Undivided

Business Innovation Skills

BIS —
case study

Positioning, identity
and activation

 

A clearer story and a stronger identity for the Dept. for Business Innovation & Skills

BIS was a young department with a wide remit, a diverse network and a big job to do. We were briefed by the permanent secretary and his team to help create a more inspiring story for the department, to motivate employees and partners and build their reputation across Whitehall and beyond. 

 

Getting to grips

The organisation was under extreme pressure to drive growth, BIS had recently been through a difficult restructure and morale was low. We knew we needed to work closely and collaboratively to understand their challenges properly and unlock energy. Together with the leadership team, we designed a co-creative process that would bring together representatives from all 8 BIS directorates and 35 partner bodies to take part in setting the direction and writing their story.

“The answer lay in embracing the complexity and range of our work, focusing on the department’s ability to connect the many different parts that make the economy work”

— Sir Martin Donnelly, Permanent Secretary

It became clear that we had to see beyond the frantic drive for growth and define the organisation based on its attitude and expertise. We united the conflicting agendas of regulation and stimulation by focusing on the positive role good businesses play in society. And we built the story around how BIS helps businesses bring opportunity and prosperity to the citizens of Great Britain.

Belief

We believe in business as a force for good in society

Purpose

To connect people to opportunity and prosperity

Story

We believe business is a force for good in society. It creates wealth and employment, increases living standards, fuels creativity and innovation and builds the confidence for growth. We believe Government has a vital part to play in helping businesses succeed.

 

Our mission is to connect people to opportunity & prosperity. We do it by connecting business and government to create open and fair market conditions, support innovation and develop the skills we need for the future.

Identity

We needed a creative expression for the story that could capture the spirit of the purpose and the belief, while fitting into the Government’s identity architecture. We took the standard government typeface, Helvetica, and used it bold and upper case to make confident statements of intent. We expanded the palette around their core blue, bringing in a range of bright and energetic colours, we defined a photographic style based on iconic cutout images and added an annotation device to reveal the hidden connections behind their work.

Activation

We launched with an office environment refresh, setting the story on totems for all to see and reimagining the Victoria Street reception as a business gallery and exhibition space. Iconic case studies brought the story to life on posters, lift doors and online and our launch film introduced the breadth of BIS’s connections, featuring people from inside and outside, ministers and directors, educators and business people. 

More work.