Page 10 - District Interactive Magazine June 2019

PUBLIC IMAGE ignoring club identities. So, if one club gives a bad
or poor impression, the implications go beyond
A message from outgoing District Public that one club – in much the same way, using my
Image Chair Darren Hands: old analogy of a fast food chain, where if you
have a poor experience in one, it reflects poorly
As District Public Image Chair, my time in post is on the brand as a whole.
coming to an end. In some ways I am sad to be
“time served” – having been not only your district Many of you have embraced the advice the Public
Public Image chair for a number of years but also Image team have provided over the past couple
an Assistant Rotary International Public Image of years and to those, on behalf of my team, I
Coordinator (and by default also a member of the thank you and I am sure you are starting to reap
RIBI Public Image team), but in other ways with the rewards. To those still set in your ways with
some of the emails I have received this year and the old branding etc, I implore you to give serious
more latterly social media “comments” made thought to making the changes which will benefit
about me when I have only been trying to fulfil not only your club but the organisation as a
the duties asked of me in these “voluntary” roles, whole.
I have actually questioned not just why I am
doing these roles, but whether or not I wish to I have used the graphic below before, but pay
remain a Rotarian. particular attention to the logos in the bottom left
and bottom right. If you were not a member of
I appreciate we are all volunteers, and many Rotary, can you honestly say, hand on heart, you
clubs do great and wonderful things for our would know whom the logo in the bottom left
communities, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t belongs to? Now look at the one in the right hand
look after our organisation in a professional way. corner. As with the other logos shown, you can
I do question seeing some club websites, easily see who the logo belongs to. THIS is the
Facebook pages and event flyers, whether if this main reason back in 2013/14 Rotary International
promotion was done for your business, would you undertook the rebranding
be happy? Yes, businesses often have the funds
to cover some of these things, but RI provide
many tools and what one club does reflects on us
all.

It has been shown that many members of the
public do not really know what we do or
understand who we are, and refer to the
organisation as a whole as “The Rotary Club”,