CONSIGNIA plc: The (British) Post Office, gone global

New: Consignia, the name and logo

Launched:
Announced January 9, 2001 and effective March 26, when 'privatisation' took effect.

See Updates, below.

Story in brief:
Like its American cousin, the British postal service is losing out to the likes of Fedex, DHL and e-mail. Determined to compete and survive, it must provide business users with integrated logistical services on a global scale. On several grounds "The Post Office" is a clearly stupid brand for such a promise. CEO Bill Cockburn and his successor John Roberts knew that, and consultants Dragon Brands led their client to the giant step "Consignia" represents. (As a Board member said in approval "We have a canyon to cross; we can't do it in two steps.")

UPDATE 1: As of May 6 2002, new CEO Allan Leighton says he dislikes "Consignia," intends to roll back to "The Post Office" within two years.

My prediction: won't happen, unless Leighton also chooses not to compete in the larger world. Business strategy drives identity strategy, not the reverse.

UPDATE 2: I was mostly right. Leighton abandoned international expansion and in June 2002 dumped Consignia.

It strikes me in hindsight that a better original strategy might have been to launch Consignia as a sub of The Post Office (to market its global commercial initiatives) rather than the new parent of Postal Service. I suspect it was that parenthood that seemed a disconnect, that people couldn't readily understand. Cousinhood would have been much easier.

Credits:
C.E.O. - John Roberts
Identity counsel, naming and design - Dragon... a.k.a. Dragon Brands

First Impressions:
Consignia is one of those easily ridiculed new names. Critic Michael Harrison (The Independent) said it "bears out the old adage that when a company changes its name, it is a sure sign of an organisation in trouble." [Adage? more like populist cheap shot.] But I think it's a brilliant name, both 'sticky' and appropriate; to consign is 'to entrust to the care of,' and as CEO Roberts said "that's exactly what we are about."

The swirling symbol will help to visually brand vehicles and packages, and acquired companies. A fine job, all in all. If the British polity lets the business survive, its new brand should in due course help it prosper.