Liverpool launches free-to-use brand created by Finch

Businesses, organisations and the public are being encouraged to use the City of Liverpool’s new brand across their own communications for free.

The identity, created by Liverpool advertising agency Finch, builds on the heritage created by the European Capital of Culture 2008 brand.

Paul Whitehead, head of marketing at Liverpool Vision, the organisation behind the brand, says, ‘Companies had to pay to use the Capital of Culture logo, but with this we wanted to give something back. We don’t intend to police the  brand – we’ll ask companies to sign up to the terms and conditions and follow the guidelines.’

Consultancy Ripple Effect has created a public-facing website with guidance on graphic usage, brand values and positioning. Uniform is working on a broader marketing programme for the brand.

Jim Northover, founder of Lloyd Northover, the group behind the Belfast City branding, says, ‘There could be issues around cohesion, in that it needs to be used in a way that reinforces the underlying idea. There’s got to be meaning as opposed to just creating a badge.’