Posted by Public Image Chair, Jane Moore on Feb 11, 2022
Branding is a critical marketing strategy used by most organisations to make whatever you are selling stand out and be subconsciously recognisable. Branding needs to be consistently applied to every aspect of the organisation. Most branding is a long term investment made generally by the business and it is regularly reviewed to keep in tune with changes in the marketplace. A brand is often modernised and relaunched when it becomes tired or out of date. I bet you can think of many brands that have changed significantly over time. Your local shopping centre is full of evolving household names with branding screaming out to be instantly recognisable which has changed over time. 
 
Rotary is certainly no different. In 2013, Rotary modernised its branding and rolled out a whole new set of logos. The difference between a household/ business brand and our Rotary brand is control of its use. Corporate businesses have strict legally enforceable rules on how their branding is to be used, presented and where it can or can't appear. Get it wrong and there are consequences.
 
Rotary does not have that sort of power over Rotary Clubs. It would be seen as unethical to sue a Club for misrepresenting the Rotary brand.  Most Clubs have spent their own money over the years on Club uniforms, banners and signs. They don't want to force their members to buy new correctly branded shirts, hats etc just to be "Correctly Branded" in public and this lies the problem. For Rotary to be seen as a united organisation across the world, it is the branding that ties it all together.
 
Our Club is a small corner in a global tapestry of Rotary Clubs. We don't work in isolation, we are a piece within the Rotary Brand. Please be proud of being a Rotarian and show our community, country and the world that you are a player in the main game by using the current branding.  Enjoy the video! I hope it will go some way to helping us all to understand why keeping our Brand fresh is an important part of building recognition and trust in Rotary across the world.
 
 
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