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Climb Britain (Read 61693 times)

T_B

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Climb Britain
July 25, 2016, 02:32:49 pm

The BMC's new name, devised by sports marketing specialists b-focused and design agency Thinkfarm.

Why does a representative body feel the need to be re-branded? It sounds very commercial and would be like Fell Runners Association feeling the need to be called 'Run Fells' or something more sexy.

I think it sounds very focussed (on climbing).

The BMC has tried to embrace hillwalkers more (I've never quite understood why, when we have the Ramblers Association), but hillwalkers do not think of themselves as 'Climbers' and will not identify with 'Climb Britain' whatever a brand agency might try and tell you. It's too hardcore. "Yes, but it's all climbing to the top isn't it?"

I wonder whether the hillwalkers and trekkers who take out their travel insurance will relate to it? My guess is they'll re-brand their travel insurance under a more 'inclusive' and 'global' heading, but that's just a hunch.

When people speak about "The BMC" do they even think "British Mountaineering Council". I don't. I view "The BMC" as it's own brand and a very strong one at that. They've obviously got way too much money to throw around!

Duma

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#1 Re: Climb Britain
July 25, 2016, 02:39:56 pm
What a crock of shit.

bigironhorse

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#2 Re: Climb Britain
July 25, 2016, 03:01:50 pm
Sounds like a complete waste of time and money!

highrepute

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fried

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#4 Re: Climb Britain
July 25, 2016, 04:47:01 pm
Sounds like a book.

SA Chris

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#5 Re: Climb Britain
July 25, 2016, 05:02:48 pm
Sounds like a book.

Sequel to Boulder Britain?

Teaboy

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#6 Re: Climb Britain
July 25, 2016, 05:04:37 pm

The BMC's new name, devised by sports marketing specialists b-focused and design agency Thinkfarm.

Why does a representative body feel the need to be re-branded? It sounds very commercial and would be like Fell Runners Association feeling the need to be called 'Run Fells' or something more sexy.

I think it sounds very focussed (on climbing).

The BMC has tried to embrace hillwalkers more (I've never quite understood why, when we have the Ramblers Association), but hillwalkers do not think of themselves as 'Climbers' and will not identify with 'Climb Britain' whatever a brand agency might try and tell you. It's too hardcore. "Yes, but it's all climbing to the top isn't it?"

I wonder whether the hillwalkers and trekkers who take out their travel insurance will relate to it? My guess is they'll re-brand their travel insurance under a more 'inclusive' and 'global' heading, but that's just a hunch.

When people speak about "The BMC" do they even think "British Mountaineering Council". I don't. I view "The BMC" as it's own brand and a very strong one at that. They've obviously got way too much money to throw around!

I think it's unnecessary, I'm not clear on what problem it's intended to fix. I think the new name lacks gravitas compared to the old one for an organisations who's main function is still to negotiate with of the bodies, national orgs, quangos and private individuals for accessed. All that said Sport England had a similar rebranding and it didn't do them any harm. Also, I'm told (by a very reliable source) that they have borne the cost of this. Still seems a solution in search of an issue.

JamieG

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#7 Re: Climb Britain
July 25, 2016, 05:09:49 pm
Oh dear, not a fan of this at all. I agree that I never thought about their full name just BMC, bit like the BBC (who actually thinks of the British Broadcasting Corporation every time?).

The new font is not too my taste either and looks like it will date quickly. Lastly I really like the old logo, which had great use of negative space, very subtle and led to cool uses like BMC TV http://tv.thebmc.co.uk/. The new one looks naff (like the word it belongs in the 90s). Like you find it on the side of a polystrene cup!

T_B

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#8 Re: Climb Britain
July 25, 2016, 05:13:45 pm
Oh dear, not a fan of this at all. I agree that I never thought about their full name just BMC, bit like the BBC (who actually thinks of the British Broadcasting Corporation every time?).

The new font is not too my taste either and looks like it will date quickly. Lastly I really like the old logo, which had great use of negative space, very subtle and led to cool uses like BMC TV http://tv.thebmc.co.uk/. The new one looks naff (like the word it belongs in the 90s). Like you find it on the side of a polystrene cup!

I agree, the font (which looks like it's had bits chopped off it) is not easy on the eye and will date very quickly.

I'm always amazed/impressed by the amount of marketing material the BMC puts out. To think it's all going to be re-branded $$$.

Johnny Brown

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#9 Re: Climb Britain
July 25, 2016, 05:25:44 pm
Must admit I'd heard this was on the cards so had got over the wtf shock bit already. I didn't know the new name, but having given it about five seconds guesswork I came up with 'Climb Uk'. Almost. I guess you pay less for the idea and more for a load of mumbo-demographically-targeted-consumer-assessment-jumbo to reassure everyone its the right thing to do.

Quote
The BMC has tried to embrace hillwalkers more (I've never quite understood why, when we have the Ramblers Association), but hillwalkers do not think of themselves as 'Climbers' and will not identify with 'Climb Britain' whatever a brand agency might try and tell you. It's too hardcore. "Yes, but it's all climbing to the top isn't it?"

 I agree up to a point, the point being that I'm not sure 'mountaineering' was any more inclusive of hillwalkers. But 'mountaineering' is much less inclusive of indoor and sport climbers - which, lets face it, are the big growth area here.

Some Ramblers hillwalk, many do not, few scramble. There is definitely a need for representation for hillwalkers. And 'council' doesn't mean much to anyone any more. The role of the BMC/ CB is certainly far wider now than it was. The big question is whether Bonners will resent having his initials stolen.

PS agree on the font. The old logo was well established and didn't look dated. Might soften the transition of they'd kept closer to it.


36chambers

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#10 Re: Climb Britain
July 25, 2016, 05:53:11 pm
The logo looks like it was designed by the same team that brought us the seminal London 2012 logo. :strongbench:

Doylo

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#11 Re: Climb Britain
July 25, 2016, 06:47:13 pm
Meh

tomtom

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#12 Re: Climb Britain
July 25, 2016, 07:02:05 pm
"Rebranding the BBC" from the brilliant W1A



danm

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#13 Re: Climb Britain
July 25, 2016, 07:24:45 pm
When people who climb ask me what I do, and I answer "I work for the BMC" a fair majority know who I'm talking about.

Answer the question from people who don't climb, and I then always have to elaborate along the lines of "we're the representative body for climbers, walkers etc."

The point of the re-brand is to make it instantly obvious to people outside the sport or on the periphery who we are, what we do and what we represent. I think it'll achieve that.

Best of all, I reckon I'll get a new T-shirt out of it.

mark

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#14 Re: Climb Britain
July 25, 2016, 08:06:30 pm
Changed my mind.

Will Hunt

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#15 Re: Climb Britain
July 26, 2016, 02:45:15 pm
From Dave Turnbull, posted on the Other Channel:

Quote
All
…very impressive level of response, many thanks to everyone who has commented. Here are some personal perspectives and detail about the process to date:

 Midway through last year, I was at a seminar in London when one of the speakers mentioned funding might be available to help sports organisations develop their commercial and sponsorship potential. The BMC has always struggled to attract sponsorship income on any kind of scale (we end up funding the bulk of our work ourselves), so I followed this up and eventually we were given the services of a reputable consultancy firm to help us work up ideas. This work looked at things like our membership structure and benefits package, travel insurance and sponsorship options in great detail and has been extremely useful. At the start of the process we secured some addition money (around £25k) for a branding agency to take a detailed look at how people perceive the BMC and how we might be able to improve our image to connect with new people and stay relevant in the modern age.

 At the outset my expectation was that we’d probably end up with a recommendation to adopt a new BMC logo and some detailed brand guidelines about how to position ourselves. There was no specific brief to come up with new name for the BMC - it just evolved that way because the consultants came up with idea we felt had traction. For years we’ve pondered about the suitability of ‘Mountaineering Council’ in our name, but we’ve never been able to come up with an acceptable alternative. BMC as an acronym is OK if you know the BMC, but for new people it’s not obvious who we are or what we do. ‘British Climbing’ has been bandied about over the years, but the word ‘Climbing’ is different to ‘Climb’ and would never be acceptable to our hill walking members. ‘Climb’ on the other hand does work in the context of ‘climb hills, climb mountains, climb rocks etc’. Other random options over the years have included British Mountaineering, British Mountain Sports or British Mountaineering and Climbing. None of which are hugely better than British Mountaineering Council / BMC.

 So, Climb Britain was thought up as a concept in March this year and we took it from there: initially sounding people out internally to see if they liked it and felt it worth taking forward. This involved discussion amongst the BMC’s directors (all unpaid elected volunteers) and past Presidents (including the likes of Dave Musgrove, Rab Carrington and Chris Bonington) and the MCofS (who were supportive). There were some reservations, of course, but the overwhelming reaction was that the time (and the name) was right, so on 18 May the directors unanimously agreed to take the new name forward to the BMC National Council meeting, which took place at Plas y Brenin on 18 June. An explanation for those who aren’t aware: National Council comprises two elected representatives from each of the BMC’s ten ‘Areas’ (London, Peak, Lakes, Cymru / Wales North, Cymru / Wales South etc.), the directors, and all of our Specialist Committee chairs (Clubs Committee, Access Management Group, Huts Advisory Group, Training & Youth Committee, Technical Committee etc.) as observers. National Council is the BMC’s policy-making body and the role of the Area reps is to feed in the views of their Area Meetings and take issues from National Council back to Areas for consideration when they see fit. National Council is made up of committed volunteers who give up their time (at least four weekends per years) to participate in quarterly meetings and the AGM. It comprises grassroots enthusiasts and is typically very thoughtful and cautious in approach.

 So, on 18 June I presented the Climb Britain concept to a well-attended gathering, fully expecting it to raise eyebrows and to be knocked back to the September meeting following a period of wider discussion. National Council was aware the branding project had been going on and as it turned out the response was incredibly enthusiastic and positive. The Area representatives (your representatives) liked the concept and the name Climb Britain. They felt the time was right, that the BMC had to move with the times and they voted 19 for, 1 abstention, 0 against in favour of adopting the new identity.

 For me personally, Climb Britain wasn’t love at first sight, it’s been a ‘grower’ though. My initial impression (back in March) was it sounded a bit awkward and unusual, more like a campaign than a national body, a bit radical for the BMC. But I think the logo works well: it’s distinctive, builds on previous BMC logos and, when seen in conjunction with the ‘climb hills, climb mountains, etc’ strapline, presents a strong and clear message. Give it time, I say.

 In response to some of the other points on this thread and elsewhere:

 1. Why rebrand? To continue to represent the best interests of all climbers and walkers now – and into the future – the BMC had to modernise and change. Without evolving, our membership age profile would have increased and at some stage – not now, but perhaps not far off – we would have ceased to become relevant in the new landscape.

 2. What did the consultancy work involve? Discussion with a sample of BMC volunteers, Area reps, climbing wall managers, young and older climbers, hill walkers and others. Meetings with members of the BMC Women’s Development Group, our Hill Walking Development Group and staff, and visits to climbing walls.

 3. What exactly is ‘Climb Britain’? It’s a new public identity, a new way of presenting what we do and what we stand for. Our formal name (Companies House, Memorandum & Articles of Association) will remain the British Mountaineering Council (BMC), and ‘BMC’ will still be used in aspects of our media and membership literature. The BMC’s core work for climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers will continue as usual under the Climb Britain banner; it will be business as usual.

 4. Decision making / consultation. I’ve explained above how we arrived at Climb Britain. The BMC has an effective democratic structure and we used this in reaching the decision. Complex or commercially sensitive issues can be extremely difficult or impossible to agree via widespread membership consultation and there are times when we rely on our (your) elected Area reps to make judgement calls on big issues. That’s why they’re there, that why they give up their time to be involved.

 5. Sport England and the Olympics. The consultancy work was paid for by Sport England so members’ money was not used on the rebrand. There were no strings attached (if we didn’t like what the consultants came up with then we weren’t obliged to accept it) and without this kind of help we wouldn’t normally be able to afford this level of professional advice. Finally, regarding the Sports Councils, Sport England is not involved with the Olympics, UK Sport is. The BMC gets financial support from Sport England, not UK Sport. Sport England funds projects like ours to encourage organisations to increase their commercial (and external sponsorship) income and thus reduce their dependency on Government funding. This whole process started well before the 2020 Olympics became such a realistic prospect; it’s a complete coincidence that the two things have come about at the same time.

 Phew.

 Dave

JamieG

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#16 Re: Climb Britain
July 26, 2016, 03:08:02 pm
Answer the question from people who don't climb, and I then always have to elaborate along the lines of "we're the representative body for climbers, walkers etc."

Isn't this going to be exactly the same? If I didn't know what Climb Britain was I'd ask what they did and you'd respond "we're the representative body for climbers, walkers etc."

danm

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#17 Re: Climb Britain
July 26, 2016, 05:23:11 pm
Answer the question from people who don't climb, and I then always have to elaborate along the lines of "we're the representative body for climbers, walkers etc."

Isn't this going to be exactly the same? If I didn't know what Climb Britain was I'd ask what they did and you'd respond "we're the representative body for climbers, walkers etc."

Sport bodies tend to be called things like British Canoeing, British Cycling, Sport England etc. Climb Britain fits the basic template. BMC could be anything - a software company, a Swiss based bike manufacturer and so on. (Those are all real btw). So no, it isn't going to be just the same.

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#18 Re: Climb Britain
July 26, 2016, 06:09:48 pm
Climb Britain has a ring of post Brexit insularism.

The British Mountaineering Council sounded less so, being (as it said on the tin) a representative council for British mountaineers (walkers, climbers etc...) wherever that may be, home or abroad.

Using both identities, as per Dave's quoted statement above, just seems to add needless marketing confusion in my eyes for little gain.

Will Hunt

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#19 Re: Climb Britain
July 27, 2016, 11:14:04 am
I'm trying to decide what I think about this and there's something that I could do with being enlightened about. Do the BMC have a role in governing the competitive side of the sport? What's their involvement there? Do they pick a team? Fund coaching and travel to competitions? Do they have a governance role where they're responsible for disciplining drugs cheats (no idea whether this is even a thing in climbing yet)? A role in influencing the format of competitions?
Perhaps, Graeme or Dan or Grimer or anybody informed could shed some light?

danm

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#20 Re: Climb Britain
July 27, 2016, 11:28:28 am
Not my area Will but yes, the BMC run the team. You have to remember that the team is like the tip of the iceberg. Underneath all that is the talent pathway stuff, junior comps, coaching, work with academies etc. There's loads of volunteers, many partnerships to organise, sponsors to be found and so on. Nobody does anything on their own anymore, it's a big inter-meshing web. It's all climbing though ;-)

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#21 Re: Climb Britain
July 27, 2016, 11:32:31 am
Yep, sounds like it's a huge amount of good work. Do the BMC act as the central coordinator for all of that?

SA Chris

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#22 Re: Climb Britain
July 27, 2016, 11:42:35 am
I'm becoming ambivalent about the name change already, after initial kneejerk "that's shit" reaction. I still think the new logo is terrible though, hopefully it can be updated regularly?

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#23 Re: Climb Britain
July 27, 2016, 11:50:41 am
I remember not knowing what the BMC was - I assumed it was a club for old people who climbed mountains.

Climb Britain is good.

tomtom

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#24 Re: Climb Britain
July 27, 2016, 12:00:02 pm
[emoji106] from me. What's the problem? BMC always sounded like a failed British car manufacturer from years gone by..

 

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