State-funded Health Research Board pays €25k to develop new logo

The State-funded Health Research Board spent more than €11,000 on signage and stationery after paying €25,000 to brand consultants for the development of a new logo.

Letterheads, business cards and internal signs had to be changed to reflect the introduction of the agency’s new logo, which was unveiled earlier this year.

The Health Research Board is a statutory body under the aegis of the Department of Health, tasked with funding and supporting health research. It receives around €30m from the Government each year.

Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that the agency paid €24,477 to Red Dog consultants for the development of a new logo and guidelines last year. The fee included €11,955 for research, focus groups, and the preparation of a creative brief for the company’s design team; according to the documents.

Work on a presentation of a number of options to the board of the body cost an additional €1,672; while the development of guidelines for the use of the new logo was priced at €2,509. All costs are inclusive of Vat.

The introduction of the agency’s new logo necessitated the replacement of signage and stationery to reflect the new design. The cost of this process amounted to €11,617.

This included new banners and pop-up signage priced at €2,964, 3D signage and foyer signs costing €2,921, as well as business cards, letterheads and other stationery at a cost of €2,373.

In total, €36,094 was spent on the rebranding project and the procurement of new signage and stationery. The logo features the three-letter acronym ‘HRB’ with the H’ and ‘B’ slightly above the baseline. The agency’s website states that the logo “symbolises collaboration, achieving results and the trusted communication of quality information”.

A spokesperson for the Health Research Board said the exercise carried out by Red Dog was much more than just creating a new logo, and it entailed a rebrand and positioning with the agency’s new strategy. “The old logo was outdated in terms of what we now represent. It was a turnstone [bird] and the concept behind it was that no stone would be left unturned in the pursuit of knowledge,” they said.

The spokesperson did not say if the tender by Red Dog for the design-and-print contract represented the lowest-cost option, but said the company was selected on the basis of a number of criteria, including experience, expertise, and overall value for money.

Correspondence between the board and the successful tenderer released under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that the cost of the project increased by €3,400 excluding Vat last October.

“I am afraid that the work that is now scoped really exceeds what was covered off in tender. It’s about double the amount of time that we had estimated but after talking to you guys I do think this level of investment is needed,” wrote a representative of Red Dog.

“But in fairness ... this process normally costs 25-30k at this level. We are currently tendering for a strategy piece to develop a name for an Irish organisation (name only!) and the budget alone is 25k for that to cover off interviews/ reports/ naming ideas etc.,” they added.

In a statement, the board spokesperson said costs had risen as a result of broadening the consultation process.