Liverpool Victoria blows £2m to become LV=

'A contemporary expression of our mutuality'

By Lester Haines • Get more from this author

Posted in Bootnotes, 22nd March 2007 10:06 GMT

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LogoWatch The Strategy Boutiques have evidently been busy down at Liverpool Victoria, the UK's biggest friendly society, which has spunked £2m in triumphantly transforming itself into LV=.

The redefined brand frontage "draws on our heritage and our new look aims to present us in a more modern and vibrant way", according to the admirably restrained blurb.

In case you're pondering the full significance of this paradigm-shifting graphic, well, "the letters L and V have evolved from our heritage as Liverpool Victoria" while "the equals sign is a contemporary expression of our mutuality".

According to the Daily Telegraph (which signals its disapproval with the headline "160 years of tradition elbowed aside for LV="), LV='s big cheese Mike Rogers explained: "Although the existing identity had a great heritage, we only had 2pc spontaneous brand awareness. The new brand identity is a natural evolution of the Liverpool Victoria name."

The bottom line is that the new name is intended to be "shorter and more memorable". It's certainly shorter, but we have a question: just how on God's Green Earth are you supposed to pronounce this £2m example of rebranding madness? Answers on a postcard to El-Vee-Equals, or El-Vee-Is or whatever. ®