CAUSE
What if there was a place where brilliant and daring people could show up and be supported to push themselves to move the world forward? Not how most dance companies introduce themselves but welcome to Rambert. This is the Rambert ’cause’ and is literally written in big letters on the wall in their studios.
This cause and Rambert’s brand model were the outcome of large-scale staff-wide consultation, followed by in-depth conversations with Helen Shute (CEO) and Benoit Swan Pouffer (Artistic Director). Consulting the staff was crucial to generate ideas as well as ensure buy-in further down the line. And from these ideas, Helen and Benoit were then clear about the tone and direction they wanted to set.
At Rambert they’re breaking category. They don’t want to be the best, most inclusive dance company. They want to be the best, most inclusive dance company, where everything they do inspires people to believe in themselves, and pursue their ambitions to move the world forward. It’s a big ambition and everyone is so motivated by it. But it was a crucial step to articulate it in order to invite everyone to commit to it.
The success in this approach comes from the fact everyone is on the same page and crucially they’ve put their cause and brand at the heart of everything they do. They worked hard to embed it across all teams so everyone understood how their role and their work contributed.
They don’t work to a list of ‘values’ (everyone can come up with positive adjectives but what do you do about them?), instead they have House Rules designed to empower and inspire. Because they’ve been fully socialised and are embraced as a guide to being on-brand day day-to-day, the House Rules are referred to in most meetings. They’re the basis of recruitment, inductions and appraisals, they’re even in guest choreographers’ contracts.
The team at Rambert are not humourless but they are relentless in this. The secret advantage it gives them? They invite everyone to show up on this basis. IT’S YOUR MOVE: Staff, class participants, community groups, supporters, audiences… are all invited show and play their role. No matter the activity, they’re playing playing their part in moving the world forward.
REBRAND
Rebranding isn’t just refreshing visual identity, it’s part of a strategic jigsaw. Rambert’s rebrand was designed to resonate beyond the immediate audience, to reach a younger, more diverse, new audience.
Contemporary dance is often seen as remote and aloof. But Rambert wanted new, different, diverse potential audiences to feel part of the story. The work had recently been done to articulate the cause and brand. And had undertaken audience research to understand more about motivations and potential for growth in the wider market.
So with a clear brand strategy in place, Rambert was in a position to give a precise brief to a branding agency, knowing exactly the job the visual brand had to do. The rebrand uses the diverse dancers, showing them as superhuman individuals, who are also entirely human: relatable, inspiring, motivating. They directly address you, and serve up an invitation – a provocation even – it’s your move.
The branding agency (Hingston Studio) who delivered this, and a new logo mark, could not have achieved what they did if they had not been presented with the detailed strategic thinking. But similarly, Rambert is happy to give them some of the credit for the current record-breaking successes they are enjoying, as this has been rolled out with great results across all platforms and channels.
Soon Rambert will be the first UK dance company to celebrate 100 years, and they have never had houses as full at Sadler’s Wells; have just had their most successful visit to Bath in 27 years of touring; and delivered the largest contemporary dance audience Hall for Cornwall has ever seen. This for a double bill by a choreographer most will not have heard of. Audiences came because it is Rambert and that means something to people.
