British Steel is celebrating after its new brand scooped 6 awards at the Transform Awards Europe in London last night (Thursday 30 March 2017).
The new brand won gold in 3 categories, silver in 2 and topped the evening off by landing the Grand Prix award for overall excellence in rebranding.
The Transform Awards recognise best practice in corporate, product and global brand development work. After the development of the new brand for British Steel last year, the company and creative agencies Ruddocks and Moirae were shortlisted for 7 awards including 2 special awards selected from all shortlisted entries: ‘Best use of visual property’ and the ‘Grand Prix’
Ruth Henstock, British Steel’s Head of Communications, who attended the awards, said: “It was an amazing night. We’re already so proud of our company and its new brand but to come to these awards and win 6 really is the icing on the cake. Winning the Grand Prix was a great accolade and fantastic recognition of all the hard work our employees put into building our new brand and implementing it worldwide.”
The award judges described the new British Steel brand as a “strong and compelling branding project” with “excellent results, particularly in employee engagement.”
The brand was developed in conjunction with Lincoln-based design agency Ruddocks in very demanding timescales. Andy Clayton, Brand Director at Ruddocks, said: “The whole Ruddocks team really poured their heart and soul into the British Steel project so to have won this many awards is a real pat on the back for everyone involved!”
Liz Brown, Communications Specialist Brand and Digital Media at British Steel, said: “Our brief to Ruddocks was to create a brand that represented a vibrant new British Steel. We’re renowned for producing world-class steel and providing first-class customer service so it was an exciting challenge and they really rose to that challenge, as is evident in our new brand.
“Lots of effort by many people resulted in a brand people believe in. Our approach to its creation, involving a team of employees from multiple disciplines, built a strong, well-received and credible brand, and one that’s now been recognised by industry experts as award winning, many times over!”
Creating a strong digital presence for the brand was also vital and with the support of Doncaster-based company Moirae, a new British Steel website and intranet were successfully launched on 1 June. David Plant, Managing Director at Moirae, said: “We’re thrilled the hard work of our team, who worked hand-in-hand with British Steel, has been acknowledged. To be up for 7 awards is a fantastic achievement but to win 8 is something we could only dream of.”
The Transform Awards are organised by Transform magazine and last night were hosted by writer, comedian and actor Russell Kane. Andrew Thomas, publishing editor of the magazine, said: “This year’s Transform Awards showcases the increasing talent of European branding, with a record breaking year in terms of companies entering and number of entries. Each brand that has been involved in this year’s awards, global or local, has demonstrated outstanding creative ability and strategic thought while working closely and collaborating with their agencies. Over the last eight years winning companies have consistently outperformed their peers and sectors, putting brand at the heart of their business – and that’s a proven winning formula.”
But British Steel’s brand journey doesn’t end here. “This is just the start,” said British Steel’s Managing Director Paul Martin. “What we’ve achieved so far is inspirational – we have a strong visual identity built on our long-standing history, steel industry expertise and core values. Our strapline – Building Stronger Futures – embodies our long-term vision to build a sustainable and successful company for our employees and communities, working in partnership with customers and suppliers.
“This recognition for our new brand is extremely welcome and we’re already looking to how we build on this. I’m very proud to say I work for British Steel - it may be an old name but it has a new energy and drive. But we know our brand isn’t just about the strong visual identity we’ve created, it’s also about our culture and the way we behave. It’s great to be part of this evolving company and seeing how we’re moving forward, I’m confident we have an exciting and bright future.”
The 5 categories, which were assessed by industry experts, were: