INNOVATION March-April 2017

as soc ia t i on notes

Modern, Streamlined and Relevant APEGBC Rebrand Reflects Our Progressive, Diverse Professions At APEGBC, we’re refocusing the way we talk about ourselves and how we represent the organization. We’re well underway in renewing and modernizing our association’s brand (See page 8, September/October 2014), as directed in our 2014–2017 Strategic Plan, and, in the coming months, we will be rolling out more than just a new look and logo. The renewed brand reflects BC’s progressive, diverse engineering and geoscience professions. Streamlined and focused, it will allow us to better support and promote the professions in the 21 st century, as well as to highlight our central role as a regulator in protecting the public. Why Are We Doing This? A brand signals what an organization stands for and what it does through values and ideas represented by its communications, visuals and conduct. Over the years, APEGBC and the professions have experienced significant change—the inclusion of geoscientists, increased participation of women in the workforce, a more ethnically diverse membership, and the blurring of protected areas of practice in the high-tech sector. To deliver on our strategic objectives, a brand that represents BC engineers and geoscientists in the 21 st century is needed. Our 2014–2017 Strategic Plan directs us to showcase our relevance and raise our profile through increased public engagement that demonstrates the value of professional engineers and geoscientists and APEGBC to society— through contributions to public safety, innovation and discovery, and evidence-based decision making. However, our old brand—renewed just once some 20 years ago—no longer provides the relevancy and currency we need to leverage what we stand for through the coming decades. What Have We Done to Date? We started consulting with members in 2014 and heard diverse perspectives and feedback from across BC. We conducted surveys, focus groups, a public poll and interviews with members and other stakeholders, and used the collected data to better define APEGBC as a brand and represent what makes the P.Eng. and P.Geo. designations Options to Reach Out to Recruit Members APEGBC offers options for employers to reach out and recruit professional engineers and geoscientists with job postings on our website. Options include posting an online listing, as well as the option to be featured in an email to approximately 25,000 APEGBC members. Job postings cost $350 plus GST, and each ad remains online for eight

valuable, important and highly regarded. Your feedback helped us map out what we need to do to build a strong brand that will resonate with members for years to come. We’ve been applying what we’ve learned to develop, design and create a brand identity that includes how we communicate our brand through key messages and actions. The final phase will involve rolling out and applying the brand. When Will the New Brand Become Effective? We will introduce the new brand later this summer. Roll-out will occur in stages, with a transition period during which elements of both the older and renewed branding will coincide. What Can We Expect to See? Expect a clean, modern look and feel, a streamlined identity, and new visual elements that include a redesigned logo. The identity will be applied with consistency and focused key messages across association communications and programs. What Does This Mean for Members and Stakeholders? For the rebrand to be successful, we need your help. In the coming months, we will be connecting with you and other stakeholders to share more information and advise you of coming changes and opportunities. We will provide partners and members who use the brand logo in their communications (e.g., OQM-certified firms, Accredited Employer Member-in-Training Program participants) with instructions on how to apply the brand and adhere to the brand standards. When we launch the brand, some things will change immediately—our website, the look and feel of our email, our letterhead, and so on. But we recognize that some changes can’t happen overnight. We know some partners may need time to make adjustments—and that’s okay. We’re planning a transition period so that the rollout can happen in a way that works for everyone. Watch for updates in coming issues of Innovation , our newsletter, and direct member emails. Read our 2014 article on rebranding at www.digitalityworks.com/Viewers/ViewIssueaspx?IssueID=123& PageNo=8. For more information, contact APEGBCMarketing Specialist Maria-Carmen Kelly, at mckelly@apeg.bc.ca or 604.639.8179.

weeks. The feature email is an add-on service, and costs an additional $90 plus GST. To post an online ad today, visit apeg.bc.ca/careerlistings. Options to advertise recruitment opportunities in both Innovation magazine and APEGBC’s career website also exist. Contact advertising@apeg.bc.ca for more information.

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