Fireloop to jazz up Big Bear Records

Birmingham International Jazz Festival organiser Big Bear Records is planning a brand campaign around its 40th anniversary next year, with the help of Birmingham consultancy Fireloop Creative.

The independent record label, which also runs jazz title The Jazz Rag, is expected to brief Fireloop to design an anniversary logo, 64-page booklet and commemorative book, as part of the year-long celebrations, which are intended to step up the label’s live music programme and raise artists’ profiles.

Big Bear director Jim Simpson expects to kick-start plans for the project after the city’s 25th jazz festival, which will be held next week. Fireloop has been working with Big Bear for three years, having redesigned The Jazz Rag and overhauled the Birmingham International Jazz Festival identity last year.

Implementation work arising from the rebrand continues this year, with Fireloop developing the website www.birminghamjazzfestival.com around Web 2.0 to engage a younger audience, while streamlining functionality, layout and navigation to provide information on the programme of events, as well as artists.

‘There’s a wide demographic of middle-aged and older music fans embracing the Web. It’s all about access and exposure,’ says Simpson.

The Birmingham International Jazz Festival kicks off on 4 July and runs until 13 July, with around 182 scheduled performances.