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Balancing Britain’s Power
National Grid ESO plays a vital role balancing Great Britain’s electricity system. To accelerate the UK’s path to net zero, Government and Ofgem agreed for a new independent public corporation to take a whole system view and lead the energy transition.
A New Era of Leadership
Chosen to spearhead this transformation, National Grid ESO separated from National Grid to become a new corporation with wider responsibilities. This meant launching not just a new identity, but a new name, narrative and sense of purpose – one powerful enough to unite internal teams, reassure stakeholders, and define the future of energy in the UK.
We began with deep listening: 400+ staff participated in workshops, and we analysed 15,000+ data points. This revealed a clear ambition to drive change with confidence, momentum and collaboration.
This listening revealed that the new brand wasn’t about a clean slate, but an opportunity to build on a shared purpose to energise progress. This thinking drove the unifying brand idea: Energising Progress, a positioning that reflected both the human and technological ambitions of the organisation.
We codified this into a clear purpose, vision, mission and values brought to life with a bold new name – the National Energy System Operators (NESO). We paired this with a dynamic verbal identity, brand persona, tone of voice and messaging pillars. It was all packaged with a creative twist: a flexible identity system that conveys movement and connection, echoing the flow of energy itself.
A complete suite of brand assets were developed ahead of launch: from slideware and email templates to social media and a full photography library. These assets are used daily across NESO’s communications.
“Brands2Life have helped create and shape a new brand identity and positioning that we are all incredibly proud of. This is a huge milestone for the business and Brands2Life have been a fantastic partner in understanding our ambitions and goals, to create the brilliant new brand which you see today.”
A powerful new narrative
NESO launched with sign off from senior stakeholders, including 10 Downing Street. It rolled out with a full suite of assets and a powerful new narrative that unified internal teams and positioned the organisation as a national energy leader from day one.
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