Age UK paid up to £100,000 for new name 1

Governance | Vibeka Mair | 17 Nov 2009

Age UK, the new charity created from the merger of Help the Aged and Age Concern, paid a consultancy around £100,000 to develop its new brand and its new name, despite using the name since January, the same month it hired Corporate Edge.

The official name of the charity was kept tightly under wraps until last week, when Age UK was announced as the moniker of the newly-merged organisation.

Civil Society reported in January, the same month that Corporate Edge was recruited, that Age UK was the likely new name for the charity, but a spokesman vehemently denied this at the time:

“It will absolutely, categorically not be the name,” he said. “It is purely an administrative legal name, for the signing of contracts and that sort of thing.

“I can give you a cast-iron guarantee that it is not to be the new public name for the new organisation.”

Age UK made official next year

The name Age UK will not be officially used until spring 2010, when the rebrand is launched.

Tom Wright (pictured), chief executive of the charity, said the new name reflects what the organisation represents and what it does.

An Age UK spokesman said brand consultancy Corporate Edge's work was now largely over.

According to Corporate Edge's website it provided, "support, advice and counsel to the marketing and communications teams to bring together the new organisation’s influencing and public policy work, collective services and products under one new name and brand".

Directory: Age UK
Who's Who: Tom Wright | Vibeka Mair

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Jacqueline Wetter
Honorary chairman
Disability Awareness UK
21 Dec 2009

The Saturday Venture Association was formed as a part of the Lady Hoare Trust over 40 years ago, to set up clubs for disabled children and their friends. It gradually developed into Disability Awareness in the Community and while some clubs merged with junior PHAB others still retained the name, appending their locality, such as Acton Saturday Venture Association.

People reading the two websites were confused about our aims and as we are aiming at involving disabled people in the community and making children aware of various disabilities and how people overcome their disabilities to reach their potential, we consulted with the Charity Commission and changed the name to Disability Awareness UK.

But it did not cost us £100,000 - some serious discusssion and lobbying of members and a final vote wa all that was needed.

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