British Gas fires up new logos by London groups

The 250 000 new identities for the demerged halves of British Gas feature contributions from three London consultancies and Michael Wolff.

Wolff was retained as a consultant for the project. Interbrand developed the new name Centrica for the part of the business controlling British Gas trading and gas sales, the Energy Centre retail outlets and other functions. CDT Design created the visual identity for Centrica.

The rest of British Gas, including the pipeline and storage system, is to be owned by BG. BG’s identity was designed by Uffindell & West.

Both Centrica and BG will continue to use the British Gas name and marque, last redesigned by Coley Porter Bell in 1994.

Centrica will use the British Gas brand in the UK and BG will use it internationally.

The name Centrica was chosen “to characterise a dynamic company, operating in a fast moving and changing market”, says a British Gas spokesman.

The spokesman claims BG’s name and identity are “simple, easily applied and provide a link with the past yet give a distinctive new character to the company”.

Wolff was brought in at the start of the project, says British Gas head of communications strategy David Millar, and advised on the appointment of consultancies. Millar, who led the identities project, says CPB was not considered for either identity: “We just wanted some fresh thought.” There were no competitive pitches for the work, he says.

British Gas is “still a strong brand”, adds Millar. But Centrica has the potential for being built as a brand and may well replace British Gas as a customer-facing brand in the future.

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