17

Vision

values and branding

a vision for the future and a plan for

the next five years. And among many other things, that means a new logo for WRG. Alicen Stenner explains...

Vision, Values and Branding

It was WRG’s parent body the Inland Waterways Association’s Annual General Meeting at the end of September, and IWA trustee Paul Rodgers (also WRGie and member of Marketing Committee) presented IWA’s Vision for the Waterways alongside an outline of objectives for the next five years.

Trustees and other advisors (including WRG Chairman Mike Palmer) look upon this as a

turning point for the Association. IWA has over 70 years of history - and look how much has changed over that time? We can only sit here and imagine what will change for our waterways over the next 70 years. How much can IWA contribute to this change, or lead

this change, or support others through this time? Without a re-think IWA could become a bit-player rather than the national champion of the waterways.

If we think about what the country’s waterways need at this time, it probably boils down to the following:

A powerful advocate and champion for its rivers and canals

An organisation that will protect and expand this national asset for the millions who enjoy and benefit from it

An organisation to envision and campaign for the future of the waterways; coordinating, advising and holding accountable all who influence that future

An organisation to continually reassess, understand and coherently communicate what the ‘regeneration of the waterways’ means NOW and in the FUTURE.

IWA is uniquely placed given our independence, our wider perspective, and our strong

heritage to champion for those millions the cause of the waterways. We want to ensure that they never come under threat again and also that they are developed to realise their even greater potential.

Our members and volunteers know the waterways inside out – whether in water or under restoration. We can use this unique knowledge, experience and our distinctive position to lead and instigate national campaigns, unlike any other waterways body.

In the past IWA has talked about waterways for the benefit of ALL and today we must

demonstrate that we still campaign for all. We must champion the benefits of the waterways and resist any activity that restricts or damages them. We have to drive national awareness, debates and public opinion about the waterways and we can only do this if we are a whole lot more PRO-ACTIVE.

There is an opportunity that we must seize to establish IWA as the independent, future-focused, custodian of the waterways as a national resource, champion of all waterways users, and the indispensable authority, reference point, and ultimate influence on the future of the waterways.

Having agreed the vision and direction, the team turned their attention to the main areas we should focus on over the next 5 years to make the biggest difference to the waterways. Our key themes are:

Protecting - to see a well-funded, properly-maintained waterway network with sustainability at its core.

Restoring – to work through the Restoration Hub towards creating an exciting, vibrant and robust restoration sector that can deliver successes and re-openings. Also to build on our existing reputation as the foremost provider of knowledge, advice and resources for waterways restoration projects.

Inspiring – to inspire a new generation of waterway users, and ensure existing users expe

rience the best the waterways can offer. We want to attract new volunteers to the sector and ensure that those already volunteering across the waterways are safe, happy and motivated.

Whilst all of this thinking was underway to plan the next phase of the Association’s work, we spoke to our members and active volunteers and asked what IWA means to them. It was clear that IWA means different things to different people, making it hard to explain in just a

few words. This has been in our minds over the past year as we have looked at how we can highlight the incredible diversity of our members and volunteers, as well as demonstrating that our shared purpose makes us greater than the sum of our parts. We have called this ‘One IWA’.

To achieve this we needed a unified and instantly recognisable brand, bringing us

together across Waterway Recovery Group, Essex Waterways (the IWA subsidiary which runs the Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation), IWA’s regions, branches and committees.

A brand is more than just the logo, but it is one of the first visuals our supporters often

see. We wanted to make sure that WRGies and other volunteers, donors, members, shop

customers, boaters on the Chelmer & Blackwater, restoration workshop attendees – no matter what route someone chooses to support us, they will see one icon and will be in no doubt that we are all part of one organisation. Even though the audiences for IWA, WRG and Essex Waterways may be slightly different, by having a consistent icon, we are creating clear opportunities for these people to see the bigger picture and deepen their connection with us.

Volunteers from WRG, IWA and Essex were brought together to develop this new icon

to reflect all the key areas of our work and shared vision for the waterways and a new set of logos have been developed. These logos reflect and underpin our new vision and objectives and should give everyone

throughout the Association a sense of the diverse, all-encompassing nature of our activities

in support of the common vision and objectives. You will see the new logo on the next issue of Navvies or go to www.waterways.co.uk/rebrand to see the logos in colour.