The newly named British Insurance Brokers' Association (Biba) – the organisation formerly known as Biiba – launched its new brand identity this week.
Central to the rebranding is a new logo – a lion's head motif in "contemporary Biba blue and silver grey".
Biba, which has dropped the word 'Investment' from its name, ordered the new logo to convey its sharpened teeth in the broker market.
The lion will appear on all Biba publications from this week as well as on its web site. The total cost of devising the logo, launching it and reprinting stationery and display signage is estimated at £25,000.
If Biba members want to stamp their stationery with the lion's head, they can request the loan of a computer disk containing the logo.
The association asked several design consultancies to pitch ideas for the new Biba identity, before selecting the lion concept. It was devised by Great Circle which already has a number of insurance industry clients, including CGU.
Jennifer Weller, Biba head of communications, said that most of the other offerings failed to convey a sense of personality. "We got a lot of fancy colours and swatches, but how can people relate to that? We needed something that conveys what we are and what we do."
Biba believes the new logo communicates strength authority, quality and independence. However, animal behaviourists might argue that Biba is telling the world it is dominant, forceful, and the leader in the trade association pack.
The previous logo was a blue lozenge with the letters Biiba in white, unchanged for the past 17 years. It conveyed little more than a faceless corporation hiding behind its initials.
Weller commented: "It was time we moved on from the old logo, and had something more contemporary. We had our money's worth from the old logo, and I hope this one will last just as long".
However, she refuted the suggestion that Biba's new logo bears a striking resemblance to Simba, Disney's Lion King.
