Why Boaty McBoatface was excellent brand management
For those of you not in the know, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) recently opened the naming of a £200million research vessel to the voting public. To the surprise of—quite frankly—absolutely nobody, the voting public did what it does best in a digital setting…and set about royally took the piss.
However, unlike other problematic polls (such as Mountain Dew’s attempt at naming a new drink flavour) this one was slightly more good-natured in the way it was hi-jacked. The long-time front-runner, and ultimately the winner of the poll, was the name ‘Boaty McBoatface’
Thankfully, this was more of a post-lunch, Friday-afternoon-in-the-office hijacking, as opposed to the more serious and offensive aforementioned Nazi-apologist fiasco.
However, it still raised a problem from a branding perspective.
The NERC conduct very real and very important research in the polar regions of the world, with their work informing decision-making at the highest levels and on a global scale.
Whilst it’s just a name, calling the vehicle responsible for conducting this research in a safe and high-tech environment Boaty McBoatface does seem a little off. In a design context, the name isn’t fit-for-purpose — yes it’s funny, but it doesn’t carry enough gravitas or scientific-backing to spearhead an organisation like the NERC.
But the public hath spoken. The vote is closed. What to do next?
The brand did exactly what they should’ve done. First, they bought themselves some time by considering their next steps—they also made sure that people knew this was what they were doing. If you don’t make people aware of it, the breathing-space and thinking-time you engineer can be misconstrued as avoiding the issue altogether.
Next, they announced three things simultaneously, which all contributed to great brand management.
- We’re not calling the ship ‘Boaty McBoatface’
- Instead, we are calling it the ‘RSS Sir David Attenborough’
- However, we will call one of the onboard submarines ‘Boaty McBoatface’
Why is this all brilliant? Well, there was no ambiguity in the decisions being announced. Brand’s need to be forthright and clear about what they’re doing or people switch off.
They also ignored the clamours of the public poll they wrought upon themselves. Twitterstorms and other digital uproars are often more bark than bite and too often brands feel they have to pander to the biggest noise in order to be loved. That’s not true, ever. Brands need to do what is right for them and what they are trying to achieve, even if pissing some people off is a side-effect.
However, determined not to lose the faith of the thousands of people who cast their votes, the NERC did temper the blow somewhat. Firstly, they selected the name of a much beloved and still living (and therefore still relatable) figure in the scientific community. Whether or not you think Sir David Attenborough was the right choice (spoiler: it is) is irrelevant; from a branding perspective it definitely is.
Lastly, the cherry on the cake was to still include a nod to the legacy of the Boaty McBoatface saga, by naming one of the remotely operated submersibles ‘Boaty’
It might seem a facetious string of events, or a just a bit of a laugh, but the ‘Boaty McBoatface’ story is a warming example of good brand management.
P.S. A new petition has been started to rename the submersible ‘Subby McSubface’ — British humour always wins the day.
