Just to add my two cents. Living in Manhattan you can’t but help meeting people in the PR and media business. These people are bright and creative and are good at keeping companies constantly concerned about their image or look so that it doesn’t appear stale or dated. (The term “shelf-life” comes to mind.) As a result, corporate “perception management” is a major business in New York. What’s in are short snappy company names or abbreviations that don’t tie a company to an activity. International Business Machines to IBM, Lenovo; U.S. Steel to USS; U.S. Gypsum to USG. Railroads are merely following the fashion in corporate names. What’s out: place names that tie a company to a specific country or location: Burlington, Chicago, Missouri, Santa Fe, Illinois, etc.
My participation in a number of corporate focus groups confirms to me how much effort companies put into keeping their images current. For example, they’ll show a number of logos, some with absolutely minute differences, and ask for a list of words to associate with each logo. Judging by the average makeup of some of these focus groups – intelligent and articulate Manhattan GenX’ers (not me, BTW) -- had the group been presented with some of the railroad logos from just a generation ago they would have judged them hopelessly outdated and out-of-touch. If it were up to my sentiments? Forget about the Warbonnet scheme. The AT&SF would be running with 5000 class 2-10-4s, 2900 class Northerns, and 3460 class Hudsons. Like it or not change has become a constant.
MP173 wrote: On a professional note, about 18 months ago I discussed with a major trucking company the possibility of rebranding all 20,000 pieces of equipment. The cost in materials and labor would have approached $50million, without any consideration for equipment opportunity costs, company labor for management and marshalling of equipment etc.On a company of BNSF's size, the cost would be even greater, based on the repainting of equipment to reach the image required. The logistics involved in that project would be very difficult to manage, as motive power and cars would be taken out of service for the paintign and rebranding.So, with all due respect to samfp1943, they are making the correct decision as to how to proceed with this project...rebrand during normal paint cycles. Anything else and the problems would be out of control.ed
On a professional note, about 18 months ago I discussed with a major trucking company the possibility of rebranding all 20,000 pieces of equipment. The cost in materials and labor would have approached $50million, without any consideration for equipment opportunity costs, company labor for management and marshalling of equipment etc.
On a company of BNSF's size, the cost would be even greater, based on the repainting of equipment to reach the image required. The logistics involved in that project would be very difficult to manage, as motive power and cars would be taken out of service for the paintign and rebranding.
So, with all due respect to samfp1943, they are making the correct decision as to how to proceed with this project...rebrand during normal paint cycles. Anything else and the problems would be out of control.
ed
ED; Your perspective from someone on the inside with experience in that process is really appreciated..I guess the point that I was trying to make is, that even with the major expense involved in that whole rebranding process; specifically, the BNSF's rebranding seems to have been done in a way that the impression was left to those of us on the outside of the process that it was done with little thought to a continuity or public impression of the rationale for the change.
No argument with your numbers; it would have to be devilishly expensive to repaint, and replace logos on existing properties, cars, maintenance trucks,building, etc. My complaint was that the timeline for anouncement of the changes, appeared to be somewhat disorganized, and agaiin, the impression left with some of us in the interested community was that it lacked the appearance of organization and continuity that one would expect of a company the size and presence of BNSF left a lot to be desired. And from some conversations with former and current BNSF employees, there was a level of confusion and 'what's the deal' within the guy and gal's who are the boots on the ground force that makes the railroad run daily. Just my thoughts.
The corporate morphing that this organization [BN/BN,SF/BNSF], has gone through; in my opinion. it shows a level of corporate immaturity, a management that cannot deal with all the corporate history that they have absorbed along the way. A level of business schizophrenia in an organization that is not comfortable with their history--unaware or uncaring about how they got to where they are--
The message to the front-line employees is undecisivness, and wallowing around, trying to figure out who they are and where are they going....This broadcasts to the world a picture of an unorganized corporate leadership that has planned a fleet that looks like a combined circus parade, with signs of previous ownerships and the various loyalties to former employer lines all throughout.
I always felt that they should have entered the merger arena with a plan that would show to the Company and its customer base, as well as the general public-interested or not interested- a solid corporate identity. Surely, the mergers were not just spontaneous, but worked out over months and months between the involved parties. Instead they seemed to come off like a vaudeville clown act--Frick and Frack do a merger! Just my two cents!
Being in the graphics industry and having worked on a number of national and regional rebranding programs, I can offer a little insight.
Most companies will rebrand frequently, usually about every 10 years, some more often. Frequently, it is based on new CEO. They want to make a distinguishing mark during their time in power. Ego? Probably, but you dont get to that level without one.
Companies today are very conscious of their brand and the image it portrays. It is their face to the world.
Personally, I think the BNSF is just so-so, but it is an improvement over what they had. CN really needs an upgrade...they have had the same for what...40 years or so.
For years UPS simply used the brown trucks as their branding, even referring themselves as "Brown". They made subtle changes several years ago and distinguish their markets quite well these days, as does FedEx.
As railfans we are often rooted deeply in the past, and hate to see old names, logos, and schemes change.
Logistically, the cost of converting all power and cars to a single image is very costly, for BNSF it would probably reach close to $500million to do so, money better spent on upgrading the Transcon and other capex. So, as units are purchased or repainted they are converted.
If there was one thing I could never figure out about BNSF was the numerous paint schemes.
I always liked the green and black of the old BN. The Santa Fe blue and yellow, and the "Warbonnet" were also among my favorites. Too bad they couldn't have found a way to come up with an attractive scheme using those old colors, or settled on a new one. I also think changing the name to "BNSF" bothered me. The "swoop" logo is kind of cool, but it feels like a Nike ripoff. It is almost as if they us to think, or give the impression that they are not a "railroad" but rather, a coporation that runs trains. They have a proud heritage (even a railroad philisitine like myself knows this) and I think they should have capitilized on that. CSX strikes me the same way, and I find their color scheme kind of lacking.
Just my
CShaveRR wrote:Yeah, when I noticed distinct I held my nose...
As for the paint, logo, name and all that...I think everybody here knows that I hated the new logo, had mixed feelings on the paint (Heritage I was a great scheme, but Heritage II went a little too overboard), and thought that changing the name from "Burlington Northern Santa Fe" to BNSF was only mildly less troublesome.
Personally, I think that if they had wanted to create a new corporate culture, it would have been simpler to abandon ALL ties to the past. "BNSF" still carries history in it's four letters. Shouldn't the new name have some manner of corporate buzz to it? Adding some manner of world domination as well as the word "logistics" to a company name seems to be in vogue.
Whatever. I am so glad I'm a UP fan. No matter how many railroads they gobble up, they're still the Union Pacific. Can you imagine if they had become the Western Missouri Katy and Northwestern Southern Pacific Railroad company?
-ChrisWest Chicago, ILChristopher May Fine Art Photography"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." ~Ansel Adams
On the other hand, I was just reading an article in Classic Trains (IIRC) which mentioned that one railroad intentionally painted the same model locomotive in different schemes so people wouild notice.
Of course, for Ms Mooks benefit, that was back in the day when telling locomotives apart was so easy you could do it at a half mile or more.
Different paint schemes, if they don't follow each other too closely or get used simultaneously, can help us historically, since we know that such-and-such paint scheme was only applied from then to then.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Wow - a thread that so far is 100% agreeable.
Everyone knows I hate the orange color, but the one thing I do like about the different colors, it helps me distinguish between different models ( I am a little lame on identifying the different UP engines by distinguishing shapes or noses or whatever.)
When they are all painted that cheap orange soda color, I probably won't be around to watch them any more.
Dakguy - I fully agree with the budget and consultants! I have dealt with the same thing.
Mookie
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
If you are an executive with little idea how to cope with the fundamental problems of satisfying the customers of your business, you will gravitate to projects like this one.
How many different paint/logo schemes does the BNSF have on the property right now? As much as I admire them for other things, I believe this is an area in which they just plain look foolish. As for "awards" like this one, I strongly suspect that award is directly related to the size of the budget and the number of consultants engaged in the project.
Maybe if they get OUT of the paint shop and STAY OUT, they wont have such a self-esteem branding problem or assoicated expenses.
They should just spray the things construction barrell orange and slap a simple logo on there and LEAVE IT ALONE.
There is something wrong with a company that cannot stick to one item more than a few years.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
Found this webpage about the rebranding of BNSF.
www.rebrand.com/page380.html
They say that BNSF had to change its image after 10 years to unify the company.
Someone has given them an award for their new image.
To me it looks like the graphics for a deodorant or athletic shoes, but the image makes the BNSF distinct.
Andrew
Watch my videos on-line at https://www.youtube.com/user/AndrewNeilFalconer
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