At the end of March the Electrical Safety Council rebranded to Electrical Safety First. Although this is now fairly well known, what is unclear is why the charity felt this rebranding was necessary.

The charity said their rebranding “exemplifies” their “strengthened consumer role and close campaigning work with the industry and government.”

After a five year developmental strategy to help ensure better electrical safety through campaigns and tools, the charity reviewed their brand and felt that a new identity was needed to create a stronger campaigning voice in order to highlight the dangers posed by electricity.

Electrical Safety First’s Head of Communications, Emma Apter, said:

“Our charity has a long association of championing consumer rights and leading industry best practice, but as our campaigns have become more dynamic and as we increasingly work to bring about change to regulation and industry practices, we knew that we needed to take a step back and redefine our ambition and values to ensure our name, our brand and our mission was in keeping with everything we do, and everything we want to be.”

It is this re-evaluation of the charity’s aims that led to the retirement of the Electrical Safety Council name. The new name is now in keeping with their future plans and the way they want to take the charity. It is hoped that the new brand will alleviate some of the issues the charity were having with people misunderstanding, or simply not knowing, what the Electrical Safety Council did and was there for. Now, as Electrical Safety First, the message is much clearer and easier for people to become engaged with.

As a big part of their rebranding, Electrical Safety First launched a new campaign, a re-launch of the TV safety campaign from the 1970s and 1980s, ‘Charley Says’. Originally the series was created to warn children of the dangers of playing with matches and talking to strangers, etc. However, the series has been edited and re-mastered to include new animations and story lines focusing on electrical safety. And, with the voice of Comedian David Walliams, it is hoped this new campaign will aid the public’s understanding of electrical safety.

What are your thoughts on Electrical Safety First’s rebranding, do you think it was needed and will the ‘Charley Says’ campaign help the public better understand electrical safety?

Written by Sara Thomson