BCU Rebranded - British Canoeing

[Strad]

http://www.canoe-england.org.uk/news/a- ... r-canoeing

They want to be there for the grass roots paddler.

Wonder what it actually means by way of change in behaviour / actions as well as words.

[Mark R]

'Going forward, the British Canoe Union, Canoe England & GB Canoeing will be known collectively as British Canoeing. Here’s our new logo.

We think you’ll agree that this is a momentous development for the organisation & canoeing in Britain & we’re hope you’re as excited about it as we are.'

You couldn't make this stuff up.

[RizzRat]

Can I be the first to play typo bingo????

[StoneWeasel]

I wonder how much money they managed to piss away on this re-branding exercise, my guess would be a lot.

Good to see membership money being used for the benefit of the members.

[freddie]

The logo looks crap too.

[GoldTopo]

Why is Canoe England now known as British Canoeing, when Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland still have separate setups?
Don't they know the difference between England & Britain?

[Chalky723]

WTF is that logo? At least you could relate to the old one!!

C

[DaveBland]

Fractured, fragmented, disorganised, cluttered and unbalanced.
Seemingly the logo has more depth and insight than it's amateurish first impression conveys.

Seriously what the actual feck is that logo?

[SimonMW]

They have said the changeover will be gradual, using both the new and the old branding simultaneously! Awesome marketing clarity! So it will simultaneously and confusingly be known as the BCU, British Canoeing, and Canoe England at the same time.

Speaking of which what exactly is Canoe England? Is it the BCU? Is it part of the BCU? Or is the BCU part of Canoe England? And where the hell am I?

[quicky]

....... ....

[SimonMW]

Could we get the writers of 2012 and W1A to make a series about our NGB?

[quicky]

No one would believe it...

[StoneWeasel]

Could we get the writers of 2012 and W1A to make a series about our NGB?

Just stick some GoPros around the BCU offices. Job done!

[Randy Fandango]

WTF is that logo? At least you could relate to the old one!!

C

Aah yes -- logos logos.....
http://www.27bslash6.com/p2p2.html
Giles

[Chalky723]

]
Aah yes -- logos logos.....
http://www.27bslash6.com/p2p2.html
Giles

Fantastic - thanks!!

C

[Simon Westgarth]

Like you I am in complete shock as to the results of this consultation process. A simple post on here would of at least come up to ideas that best represent paddlesports in the UK. And the logo, words escape me.

Here's my email to Paul Owen:

Hello Paul Owen

I have looked at the be logo and name.

Firstly the logo, neither represents what is paddlesports is nor gives any impression to what you are projecting, it is extremely poor, start again.

Secondly, the new name, does not reflect the nature of the sports you represent, its paddlesports, in which more people use a kayak paddle, so obviously British Kayaking would of been better, or at least British Paddlesports, to include SUP, SOT and Dragon boat racing. In the era of precision SEO, the name must be clear and insightful, British Canoeing represents the few thousand canoeist.

Your Go Canoeing initiative misses this goal by a massive margin, it should be Go Paddle a Canoe, Go Paddle a Kayak, Go Paddle a SUP, etc. Anyone searching to finding out about kayaking, will not arrive at your websites, none of them.

In terms of consultation your pool of people has not been wide enough or your team simply have not listened. Do not go ahead with this proposed mess of a new branding exercise, start afresh. Clearly a new brand is needed to fit in with modern times, start from the paddler up is my advice.

Wishing you the best of luck

Best Regards

Simon Westgarth
BCU Life Member 29309

[ruralweb]

OMG ripped off by consultants - glad I'm only a member for the Cotswold Camping discount. But I have emailed them and said basically the same as you Simon as it's complete rubbish.

[David Fairweather]

If this were posted eight days ago it would have been really funny.

At least they have now admitted that Canoe England and the BCU are the same thing.

[Andy H]

Whats the big R for in Britain. Oh i know its for Rubbish!!!!

[flipt]

Wtf?!

I can only hope this is late April fools with the idea of deflecting the attention away from the tragic mess that is Canoe Wales.
...I suspect its not though.

Does anyone want to start the ball rolling and look into starting a new governing body.....its clear the ones we have aren't really that interested in anything that doesn't involve government funding...

[ruralweb]

The big R

Within the word there’s an inner graphic in the R paddling free, reflecting the enabled and liberated philosophy.

[morsey]

What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet



The old logo is pants.
The autonomy of the individual nations was a joke.
New logo shows quite clearly where the direction is, it's a flag, it's representation in world sport. Forget your grass routes, forget your "Union", oh right did you not notice that subtle act of removing any possible concept of it being a representative governing body? Forget BCU, they've taken the "You" out of it!

It's a comedy script writers birthday. Ha!

It's too easy to mock. I'm out.



p.s. The new logo is an improvement. The word Canoeing does the explanation. The old logo should have got the boot about twenty years ago, it's that dated.

[quicky]

Within the word there’s an inner graphic in the R paddling free, reflecting the enabled and liberated philosophy.

ah that sounds like the bull people add to make it look like they have though about it rather than knocking something together the day before.

Must admit I am impressed they actually came to a decision over a logo after knowing what there design by committee was like in the past.

[19:22:07] Canoe England wrote on FB page:
Happy April Fools' Day, folks!! You probably guessed that our previous post was just an April Fools' joke - our design for a Canoe Slalom World Cup mascot was pretty poor. And that's where you come in. We're launching a competition asking for designs for a mascot, with the winning design being made up into a life-size costume. The competition is open to all and the winner will receive a free family ticket to the Slalom World Cup (which runs June 6th-8th) to see their creation in action. Entries can either be emailed to canoeingnews@bcu.org.uk or posted to: Mascot Competition C/O Jon Schofield, Canoe England, National Water Sports Centre, Adbolton Lane, Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham, NG12 2LU [19:22:31] .

so design comps for work now. No wonder designers get a bad press sometimes....

[icklepaddler]

New logo shows quite clearly where the direction is, it's a flag, it's representation in world sport. Forget your grass routes, forget your "Union", oh right did you not notice that subtle act of removing any possible concept of it being a representative governing body? Forget BCU, they've taken the "You" out of it! .

That is actually a very good point.

I get the feeling that the positive publicity from gb canoeing at the olympics is the driving force here in a more marketable brand, but the gb squad is totally different to the members organisation that the bcu should be.

But then you do wonder if members get in the way of the elite level aims sometimes.

Surely a change of name of a members organisation should have been voted for by the members!

[DaveBland]

So here's the thing.

I have no problem with the name change. The 'Union' aspect was dated and misleading. Ultimately British Canoeing does the job.

The issue is with the physical design of the logo. There is simply too much going on. Whether it was arrived at via a process requested by the client [BCU] or the designers were just trying way too hard, the result is sub-standard by any professional benchmark.

I am hoping that the project was a result of an under-funded attempt at getting it right, and that they will realize that branding is worth spending time and effort on.
I really hope they didn't spend a fortune.

[Randy Fandango]

I keep going back to look at the new logo and I'm probably being really dense but -- what is it actually meant to be??
I kind of get the Union Jack/Flag part of it and I guess a large part of it is sort of paddle blade shaped but after that I'm totally stumped.
What the hell is it?? I mean really: what the hell is it??
Giles

[James T]

British Canoeing is modern and relevant and reflects an organisation that is paddler focused.

So paddler focused they failed to consult with us on the new logo and name... ...fail!

[DaveBland]

What the hell is it?? I mean really: what the hell is it??
Giles

I think you'll find it contains flash photography, traces of peanuts and scenes of a mild sexual nature. You've been warned.

[Chalky723]

The logo makes me think of Sailing rather than Kayaking/Canoeing....

C

[quicky]

From SOTP

http://www.songofthepaddle.co.uk/forum/ ... ngland-etc

Here's my interpretation of the new logo:



The logo is based on a shield-shaped Union Flag.

1. The flag (and therefore the Union itself) is in the process of disintegrating- shown by an explosion in the top left corner. Some commentators see this as a reference to highly disruptive disagreement between the organisation (BCU) and those it seeks to represent. But since the wavy blue section seems to be flying away and dislodging the other parts of the design in the upper left quadrant, I take it to show the violent dissolution caused by possible Scottish Independence (the blue being the background of the Saint Andrew's Cross).

2. In Scotland of course there is open access to the water. Perhaps in showing Scotland's departure, the logo is also referencing the expected and continuing state of access in England. Note how the central, horizontal bar of St George's Cross is a red gate, firmly closed and barring access to the water (which flows diagonally across the shield) for a lone paddler (see 4.) who is trapped on one side.

3. Upper right and lower left are to be seen two water-craft. My fancy has it that the top one is a kayak and the bottom one a canoe bow (both viewed from the top). Note how the stance is portrayed: nose to nose. This device establishes aggression as a matter of principle. Although there may be some dalliance from time to time between the two craft, they are natural enemies. Thank goodness the red gate is keeping them apart on their river of blood.

4. And what are we to make of the rest of the St George's Cross? That etiolated vertical red figure? It's obviously a human being, but one whose upper body has developed at the expense of the legs (poor dwindling things). Such is the proud silhouette of the dedicated paddler, the antithesis of the cyclist with bulging calves and Tyrannosaurus arms.

So, in total, as I understand it, the logo represents 1) dissolution, 2) discrimination, 3) disagreement and 4) disfigurement.

Its proponents though are excited, inspired and enabled by looking at it.

So have I just misunderstood what it means?


dave