Play your part in building the brand

With its prominent representation of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire oil service companies, Houston’s Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) was an ideal venue to roll out a new brand identity created with the objective of raising national and international awareness of the regional strengths of North East Scotland.

New One of the key elements of the new brand identity is a striking visual device promoting “Aberdeen City and Shire”, and the brand management team is currently (June 06) in the process of working with businesses and organisations within Aberdeen city and shire to ensure the brand toolkit is used as effectively as possible in dozens of different international markets.

The new identity was commissioned by Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Forum (formerly the North East Scotland Economic Forum) following market research which suggested North East Scotland had a low international profile and was not being projected confidently enough.

“We have created a practical, flexible ‘Aberdeen City and Shire’ brand toolkit which can be used in lots of different ways by local businesses and organisations to build unified, positive perceptions of the region among their clients, partners and suppliers,” explains Louise Scott, economic promotion manager with Aberdeen City Council.

“At OTC we made a huge impact on the record 60,000 crowd with hundreds of unofficial ‘brand champions’ in the form of exhibitors and attendees from Aberdeen city and shire sporting striking lapel pin badges and distributing our ‘Top Aberdeen City and Shire Factsheet’”.

Flying the flag

The ‘Aberdeen City and Shire’ title is already being widely used in the media, and Business Gateway International North East Scotland (publishers of this website) has already been re-branded ‘Business Gateway International – Aberdeen City and Shire’.

“The new regional identity will build stronger recognition and a higher profile, allowing our businesses to compete more effectively in trade, tourism, culture and investment against offers from other cities, regions and countries,” notes BGI chair Rita Stephen.

“We actively encourage the international trade community of Aberdeen city and shire in particular to fly the new regional flag in their many overseas markets to help build a global awareness of our distinctive regional strengths.”

Among the regional strengths of Aberdeen city and shire which were highlighted during the course of the research phase of the project were:

being open to new influences, but retaining the region’s strength of character
having a no-nonsense, direct approach to communication
being hardworking, resourceful and adaptable, with an imaginative approach
having an economy that is always ready to diversify and integrate with local resources
being a region that is growing, prospering, blossoming and dynamic
being a place where you can achieve and enjoy the rewards of what the region has to offer.
being outward-looking, globally connected and keen to make an impact on the world
having application and a spirit of industry and enterprise
making efficient use of resources to great effect.

The brand management team stresses that the work done to date is just the beginning, but that organisations and businesses in Aberdeen city and shire can now select elements of the toolkit to face the outside world in a unified and motivating way and make the most of the opportunities that derive from living and working in the region.

Contact the brand management team for further guidance on using the tools, accessing other materials and to find out about other brand activities across the region.

Regional Identity Brand Management Team

c/o Aberdeen City Council

Town House, Aberdeen

Aberdeenshire AB10 1FY

Tel: 01224 814600

Email: acsbrand@scotent.co.uk or acsbrand@agcc.co.uk