Brand refreshes are common. Meaningful ones are rare. As the global business travel landscape evolves, BCD is introducing a refreshed brand identity designed to better reflect how the company serves clients today and where it is headed next.
Below, Thad Slaton, senior vice president of Global Marketing & Communications, explains the thinking behind the evolution and what it means for clients, partners and future talent.
Why was now the right time to refresh the BCD brand?
For us, branding is something that ties directly to our commitment to clients. It’s about communicating what we’re hyper-focused on, which is giving clients real choice in creating travel programs that meet their unique needs and goals, and combining that with proven guidance so they can push forward with confidence. Over many years and through a lot of investment, we’ve transformed our business with this in mind. We’ve refreshed our brand to reflect that progress and ongoing pursuit.
What has changed and what remains the same?
BCD built its reputation on reliability, global scale and service consistency. Those foundations remain. What has evolved is the company’s investment in digital travel experiences, an open ecosystem of partnerships and expanded capabilities across its business.
Our values, ‘Do what’s right’ and ‘Solve it together,’ for example, are enduring. Customers, employees and partners will continue to experience the same BCD they’ve always known. But we’ve made tremendous progress, not just in travel but across meetings and events management with BCD Meetings & Events and global consultancy through Advito. Our brand needed to more accurately express that progress.
What does the new tagline ‘Open by design’ represent?
Open by design reflects BCD’s hallmark, a relentless commitment to building trust and collaborating with our clients and partners. It’s not only good business, but it serves a higher purpose, which is to enable connections that drive progress and positive impact today and in the future. This is what gets us going every morning.
How does ‘open’ translate into real benefits for clients?
It signals a mindset. Openness has a literal and more philosophical meaning. With our platform approach and Marketplace of vetted partner technologies as prime examples, we are open to smoothly connecting a wide array of solutions for customers so they never feel boxed in or limited in where they can take their corporate travel program. But open also speaks to how we’ve long collaborated with clients and partners. That’s part of the secret sauce we’ve always hung our hat on.
What should clients and partners expect moving forward?
The refreshed brand is not a change in direction. It is a clearer expression of how BCD delivers value today through travel management, duty of care, travel risk management and a flexible ecosystem of solutions.
Open by design signals a continued commitment to transparency, collaboration and helping organizations move forward with confidence in a complex travel environment.
The goal is simple: to ensure clients feel supported, empowered and ready for what comes next.
Thad Slaton
Senior Vice President, Global Marketing & Communications at BCD Travel