Rewind. Its April 2001 and I?ve just ended a year-long trawl around thirty London design agencies to find the best one to design a new London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) logo, writes Karen Cardy.
Its not that I?m fussy but it was going to be a challenge. In the end we selected The Partners (clients include Wedgwood, Decca and Buzz) for their strategic thinking, systematic process and excellent design.
The time was ripe for a change. Two cutting-edge developments ? LSO Live CDs and LSO St Luke?s music education and technology centre ? and the LSO?s 100th birthday were approaching. Everyone hated the old imperious laurel-leaf crest on a black banner, and it was high time that the Orchestra?s image caught up with the reality of competing as a 21st century entertainment option. But with 40,000 concert-goers and 110 LSO owners, not to mention 25 finicky staff, I knew we would be difficult to please.
The brief to The Partners was to develop a logo design to reflect the LSO?s artistic and commercial aspirations. What we wanted was a logo design that appealed to existing and potential audiences, to commercial partners and to opinion formers. We wanted to unify communications for concerts, CDs, education and community outreach, touring and fund-raising. We wanted a logo that looked like us.
The first three months was a whirlwind of consultation. The Partners wanted to know what really makes the LSO different and unique. Quality? Not really. All our major competitors have quality; it?s a pre-requisite for being world-class. Passion? It?s behind music-making at every level. Innovation? Now this is where the LSO is different, where it will find new audiences, capture hearts and minds, and build its reputation. The LSO?s pioneering character runs in its blood, and by definition ?innovation? is unique.
So there are a few things you should know about the LSO. The LSO has always had strong sense of identity. It was formed in 1904 by a group of breakaway London musicians from Henry Wood?s orchestra when they decided to organise things for themselves. It is now a self-governing orchestra, which means that members elect the player-directors at the AGM, employing the Managing Director and administration to run the business. LSO musicians are paid Musician Union rates for the work they do, and can job share upwards of 50%. This give them the freedom to run families, solo careers, chamber music, brass, jazz and rock bands, recording studios and to combine teaching with their regular orchestral playing. The LSO has no Artistic Director but appoints a Principal Conductor, currently Sir Colin Davis, on a 5-year contract, so that it can work with many leading conductors around the world, and prevent artistic dictatorship.
After 3 months desk research and 12 focus groups The Partners discovered a fundamental commitment to quality, that innovation was a key motivator and connection with audiences was essential. Change orientation in the LSO was high with a strong trust in the leadership. When interviewees were asked to select five adjectives to describe the LSO, 90% chose the same five words.
The Partners considered our name, our diverse products and multiple audiences, our visual identity, our competitors and our future before they ever put pen to paper to design. After five months they delivered:
? A definitive logo
? Guidelines that define colour palette, typeface, use of logo
? A brand hierarchy outlining the visual relationship between the master identity and sub-identities, such as LSO Discovery or LSO American Foundation
? Implementation on stationery, publicity and literature
Of these, the most useful ? besides an attractive contemporary logo ? is the brand hierarchy, a post-rationalisation of 15 years of non-stop LSO entrepreneurialism! I had a heart-stopping moment when The Partners presented the designs to a meeting of the Orchestra and Principal Conductor; a show of hands was requested and to my utter relief not one player abstained or rejected the designs. The greatest difficulties were implementing guidelines into day-to-day use. I was staggered at the level of interest individual LSO staff took in the templates for letters and faxes. Anyone would think they were being asked to change the way we do things round here?
I took a lot of advice from colleagues who had undertaken something similar and some key factors in the success of the LSO branding process were:
? Making the best use of your budget
? A project champion
? An internal steering group and an external ally (thank you Ivan Wadeson for that advice)
? Open and transparent communication
? Commitment to key objectives and to meeting crucial dates
? Clear decision-making process
? Achieving consensus and buy-in
? Pragmatism
? Working collaboratively
As the LSO approaches its Centenary in 2004 it is fit for the future and looks the part. I have just finished working with The Partners once again to add imagery and language guidelines for LSO communications. A ?Be There? audience development campaign was launched last month with a new website at http://www.lso.co.uk and brochures for the 2003/04 season to attract younger concert attenders. In the next six months Londoners will become familiar with ?Be There? though Evening Standard and London underground advertising, and the next step is to launch the LSO Centenary fundraising appeal.
Where branding works it truly reflects who you are and where you want to get to. ?Vision is about the future you want to create, not the one you expect to find.?
Karen Cardy is Head of Marketing for LSO e: kcardy@lso.co.uk