Building the Heathrow brand
Branding policy for third parties working at Heathrow
A popular and instantly
recognisable brand
Everyone knows Heathrow and what we stand for. In the 2013 edition of Superbrands, we
were the UK’s eighth most recognised consumer brand.
To achieve that level of trust and awareness, we have to be single-minded about what
we do and how we present ourselves. We have to be absolutely consistent in the way we
look and act. So do our suppliers and partners. We expect them to work with us
to protect and support the Heathrow brand.
In short, we want everyone who comes to the airport as a supplier to be as
passionate as we are about making every journey better.
This document tells you how. It’s your guide to the way you and your team
should present yourselves when working at Heathrow.
2 Branding policy for third parties working at Heathrow © Heathrow Airport Limited 2013
Heathrow’s brand-building partnerships
Building a strong brand
together
Heathrow’s visual identity
and tone of voice
To work with Heathrow is to share our
vision. The work that you do as a supplier
makes you a partner in our mission of
making every journey better. You’re
helping us build our brand.
Although the true test of a brand is what
it does, it’s the language and symbols that
provide the context. Without a distinctive
visual identity – logo, signature, colours,
typeface – and tone of voice, no brand
can pull all the strands together into a
single, unified force.
To do that, you have to fit seamlessly
into the Heathrow way of working and
presenting yourself. When passengers see
you or your team at Heathrow, they see
the warm and friendly professionalism
that they associate with Europe’s most
popular airport. You’re helping them
experience the Heathrow brand at its best.
In the document ‘Delivering our brand’,
we say how our visual identity should
look. By setting clear presentational rules
we help to make the Heathrow brand
instantly recognisable. When passengers
see our identity, they know they’re
experiencing the Heathrow brand. And
when they see the great things that we
and our partners do, they immediately
associate them with the brand.
To keep everything consistent, we limit
the use of partner brands at Heathrow,
and we control how our partners use our
brand identity on and off the airport.
Partner brands at Heathrow
At Heathrow, we’re building long-term
strategic links with brands whose values
match our own. They take the form of
sponsorships or corporate partnerships
with globally recognised names in noncompeting industries. In return for the
investment our partners make in these
relationships, we guarantee them brand
exclusivity in all areas of the airport visible
to passengers.
We also have branding agreements with
our major business partners: airlines,
retailers and government authorities such
as the Border Force.
That leaves limited opportunities for
co-branding with other airport partners.
If we do admit a partner brand to
Heathrow, it will be restricted to specific
locations and covered by a commercial
agreement and strict guidelines.
In most cases, partners and suppliers
work under the umbrella of the Heathrow
brand. In return, we offer all first-tier
suppliers (suppliers who contract directly
with Heathrow) a chance to use the
strength of the Heathrow brand and their
position as one of our chosen suppliers to
help boost their businesses.
In the document ‘Delivering our brand’,
we say how our visual identity should
look. By setting clear presentational rules
we help to make the Heathrow brand
instantly recognisable.
3 Branding policy for third parties working at Heathrow © Heathrow Airport Limited 2013
Working with the Heathrow brand
Be Heathrow at its best
The environment
Uniforms
When you work in passenger-facing roles
at Heathrow, you always present the
Heathrow brand. Please don’t put your
own brand or the brands of third parties
on your clothes or equipment. As far as
passengers are concerned, you’re part of
the Heathrow team. You’re an example of
Heathrow at its best.
Please don’t place partner or third-party
brands or colours on:
• Doors visible to passengers even if
they lead to non-passenger areas
• Walls or temporary hoardings
• Signs, banners or posters.
Each passenger-facing role at Heathrow
has a uniform (and uniform policy)
appropriate to the work. For suppliers
working on long-term contracts, the
guidelines define the type, style and
colour of their uniforms.
Suppliers for construction:
Please note that the rules for clothing and
equipment are different. See page 6.
Suppliers of ad-hoc activity:
If you come to Heathrow to perform
short-term activities that are not
passenger-facing (fixing lights or repairing
travelators, for example), you wear your
usual corporate uniform.
Equipment
All equipment should be brand-neutral
or bearing the Heathrow brand. This
means no partner or third-party logos or
corporate colours. The only exceptions are
for standard commercial tools of the trade
(drills, saws and hammers, for example)
that bear the manufacturer’s name and
logo (eg Black & Decker).
Where equipment does bear the
Heathrow brand, it must follow the
Heathrow brand guidelines. Your
artwork must be approved in advance by
Heathrow’s Brand team.
Don’t display company or staff notices on
any surface visible to passengers.
Suppliers for construction:
Please note that there are specific
guidelines for putting logos and contact
details on hoardings and doors.
See page 6.
Lanyards and security passes
No matter what job you do, everyone
who works at Heathrow is obliged to
offer help when passengers ask for it. To
help passengers know that you are part
of the Heathrow team, you must wear
your Heathrow security pass attached to
a Heathrow lanyard. The only exception is
for construction workers who wear their
own company lanyards (see page 6).
Heathrow lanyards are purple. They bear
the Heathrow logo and strapline ‘Making
every journey better’. You can get supplies
from the Heathrow Brand team.
Badges
If you work in a passenger-facing area,
you must also wear a name badge. Make
sure your badge is visible at all times when
you’re on duty or on official Heathrow
business. Specifications for name-badge
design are in your uniform catalogue.
4 Branding policy for third parties working at Heathrow © Heathrow Airport Limited 2013
Please don’t add to your uniform. The only
time you can wear something extra – a
coat or scarf, for example – is when you’re
travelling to or from Heathrow. And don’t
wear high-vis jackets or vests if they’re not
part of the uniform for your role.
Suppliers of ad-hoc activity:
Non-passenger-facing activities should
wear their usual corporate uniform,
including hi-vis if it’s needed. Please make
sure your uniform is clean, neat and tidy.
Manner and appearance
The manner and appearance of you
and your team has to be smart and
professional at all times. We ask that you
be polite and helpful to everyone you
meet – passengers, retailers, customers
and colleagues. As representatives
of Heathrow, you should be shining
examples of Heathrow values in action.
Supporting our partners and suppliers
Use of Heathrow assets
Heathrow logo
Always ask for permission
We’re naturally protective of our brand
and assets. Where appropriate, we grant
suppliers and partners permission to use
our assets:
Our logo is trademark-protected. You
can’t use it without prior consent from
the Brand team. But if you’re a first-tier
supplier and you have prior approval,
you can place the Heathrow logo on
your website or use it in presentations to
potential new clients.
Before you use a Heathrow logo, image
or endorsement, you must get permission
from the brand team. Don’t forget to
check that you’re using the latest version
of the logo.
• The Heathrow logo
• The Heathrow endorsement for
approved suppliers.
We grant permission to use our assets
when:
• A first-tier supplier needs Heathrow
endorsement to do its job (for
example, when a supplier is fixing
lights at a terminal entrance)
• There’s a benefit to Heathrow (for
example, positive media exposure or
a beneficial association with a key
partner)
• We’ve made a specific agreement to
support a first-tier supplier
• We have a formal agreement with an
official partner or sponsor.
Photography and video
Heathrow has its own photo and video
libraries filled with images that reflect the
airport and the brand. If you’re a first-tier
supplier, you can use them free of charge
for projects commissioned by Heathrow.
If you want to use them for your own
projects, we charge a fee.
You can also arrange shoots using
Heathrow-approved photographers and
film-makers. If you do this, remember that
we retain copyright in the images and
footage. To find out more, speak to the
Brand team.
5 Branding policy for third parties working at Heathrow © Heathrow Airport Limited 2013
Branding for construction suppliers
Everyone contributes to the
Heathrow brand
Even though construction teams tend
to work out of sight of passengers, their
conduct reflects on the Heathrow brand.
In some cases, all that separates workers
from passengers is a layer of hoarding.
So we expect you and your construction
team to be sensitive to passenger
expectations and to the Heathrow way of
working. Through your appearance and
behaviour, you are helping to build the
Heathrow brand.
Clothing, appearance and
behaviour
More than anything, construction workers
need clothing that’s safe and practical.
But that still leaves plenty of room for
individual discretion. Whatever they
choose to wear, they must take account of
passenger expectations.
The guidelines that follow are not
exhaustive, but the principle is clear: your
team must be respectful, professional and
passenger-friendly.
All construction supplier staff working at
Heathrow will:
• Comply with PPE requirements
• Wear tops with long or short sleeves –
no vest tops
• Wear long trousers, not shorts. Skirts
are not generally appropriate for
women working on a construction site
• Not wear clothing featuring images
or text that colleagues or passengers
could find offensive – political or
racist statements or lurid images, for
example
• Adequately cover tattoos
• Be free of jewellery or piercings that
could cause offence or be a safety
hazard
• Not smoke on site, but only in
designated external smoking areas
• Not use foul language
• Work without causing a noise or dust
nuisance to the public. Hoardings are
relatively thin and passengers may be
just the other side
• Not use mobiles on site, except in
designated areas.
When construction supplier staff pass
through public areas inside the terminals
or on terminal forecourts, they will:
• Remove and carry their hard hats,
glasses, gloves and high-vis clothing
• Check that workwear and footwear is
clean
• Not use foul language
• If approached by a member of the
public, be as pleasant and helpful as
possible, even if it’s just to direct them
to someone else who can help
• Remember that terminal facilities
such as toilets, catering outlets etc
are for the benefit of the public and
are not part of their welfare provision.
However, occasional use by a few
working personnel is permissible
providing they behave appropriately
and are not wearing workwear.
You are responsible for applying Heathrow
values and standards to your team. It’s
your job to make sure they meet the
standards and that they know how
their work activities can affect airport
operations and the general public. Failure
to achieve our standards is a serious
breach of your obligations.
Identifying construction supplier personnel
Site entrances
Equipment
Supplier name
Please use our standard format and
template for displaying health and safety
messages and project contact details at
site entrances. Ask the Heathrow Health &
Safety Team for copies of the templates.
Your equipment, plant or vehicles should
not feature over-sized logos or blatant
advertising for your company or third
parties. Equipment branding should never
be intrusive. Deliberate advertising to
public-facing areas is not permissible.
Display your company name (and logo, if
desired) on the back of outerwear (usually
the high-vis vest or jacket) worn by all
construction staff you employ.
Where equipment does bear the
Heathrow brand, it must follow Heathrow
brand guidelines. Make sure your artwork
is approved in advance by Heathrow’s
Brand team.
Construction workers who have been
issued with Heathrow security passes, or
with site or location-specific badges, must
wear them at all times and in a way that
keeps them visible. This helps us identify
everyone who is entitled to work at
Heathrow.
Health and safety
communications
Heathrow is proud of its health and safety
record. We work with all our suppliers to
keep staff safe and to eliminate risks to
airport operations or the public.
Because we have so many construction
and refurbishment projects, we’ve
developed a unifying safety message
(called Heathrow Safe) which we expect
you to use to frame your own messages.
Consistent use and repetition of the
Heathrow Safe message increases its
impact and helps everyone benefit from
our excellent health and safety record.
For a set of health and safety message
templates and a toolkit explaining how to
communicate the messages, speak to the
Heathrow Health & Safety team.
Please note that none of this releases you
from your obligations as a supplier to run
your own health and safety programme in
which you are free to use your own safety
messages and branding.
Hoardings
As a supplier, you’re responsible for
installing hoardings around your work
– and for complying with our hoardings
guidelines. For passenger-facing
hoardings, there’s a range of visuals and
messages that tell passengers what’s
going on. Our approach is positive: we
talk about the benefits of the finished
project instead of apologising for the
inconvenience of construction. There’s also
a set of hoardings concepts that focus on
health and safety or staff engagement.
Badges and passes
Lanyards
All construction workers will wear a
lanyard bearing the name and/or logo of
their employer or the main contractor for
whom they are working.
For guidelines, templates or help with
hoardings, speak to the Brand team.
For guidelines, templates or help with hoardings, speak to the Brand team.
7 Branding policy for third parties working at Heathrow © Heathrow Airport Limited 2013
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