It was 10 years ago this month that Arriva first showed off its new corporate livery. How enduring it’s been.
It’s fair to say that the reaction among enthusiasts was one of bewilderment, even horror. The industry’s response, though, was much more measured. If my memory serves, the trade press gave it adjectives such as “stylish” and “bold” (but not as Sir Humphrey of ‘Yes Minister’ used the term to as a put-down for his minister).
The memory plays tricks after 10 years but try to cast your minds back. Up till 1996, there’d only been one corporate livery on our streets viz Stagecoach’s early stripes. That same year, First introduced a corporate logo, applied to existing liveries. In November 1997, as First becamse First Group it revealed its so-called Barbie livery—but at that time for new vehicles and low floors only.
So against the backdrop of Stagecoach stripes and First Group Barbie, the arrival of Arriva’s seemed fresh & interesting yet with some semblence of the traditional about it. The plan was to sweep aside individual fleet colours in order to mount a large-scale marketing campaign and brand building exercise.
No one can deny that it’s worked. Also in the previous 10 years, marketers have developed benchmarking to define superbrands. While it depends upon the list you read, Arriva has been the most consistent UK transport superbrand, often the only one. National Express has latterly achieved this accolade but it’s taken 34 years (why?). Stagecoach and First aren’t there at all.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. When we selected Arriva as part of the 7+1 Modern UK Liveries, there was inevitably some reaction. More seemed to prefer Stagecoach’s current swirls. There were 17 comments in all.
Monday, 3 December 2007
Corporate is King
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5 comments:
And a fine livery it is, too!
but what's the point - what does it mean to the passenger - absolutely nothing. it doesn't stand for quality (see your pic of a terrible old HF decker), it doesn't stand for local and it doesn't now even link to the dealerships of wht was the same brand. It's not nationwide really and so it's a waste isn't it??
I think go-ahead and to some degree transdev have got the right idea - local branding and route info alongside a smaller corporate nod.
I disagree with 'what's the point'
The point surely is that a corporate livery will be familiar to prospective users - will train passengers from Wales who have experienced the Arriva brand not instantly feel an affinity when they see the same image on a bus in, say, Newcastle?
That certainly couldn't be said of Go-Ahead's brands - they feel that local is best, even down to individual liveries for individual routes in the aforementioned North East, and I wouldn't write off that approach, but I still feel that a corporate identity works 'for' the big groups more than against them.
And there's the cost saving in repaints when you do move your buses around the country . . .
What does the Arriva brand stand for? When we think of Stagecoach we think of bus wars and innovation such as Megabus. When we think of First we think of FTR. What have Arriva ever done to make themselves stand out?
Arriva really does need updating.
That turquoise is a grim, dismal non-colour that doesn't really work in any light conditions. There is a lot of difference as to how subsidiaries apply the livery - some take the yellow line all the way round the front, some curtail it, some don't bother at all.
The Arriva name itself is artificial and fake-sounding - it took long enough for people to figure out how to pronounce it.
The only saving grace of the brand, perhaps, is its very dullness - it's not actively vile like First or fussy and overpowering like Stagecoach. But a bit of freshening up would really help.
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