Before re-branding do your homework aka Community ‘whatever’ !!!

Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief

Friday, July 6, 2007 14:26

Last week MIS, the folks behind SubPostmasterTV, one of the largest networks in the UK at present, told AKA.TV of their plans to re-brand all 3 of their networks under a single name, to be called “The Community Network”

At first glance the new name sounds great, much better than say “Tax Office TV”, one of the smaller networks that will be put under this new umbrella brand, but I would have thought that the folks over at Community Image Ltd may have something to say about the new name as well.

Community Image Ltd. in Poulton-le-Fyldle, Lancashire have been building, managing and deploying Digital Signage and screen networks for several years now. For much of 2007 they have been heavily featured in the UK Media Sales directory as well – for example see page 35 of June 2007 DOOHAN.

Perhaps it is a by product of the fact that MIS are one of those UK networks that really do like keeping themselves to themselves but it is a pity that they did not do their homework properly before re-branding.

http://www.communityimage.co.uk/
http://www.subpostmastertv.net/

http://www.aka.tv/articles/article.asp?articleid=1130

MIS Rebrands Its Networks Under A Single Name, Plans To Offer Online Ad Buying

29 Jun 2007

LONDON – Digital advertising specialist Multimedia International Services (MIS), the company responsible for the Subpostmaster TV network in British post offices, is to rebrand and relaunch its multiple networks under a single name. It also plans to establish a new Website offering clients the ability to purchase and alter content online.

MIS currently deploys screens at more than 1900 sites and operates several different channels. “We have reached a point where we require one recognisable brand to encapsulate our networks,” said Nadeam Butt, operations director of MIS. “We wanted to freshen the branding and unify all of our networks with a common identity.”

The new brand name of The Community Network will cover all the MIS networks, including Subpostmaster TV, Community Channel and Tax Office TV.

MIS sees the building of strong brands as key to the development of the digital-signage industry, and believes having a unified brand could appeal to agencies looking to place national advertising spots. “Although our business model has been successfully built on local advertising,” Butt told aka.tv, “it is our view that national advertising will have a big part to play in the future success of the industry.”

The new Community Network Website will include a facility that allows clients to access their individual profile via a password-protected login area. Here they will be able to view their current settings, such as the number of artwork alterations remaining on their payment plan, and purchase more artwork changes. MIS says it has invested £2.5m in IT infrastructure, seeing it as a core component of a successful digital-signage network.

The option to allow clients to view and amend content online is a feature that the industry has flirted with for some time, and MIS believes its positioning as a specialist in local advertising makes it a suitable candidate for this approach.

“By controlling every aspect of the process we can provide a level of control that seems to appeal to small businesses. As to the success of this approach, a client base of 25,000 advertisers would suggest that we’ve got it right,” said Butt. “Our process for producing content has always been a collaborative one. For us viewing content online is the next logical step, but whether the rest of the industry adopts a similar approach, I can’t say.”

The rebranding of MIS’s networks is due to be completed by September, with the new Website up and running by November 2007.


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