Portfolio

Birmingham City Council

A one in a million branding project

As a thriving and creative metropolis of one million people, Birmingham offers great variety and opportunity. So it’s little wonder that, as an employer, the City Council offers huge variety too. This is a powerful message to send out to potential employees. However, until Penna Barkers stepped in, there was no single recognisable identity for Birmingham City Council’s recruitment brand. Creating a consistent, powerful identity would be a vital tool in recruiting the finest people. And finding the right channels to reach them would be just as important.

The solution

Following briefing sessions with the Council’s Recruitment and Communications teams – and via diverse focus groups – we developed the ‘be one in a million’ brand. This was an attractive and consistent message that encapsulated the City Council’s personality and creativity. The brand’s use of illustrations and a bold colour palette, helped to tell the stories behind the Council’s services, and show that each and every employee could make a difference.

The results

After several months’ development, the brand was launched to great acclaim. It was designed to work across all media channels and applications from press and print to the web. Full brand guidelines were developed for use by the recruitment team, managers and third party consultancies. Recruitment spend has been reduced by 50% - but the story is far from over. The brand is continually evolving and we’re now looking to expand its opportunities online and by using social networking sites.