Rebranding faux pas

11 May 2008

I had some banking to do today … we walked past the Lembaga Tabung Haji (Pilgrims’ Savings Fund) office. I couldn’t help noticing a very familiar boxy cubicle which had a note stuck on the outside saying it was an sample of an aircraft toilet. Cute!

Seriously, some pilgrims save for most of their lives before being able to perform the Haj in Makkah (Mecca). Some are old and may be first time flyers. It is good to see Tabung Haji doing their best to prepare the customers for a long and unfamiliar journey. If only travel agents in some countries would do the same for their secular customers!

At the bank, “Bank Islam” I noticed some discrepancies in their new branding … their signage differed slightly from their printed material. I realised later upon using their website that there had been a little rebranding faux pas. Their original logo included a stylsed “k” which incorporated the crescent. Their press release suggested that the stylised “k” didn’t quite work and their had been complaints … presumably the “Bank” had been misread as “Bani” or worse “Ban” … dear oh dear!

In the glossy world of corporate communications, there is just too much sweeping of mistakes under the carpet of cleverly composed words. It was refreshing to see them subtly own up and making the required improvements. Good on them.

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