Australia's national weather bureau looked to distance itself from unnamed "negative" associations with its widely-used acronym, BOM, new documents about its rebrand reveal.
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The Bureau of Meteorology's director, Andrew Johnson, apologised for the untimely unveiling of the $220,000 rebranding project late last month, admitting there would be "significant learnings" for his team.
The marketing project was revealed publicly after the agency informed media outlets it preferred to be referenced by its full name, followed by "the Bureau" rather than the well-known acronym.
The change stirred controversy as it coincided with devastating flooding across Australia's east coast.
The style rebrand - or visual identity "refresh" as the bureau calls it - began in 2018 in an effort to make consistent its messaging and imagery, internal documents released by the bureau reveal.
Maintaining trust and integrity were deemed a crucial underpinning behind the marketing changes, the documents show, prompted by unfounded claims made by climate sceptics over its record keeping.
But an early draft of the style guide from December 2021 cites the bureau wanted to distance itself from "negative associations related to the acronym".
The documents do not make clear what those associations are but the mention is removed in a later version of the style guide.
Market research, delivered by EY Sweeney, also showed recognition was high for the weather bureau's full name, followed by the BOM acronym.
More than 80 per cent of the survey's respondents recognised the "Bureau of Meteorology" while nearly two-thirds had seen or heard "BOM".
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The agency's preferred term after its full name, "the Bureau", was only recognised by 15 per cent of respondents.
Internal notes conceded there could be confusion surrounding the branding changes but believed it would be ironed out through its planning.
"The digital team has identified that a change to the app icon may result in market confusion resulting in reducing visits to the app and an increase in correspondence to the bureau," the document read.
"This risk will be mitigated through a planned and phased transition."
A brand "deep dive" presentation delivered by communications manager Emma Liepa acknowledged it was "not the only bureau in the public consciousness" but context would make it clear.
"We're the bureau that impacts lives every day, everywhere - we are the Bureau of Meteorology," its guidance on reclaiming "bureau" reads.
Dr Johnson defended the edict to media outlets earlier this month over the usage of BOM, saying it was simply a request to ensure a clear and consistent presence to the community.
The bureaucratic saga had earlier attracted the Environment Minister's fury shortly after it was revealed to have cost taxpayers more than $200,000.
"With the benefit of hindsight, clearly the way we went about by doing, or giving effect to our intent, there'll be some significant learnings for us," Dr Johnson said.
"We're not rebranding, we're just asking [outlets] to use our full name and we're also just refreshing our visual identity, the look and feel so that we're consistent so that enforces that message - that's all we're doing.
"We just wanted to bring clarity, if we can, and we think in doing that, that'll make Australian safer."
Sarah Basford Canales
I'm a federal politics and public sector reporter with an interest in national security, integrity and regulation. Contact me with general tips and thoughts at sarah.basfordcanales@canberratimes.com.au or confidential tips to sbasfordcanales@protonmail.com.
I'm a federal politics and public sector reporter with an interest in national security, integrity and regulation. Contact me with general tips and thoughts at sarah.basfordcanales@canberratimes.com.au or confidential tips to sbasfordcanales@protonmail.com.
