“First Group will abandon its universal branding policy… and introduce local branding next year”So reads the opening sentence of a whole page in today’s Passenger Transport dedicated to this new approach.
If you have a view on this, leave a comment and take part in our brief survey
In the sort of coverage you no longer find in New Transit, Passenger Transport reports on an answer given by First UK Bus managing director Giles Fearnley at the recent young bus managers’ network—an association I have to say is sadly out of my grasp these days : (Fearnley cited the 1987 decision to split and re-brand West Yorkshire Road Car into local units that saw immediate benefits in customer satisfaction and staff morale.
Expect changes at First, therefore, from the middle of next year. The $64,000 question, though, is how exactly. Should First bring back traditional names from the past (e.g. Southern National, Provincial, Western National?). How many people remember them, fondly or not? Usually “not” it has to be said. Or invent new brands altogether? Or simply brand locally (e.g. Weymouth, Gosport, Cornwall)?
Fearnley was frank in his view. His long term goal was to reposition his operators to a place where they would be welcomed by local transport authorities. He’s offering an olive branch to those communities where there was once trust but now just scorn. In terms of welcome, said Fearnley, “I’m hugely conscious that this is not the case”. Not everywhere, certainly. Possible nowhere. But First is widely regarded by the City and, here, the corporate identity is a real strength (though Go Ahead sees no problem with positioning itself locally).
It will also be interesting to see how this new interest in localism sits within the seemingly reinforced grip of First’s fortified regional control. Local morale can only be strengthened if decision making becomes local, too. And, stakeholders like LTAs and PTEs will see through a veneer that simply puts local gloss on a corporate pitch. And, there’s more to turning businesses around than rebranding but it’s a good start.
And those who would wish to see a blossoming of local identities similar to the immediate post-deregulation era may be disappointed. For First will be “rolling out an identity that can be picked up locally”. This sounds a little like First retaining corporate control in some form. What that may be, only time will tell.
Finally, should others follow? Have a look at our easy to answer survey
42 comments:
You can repaint the buses whatever colour you want but underneath it's still First and until management changes in attitude happen its all cosmetic. Badgerline had a great locally identifiable livery but awful non customer focussed management resulting in almost universal dislike for them in Bath. Also their buses are still poorly maintained, look worn inside, are generally older and less reliable compared to others.
I wish them luck and am glad they acknowledge the problems but it requires a culture change. In some ways they are like Sainsbury's in that they thought they had a right to be number one and were perfect and universally loved until everyone deserted them and told them what they really thought. It has taken Justin King a long time and much skill to turn Sainsbury's around but is Mr Fearnley the Justin King of First???
Whatever happens it will still be First. It takes more than a change of clothes to cover up the persona underneath. In this area I know of customers who would rather have no bus service than catch anything operated by First. It will take First a very long time, if ever, to recover from the bad name they have earnt themselves in this area through appalling service delivery and under investment in vehicles. You can have the most spectacular livery and fancy website going but what matters to customers is what turns up, (if it turns up) at their bus stop, whether the fare is reasonable, and whether the timetable is designed to suit customers or the operator.
The first two comments both mention vehicles. Does no one remember Giles Fearnley's first substantial act as MD? A huge, mamouth order for new buses...
If you read the 'Passenger Transport' article there is nothing stated about livery, so it could jut be a local fleetname on Barbie livery.
I have been campaigning for this on this blog and elsewhere for yonks.Hooray!!.just hope they will re-livery also.Its such a simple step and will repay Giles a thousand times over.Whether i will ever fall in love with first ?the juries out. It really is a major step forward and a victory for common sense(again).
Anon @ 8:28 -
Whilst nothing has been given away, the article strongly suggests this in my view and to my mind a simple local fleetname with otherwise standard livery is nowhere near enough to be noticed by the majority of passengers. It certainly wouldn't go as far as doing what Mr. Fearnley envisages.
Blazefield's identities have gone in fits and starts, but at one stage there was a fairly common application of either blue or red with cream. So Harrogate and Burnley had buses in the same colours, while the Lancs Utd fleet was much the same as Sovereign.
Currently there is a move towards a family of liveries, and I believe most staff share a common uniform. The businesses are managed locally with head office support, but then geographically they are all fairly close by.
First is probably too spread out to be able to replicate this in the same way - and I don't think anyone has ever regarded Aberdeen as supportive!
As your survey says stagecoach and arriva to follow suit.I have for a long time taken the view that national corporate image is not required by the industry.The only people who like it are the very expensive AD companies who live off most of our businesses and simply do not represent their cost in real terms.Removing national branding will do away with the public perception of big brother,them and us etc.
First just don't seem to know whether they're coming or going. When First grew out of Badgerline they branded locally according to town, at least with the former Yorkshire Rider subsidiary, so you had Bradford Traveller and Leeds City Link and so on. This gradually became First Bradford, First Leeds, etc and is now all just First.
Interesting that Fearnley talks about West Yorkshire Road Car's rebranding. Yes the localised branding worked but it only came about because a large part of the business- the Leeds, York and Bradford operations- had been sold to Yorkshire Rider along with the rights to the West Yorkshire name. It was a successful branding but you can't say Fearnley had a massive amount of choice in it.
Stagecoach already appends the locality e.g Stagecoach in the Highlands. I hope they don't consider a livery change.
As others have said, it not just the branding that needs fixing, it's the brand values and the way the company portrays itself to customers. It's the air of arrogance that they portray, it's the spin in their announcements, it's the impression of constant cutting back, it's the lack of attention to worn-out bus interiors, it's the plethera of signs and messages on both the exteriors and interiors of buses, but also it's the impression of trading on short-term gimmicks. I'm not saying that First don't have their share of good ideas, but they never seem to see them through properly before apparently losing interest and moving onto something else.
"Easy to answer survey" ... not really. The answers I want to give are mostly not there, and too few opportunities to give other answers.
So, here is what I would like to say:
1. Should First UK Bus rebrand locally?
Yes, because of the opportunities it brings. Bus branding is not like Starbucks or McDonalds – when someone gets off the train at Leeds feeling hungry, they often go to a food outlet that is part of a national chain that they recognise, rather than an independent café, because they want that familiarity and known quantity. But when they come out of the station and get on a bus, they don't choose a First Leeds bus because they're used to travelling on First buses back home, they get on a First Leeds bus because it's going to where they want to go. There's no need for national homogeneity in the way that there is for other retail brands.
Local branding gives the opportunity to develop more of a community feel, the sense that this is a bus company focused on [insert name of area here], rather than just one arm of a faceless national corporation. The actual truth is less relevant than the perception.
It can be difficult to get positive national recognition, because bus companies so often make themselves unpopular (often through no fault of their own, but because of market conditions or council machinations); local branding can alleviate this to some extent, at least with the lay public. Where local management is good, it means that the image isn't tainted by lower standards at a national level. Where local management is weak, it contains the bad news to a certain extent.
2. Should local brands retain an element of the corporate about them (some nod to corporate colours or names like First Eastern Counties)?
Yes. I really like the way Transdev are dealing with their branding – buses in the new Harrogate, Keighley and Lancashire United liveries are clearly from the same stable (same patterns), yet are distinct (different colours). This subtle reinforcement of the brand works well with developing a local identity.
3. Should First opt for...
...whatever is appropriate in a given context. Where traditional names have a strong heritage and public conciousness (like Potteries), that's great. Where operating areas have changed so that traditional patches now overlap or have shifted, new names need to be derived. Names that owe something to their location, but without being quite as barefaced as "First Leeds", are great. If the corporate brand can take a back seat, so much the better.
4. Do you think traditional names such as Eastern Counties etc are fondly remembered or come with nasty baggage?
It depends on the company. Some brands were strong better at marketing themselves than others. Some had a better reputation than others, which may or may not have always been justified. Some had an awful lot of nasty baggage. One size doesn't fit all, and it never has.
5. Might there be merit in Arriva & Stagecoach opting for a local approach?
Undoubtedly, and particularly for Arriva, which seems to have formed in a similar way to First and sometimes struggles with its reputation in the same way. Stagecoach on the whole seems to be a more cohesive company, with a better public image (Souter aside), and from what i can gather seems to be a longer-running brand in many areas.
Perhaps Arriva should look and see whether the use of local identities at TGM (Network Harlow, Network Colchester) and Centrebus Holdings (Huddersfield Bus Company) seems to work and base their response accordingly. Stagecoach already seem to understand idea of localism within a corporate framework far better than First so probably don't need to change.
So in all the previous commenters eyes, First are damned if they do and damned if they don't.
First have ended up (rightly so) with one of the worst reputations out of the big groups. But if they want to pull out of their doldrums, get more business (and ultimately serve your enthusiast needs), how the hell are they meant to do it in a way that's acceptable to you all?
Answer that, if you can, instead of complaining constantly. The bulk of you here are supposedly enthusiasts, try enthusing for once.
Real issue here is "First" Brand stinks, and there know it. Stagecoach has a nice strong brand in which people have better views about them.
Why would there waste money in Glasgow? First Edinburgh? Northampton? Cornwall? when all these companies are P****** money out the window.
New slogan ?
First...transforming itself.
To Anon 10:47
I think there's more than enough pointers on this post and its comments to get First started....
I would be very surprised indeed if we don't see a new family of First's liveries. But your commentators are right, livery change must be accompanied by (preceded by) culture change. There are two VERY interesting registrations published for Sheffield, both for a service 120. One from First, one from Stagecoach, apparently identical. First have cancelled their competitive services 40 and 41. Does this presage co-operation (a la Liverpool) instead of competition?
@ Anonymous 1018
I'm not saying that First don't have their share of good ideas, but they never seem to see them through properly before apparently losing interest and moving onto something else.
I think that's exactly it.
First have had some absolutely fantastic ideas over the years- the Overground concept of high-frequency colour-coded routes is genuinely brilliant. But instead of keeping it restricted to the genuine high-frequency routes they've spread it and spread it to the point of being meaningless.
It's not that First are intrinsically bad, there is the basis of a good, vibrant company there, they've just allowed themselves to stagnate. Certainly in Yorkshire they bought a load of Wright Renowns 15 years ago and then don't seem to think they have to do anything else to them. They're clapped out.
Stagecoach appears to have a strong identity and values that look to be consistently applied across their portfolio, somehow without losing that local feel and avoiding an impression of remoteness. I can't say that for First. I have no connection with either - these are my impressions as an enthusiast and bus user. In fact, Stagecoach's brand is strong enough to support having some buses in standard layout but in different colours, and some buses in standard colours but with brand names and no Stagecoach logos. I don't think First could get away with that. Perhaps First needs to look towards the NBC for inspiration - a few simple liveries in different colours, with local names. I grew up with NBC and there was always that feeling of localness, although perhaps some companies were a touch too large for their own good. Indeed, the ideas that were unleashed by local management once the head office control was loosened ahead of the forthcoming twin events of deregulation and privatisation, were astonishing. Okay, perhaps it was a case of 'needs must' but at the heart of all of this surely is Head Office *trusting* rather than *telling* the local managers.
Re Anon at 0740:
"The first two comments both mention vehicles. Does no one remember Giles Fearnley's first substantial act as MD? A huge, mamouth order for new buses..."
An act to be applauded yes, but it was just under 1000 vehicles across two years, broadly the same as Stagecoach buy every year (allowing for the London business being sold and bought back). Again, a substantial number of First's order is for London rather than the rest of the country. It's a start in catching up on reduced orders in recent years but I don't think it's actually allowing them to move forward very much unless they can do the same thing in the next few years too....
Anonymous said...
"But if they want to pull out of their doldrums, get more business (and ultimately serve your enthusiast needs), how the hell are they meant to do it in a way that's acceptable to you all?"
Probably not possible, if truth be told - "you can't please all of the people all of the time", etc - however, a comparison with earlier approaches may be worthwhile. After all, large groups are not new to the bus industry.
The BET group allowed its subsidiaries freedom to determine liveries and fleetnames, with little or no indication to the general public of who the parent group was. The Tilling/BTC/THC group did have standardised liveries, but standardisation was flexible, so that non-compliant liveries were retained (e.g. Royal Blue), presumably where the 'brand' was considered to be worth retaining. Some individuality in the application of the liveries and choice of shades was also allowed (or simply ignored). The fleetnames were again the local ones. Following the BET/THC era, the NBC adopted a more rigid standardisation, with, eventually, only two colours (for buses), so that aspect of the standardisation would probably have been more apparent to the public. However, for local bus operations, the local fleetnames remained prominent, with just a symbol adjacent to denote the centralised control of the group. The Scottish Bus Group followed the BET group approach until the mid/late 1970s when a standardised fleetname style was introduced, liveries remaining as before.
The notable aspect seems to have been the prominence given to local fleetnames, while the central owning group allowed its representation on the buses, etc, to take a secondary role - or none at all. Today, GoAhead seems to allow prominence to local names (and liveries), but Stagecoach, First and Arriva all give prominence to the corporate name, and leave any local identity as a secondary 'strapline'. I suspect this is a mistake, partly because naturally, if there are problems, people associate with the most prominent name.
Of course, there is more to this than simply changing colours and names - there needs to substance behind the image - and it may be better for First to try to develop new 'brands' gradually, with the necessary accompanying effort to improve the delivery of the service. Different liveries and names would probably help to differentiate from the existing operations if those are poorly regarded.
Anon @ 14:34: "a few simple liveries in different colours, with local names"
Perhaps they should create a regional base colour and add a few different skirt colours for different areas. Allows reasonably easy interchange of vehicles within a region, keeps a family image but adds localness. Perfect?
Insipration for this? First's Anglia set of liveries:
Yellow with blue skirt: First Blue Bus
Yellow with green skirt: First Eastern National
Yellow with red skirt: First Eastern Counties
Yellow with purple skirt: First Thamesway
First had a good idea with these, but like so many it was swept away by the corporate tide (which also had some good ideas - 'Overground' being the best example - in principle, even if they were let down by poor implementation - my local overgound network had two out-of-town services included but not others, there were never sufficient branded buses for each service, branding was not updated after service changes and all traces of it other than the map on the website seem to have disappeared.
But as others have said, culture change needs to come first - or at least accompany the changes. You don't want to ruin your new brand within months of launch.
We could pontificate about Firsts shortcomings forever.First do not pay me to tell them how to run their business,so why should i tell them.I could at the drop of a hat produce a single A4 sheet giving a complete rebirth over three years.it would be painful to start with.Expensive in the short term. It will work.it will increase stakeholders ROI after 3-4 years.Come and get me.
One good option might be, as Stagecoach have done in places, to design a recognisable livery but to use different local colour sets on it. First did this for a while with their old branding like "GreaterManchester(f)" in the late 90s. But equally I think the flying (f) cheapens things - so I don't think I'd have the First(f) bit any bigger than "We're part of the Go-Ahead Group" generally is.
Anyone familiar with the Milton Keynes area in the Julian Peddle era might know what I mean. MK Metro's main livery was all-over yellow with a blue skirt. There were then route brandings in which other colours were used (orange for the 5, red for the 4, green for the 7 etc) but always with the blue skirt.
Of course, Stagecoach seem to have a better reputation...
Just drop any reference to the name First anywhere, and re-start with a new name. For so many people, it is a damaged brand.
Let's hope they use an innovative agency though.
RE ANON 1705.The trouble is the agencies.They know nothing about transport.They simply have an industrial model that they try to apply to any business that comes their way.Avoid them like the plague.A good deal of firsts problems stems from dreadful and expensive advice.
Is there really any need for corporate branding? Surely this is just for the benefit of finance people in the City of London. Buses are a local business and I bet the average customer doesn't care a jot about corporate branding, but is very keen that their bus arrives on time, is clean and gives value for money. (That doesn't have to mean knock down cheap.)
Also, if First could improve itself, then maybe PTEG would get off everyone's back. I'm convinced that much criticism of the industry generally arises from the actions of First in the PTE areas. They need to deal with that before they paint the buses. Maybe it needs a progressive roll out, corridor by corridor.
Nothing wrong with making a fair profit, but do it by providing good service and developing routes, not by squeezing costs and over pruning journeys. Others have shown it can be done.
I think the comparison with Go-Ahead Group is interesting in that there are actually 2 'tiers' of branding - local and route branding. One size does not fit all.
For First, a division like Leicester could have a prominant local brand like the Oxford Bus Company. West Yorkshire, covering a large metropolitan area, could be more likened to Go North East - which, given the name is about as close to a generic corporate identity as they could get. However, they focus on *route* branding to overcome this and keep it local. In that sense there's nothing wrong with keeping First West Yorks, Manchester, Glasgow etc providing they suppress this with route/corridor branding IMO.
Changing a livery achieves nothing initself. First problems as with most bus companies is that they are not customer focused in fact the customers are prety much ignored by almost all bus companies. Untill there is this fundermental cultural change in the industry things will not change. Most bus companies tend to have a disgracfull approach to cutomer service in fact most dont have any cutomer service
The picture states "A Firstgroup bus in Gt. Yarmouth." but pictures Lowestoft bus station?
The article mentions Gt. Yarmouth and on the day of this post Mr. Fearnley makes an unannounced visit to the Gt. Yarmouth Firstgroup bus depot, meeting and informally chatting with all grades of staff.
Coincidence? Is Great Yarmouth operations going to be the first to be localised?
A few people have hit the nail on the head here whilst others have got a bit too excited over what colour the bus panels should be painted and overlooked the real issue, that is the brand should portray the ethos of the company it represents - it should promote the values and aspirations and that would be supported by an effective and ongoing marketing campaign. The reference to Sainsburys is spot on, they took their customers for granted and didnt keep on eye on the competition. The brand has been reinvigorated and certainly as a customer looks and feels different in a good way than a decade ago.
Forget historical names, a few of your target audience might remember the names foundly through rose tinted specs but most of the audience wouldn't have a clue who Southern National, Provincial or GM Buses were. What does resurrecting old names say about the company - stuck in the past? Incapable of moving into the future?
Whether buses should be painted in a local livery or not will be down to the perceived value of doing so - if it makes more money if the bus is painted in a colour other than barbie then it makes sense to do so.
@ Stevie D
Point taken and thak you for your considered thoughts. One criterion was easy of being able to fill in the survey (otherwise response rates will be low—and so far they are high); and the other was ease of analysis!
First need to address the ability or otherwise of their middle and upper management to actually manage and in particular to man manage. This attitude runs down through the company and sometimes ends up in the customers face. I know I see it happen.To be honest the best thing would be to let each area sort out it own image. Too many times first have sent down directives that work in one town and as a result then have to be implemented in all areas. Overground is one such example. Worked fine in Glasgow and is a joke in South Yorkshire. Local liveries inspired locally (and please not yet more re-cycled ideas from a large corporate image designer)A brand decided on locally and the first logo worked into each one in some way.
Far to muxch focus on the wrong thing here. A brand & Livery is a waste of time unless it means something. All to often when a busa company is in trouble the reflex action is to rebrand and do nothing else. Unless the bbrand stands for something they are just wasting time and money.
A rebrand has to be accompanied by improved quality & stndards & reliability, timekeeping and cleanleness and preverable also improved timetables as well as marketing & publicity.
I doubt if the lucky passengers on the N-reg bus pictured will be impressed by being told it is now being run by their very own local Norfolk Broads Bus Company and not by big bad mega-corporation First. On the other hand a new(er) bus which has been deep-cleaned and re-upholstered might be welcome.
The question is what First's real strategy is going to be, but I doubt if they are going to tell us.
"Forget historical names, a few of your target audience might remember the names foundly through rose tinted specs but most of the audience wouldn't have a clue who Southern National, Provincial or GM Buses were..."
You would be surprised at just how nay people do remember the old names. I still hear passengers refer to Western National down here in Plymouth. The local press refer to the company as "First National" which just confuses things even more!
Blazefield's branding in Lancashire started off fine, but to my mind has gotten a bit overcomplicated of late: so we have Lancashire United, Mainline, Spot-on, The Witch Way, The Lancashire Way and Starship, all for - what, two depots?
Personally, I'd like to see "tomato soup" livery back in Greater Manchester (effin' circle)
The old names, like Western/Southern National do have some value in their respective localities. The names do carry some weight, even now in the areas they served.
I recall working in WN land a few years ago, with some refugees from there and they told me how working for WN was thought of as a good job, with a good employer. One that commanded respect locally.
Adopting these old identities, with liveries to suit might be the start of a new approach. But how would reintroducing PMT, Western National, Southern National etc square with now fragmented companies?
Didn't the old BET group have a corporate livery? When you look at old East Kent and Southdown liveries they both have equal levels of cream in them.
Anonymous said...
"Didn't the old BET group have a corporate livery? When you look at old East Kent and Southdown liveries they both have equal levels of cream in them."
I understood that there were some standard colours, but there was also a lot of flexibility. There were some similarities of the layout of colours in some cases, but if you compare Devon General and East Kent, both used dark red and cream, but the shades of both colours were different. By the late 1960s, Ribble, Western Welsh, Rhondda and South Wales had given up cream altogether for bus liveries, and the shades of red were not all the same.
Ribble's allover dark red really looked rather drab and uninspiring to me when I first developed an interest in buses in the late 60s and saw them on family holidays in the Lake District, but nowadays I guess that even that would be a welcome change from today's liveries!
does it matter what colour the buses are as long as the buses run to time and the fares that people can afford
Anonymous said...
"does it matter what colour the buses are as long as the buses run to time and the fares that people can afford"
Superficially, from the passenger's perspective, possibly not - although in some situations it is useful to be able to distinguish buses from different operators, so the colour may be of interest to them as well. From the operator's perspective, the colour is part of their image and identity, so it does matter to them. So, on balance, the answer to your question is 'yes'.
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