertaken by some of the county council’s 18,000 workers is aimed at establishing exactly how many items of equipment bear the title and logo.
A memo to staff said: “We need to identify branded items in terms of signage, stationery and office equipment.”
The council is currently split over whether to change its name to something along the lines of County Durham Unitary Authority or to retain its current title.
Council leader Simon Henig has refused to be drawn on the matter, saying the public are currently being consulted at a series of meetings.
But he has spoken of the need to have corporate branding for the new authority.
Other council members argue that to change the authority’s title would lead to unnecessary costs.
Independent county councillor John Shuttleworth, a painter and decorator by trade, estimated it would cost £4m to change the county council’s logo on signs, vans and other pieces of external equipment.
He said: “Changing the name is mere civic vanity. The public want the best possible service provided, they don’t want fancy names and logos.
“I am amazed that this so-called branding audit is being carried out when no decision has been made on whether there will be a name change, and it is still open to public consultation.”
But a county council spokesman stressed that such an audit was simply good housekeeping.
He added: “The seven district authorities which will cease to exist next year are all carrying out similar audits.
“It is good practice to try to establish in advance how much any potential change would cost.”
