International
Society for Pharmacoepidemiology Announces Major New Branding
Initiative
Group Seeks To “Tell Its Story” To
Remain Relevant And Increase Its Influence
Nudged forward by
their president Alison Bourke, the International Society for
Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE) has announced the adoption of new branding
and communication elements seen as helping to assure the Society’s
continued relevance and as “…an essential step to preparing ISPE for a
more influential role in pharmacoepidemiology,” according to Bourke.
Branding Elements
Included among these
branding elements are a new logo which has just been released, a
redesign of the ISPE website, graphics, communications, and new
messaging such as taglines including one describing ISPE as
“pharmacoepidemiology’s forum”.
Trigger
Asked about the
trigger for the initiative, Bourke told The Epidemiology Monitor that
the Society had been using the same logo for more than 20 years and,
while comfortable and friendly, the logo looked a little out of date.
New branding is important she told the Monitor because it is how the
society is perceived by the outside world, and the Society seeks to
convey that it is a modern, credible player with great offerings. The
logo helps to achieve that goal.
Not PR
This is not to be
interpreted primarily as a public relations effort, said Bourke. Some
scientists may not naturally be the greatest communicators, so this
effort is to some extent about reaching out widely to tell people the
story of the Society.
Seat At The Table
The branding fits in
with the Society’s current vision and mission. ISPE recognizes that
good research in the era of big data and machine learning must be
carried out within interdisciplinary teams. While this new paradigm
contains exciting possibilities, quality research that produces better
answers must incorporate the traditional methods and safeguards
familiar to epidemiologists working with observational and real world
data. Pharmacoepidemiologists want to make sure they have a seat at
the multidisciplinary “big data table”, according to Bourke.
Logo
The branding initiative was led by a
private contractor, and took approximately one year to carry
out. It was an investment in time
and money but not a hugely expensive one. The contractor, Mekanic,
worked with individual members, including some who were new to the
Society, and a 10-12 person team made up of established ISPE members,
to help the contractor understand what the Society stands for. After
full consultation, the contractor presented three different logos for
the Society to choose from and the selected logo was a clear favorite.
A logo is important said Bourke because it is the most visible aspect
of the Society. It makes an impression and tries to convey feelings
and concepts that are fundamental to the organization.
Interpretation
The new logo includes
a multi-colored stacked bar or column conveying both technical data
manipulation and bringing together diverse stakeholders, according to
ISPE. The outlying orange brick is unexpected and could be seen as a
new research finding or innovative approach.
Lessons Learned
Asked if she had any
lessons learned from the initiative so far that might be of interest
to other epidemiology societies, Bourke told the Monitor “it is too
early to say”. It will take a year or two for the anticipated benefits
to materialize, she said, and added that in
the early
stages the initiative did have the benefit of bringing people together
to clarify how the Society wants to be seen by its members and the
outside world. In short, the Society obtained good feedback, but needs
more time for evaluation.
Evolving
A key concept
articulated by Bourke is that the Society is expanding in terms of
scope and global reach within pharmacoepidemiology and wants to be
seen to be evolving and open for collaboration. The branding changes
will help to convey this message. The Society has been increasing its
membership gradually from 400 in 1990 to about 1700 members currently.
Previous Logo:
New Logo:
|