So new IBN issued today Compliance with RAF Branding Guidelines talking about the use of unauthorised logos.
My key takeaway is that any branding needs to also include the RAFAC Logo, and we’ve got 3 week’s to comply.
It talks about merchandise, I normally include the RAFAC logo on the sleeve with badges being front & centre, does this comply?
Do as I say not as I do…
This has been a draft for a couple of weeks as far as I’m aware. So really, HQ and Regional sites should have tried to get up to scratch in that time. So we as units could at least follow good practise from above.
The first 4 regions that come up for me on Facebook. Not one is compliant themselves. In fact, only 1 has a properly authorised badge, and none show it with the RAFAC logo.
Also, if we’re going to start issuing nation-wide instructions to follow the branding guidelines, again, why are HQ not leading by example…
Yet:
I think that’s enough examples, you get my point.
This sentence doesn’t make any sense:
“Regions, Wings and Squadrons are permitted to use their badges (often referred to as badges)”
Did they mean to say Crests?
I assumed it meant ‘often referred to as crests’ too.
Why not sort your own house out first, before opening yourself up to ridicule?
I suspect it originally said ‘(often referred to as crests)’ but also erroneously said ‘crests’ elsewhere, where it should have said badges. Someone probably fixed this with a ‘find and replace all’ from ‘crests’ to ‘badges’.
Exactly.
And I get this has come from the RAF so an IBN needed to go to all ASAP. But I also know the IBN has been in the drafting process for a while. So in that time, surely a courtesy email amongst HQ and Regions to get things sorted wouldn’t have gone amiss. If they expect us to get this sorted in 3 weeks, they should have been able to at least sort themselves out between the RAF saying something and them issuing the IBN.
Maybe they’re planning to set an example by fixing all the HQAC and region branding by the deadline?
Needs better clarity on unofficial Sqn badges aswell. One sentence it says yeah its ok then next its not…so what is it?
Where does it say they’re okay? I see one mention of a temporary amnesty, which I assume relates to the three weeks to remove them.
Eitherway it needs clearly clarifying. I know of several people who have read it as unofficial badges are OK aslong as the rafac logo is included
A serious question that should be asked: why is it written like a cease and desist letter from a lawyer instead of a helpful briefing note for volunteers?
“Therefore, you are hereby directed to immediately cease…”
To be fair, that is what our brand guidelines say…
I read that and to me, you can use an unofficial badge as long as you follow convention and as long as you have the RAFAC logo alongside it.
Also - no suggestion of how to display sqn badge and RAFAC logo together on social media etc. So there will be a million interpretations of how to do it rather than one consistent way.
The IBN shouldn’t have tried to redefine anything. It just needed to re-quote what is already written in the brand guide, and link to the brand guide.
This is covered already, for example.
Wait till we start seeing badges with the RAFAC logo somewhere in the badge itself as people get confused…
No clue how I’d manage that for a social media logo though, especially with defined spacing!
You’d need to create a .png (or whatever) of the badge and logo together at the right spacing, then use that.
Even that differs from the RAF brand guidelines, which have the corporate branding in the letterhead and heraldic badges in the footer.
