FOR 350 YEARS, OUR LETTERS HAVE BEEN DELIVERED BY THE MAN FROM THE POST OFFICE. GUESS WHO HE WORKS FOR NOW?
FOR 350 years, people have known it as the Post Office.
But now its bosses have decided it needs a name that is more ‘meaningful’
to the ‘modern’ customer.
They have spent £2million on a rebranding exercise – and the result is that
the Post Office will henceforth be known as Consignia.
Quite how the invented word is more meaningful than Post Office is now the
subject of some speculation.
Especially since its own chief executive John Roberts – on a salary of
£239,000 last year – admitted the new name is ‘not meant to mean anything’.
Nevertheless, he attempted to explain the thinking behind it all, saying:
‘To consign means to entrust to the care of – which is what each of our
customers does every day.
‘The Post Office is a generic term which cannot be legally protected and
does not differentiate the organisation from other postal administrations.
‘The new name describes the full scope of what the Post Office does in a
way that the words “post” and “office” cannot.’
The Post Office unveiled its new identity yesterday after months of debate
behind closed doors, consultations with focus groups and a series of
brainstorming sessions.
From later this year, it will be known as Consignia to its corporate
customers – although the Royal Mail and Parcelforce brands will remain and the
network of Post Office branches will remain unaffected.
It paid branding company Dragon an astonishing £500,000 to come up with
the name and design the logo.
But it was immediately attacked as meaning nothing to customers in the UK.
The Consumer Council for Postal Services said the Royal Mail has
consistently failed to meet its target of delivering 92.5 per cent of first-class post by 9.30am the following day – and the group should be improving services rather than making name changes.
Derek French, of the Campaign for Community Banking – which has campaigned
for a broader Post Office role in rural areas – described the name change as
frivolous.
‘It seems just a cosmetic job, when what really needs to be addressed is
developing a modern and effective Post Office,’ he said.
Colin Baker, of the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters, said: ‘It is
going to cost a lot of money and it’s not going to mean much to many people.’
The Communication Workers’ Union accused the Post Office of ‘dumping’
centuries of history with the ‘rushed and ill-conceived’ move and said it would
campaign for a change of mind.
‘It sends all the wrong signals,’ said deputy general secretary John
Keggie. ‘We should be trading on the British Post Office’s worldwide reputation
for honesty and integrity.
‘I can’t see the point of inventing a name to replace a highly-respected,
tried and tested brand which the public hold close to their hearts.’
The new name will come into force in March, when the Post Office becomes a
public limited company – plc – with a share value quoted on the stock
market.
The aim is to give the Post Office greater control over commercial
decisions and more freedom to borrow and invest in services.
Shop fronts and postal uniforms will be unaffected.
The Consignia name will be seen mainly by corporate customers in the
financial services, telecommunications, home shopping, utilities, advertising and marketing sectors.
They account for nearly a third of the Post Office’s annual £7.5billion
turnover.
The Post Office said it has to add plc to its logo after March to comply
with the Companies Act and decided to change its name at the same time to
reduce costs.
The group has altered in recent years as new technologies have changed the
face of communications.
It has invested £500million on overseas acquisitions and now owns nearly 20
international companies based in Europe and North America, some with links
to the Far East.
DAILY MAIL, 10th January 2001
