I’m live blogging from the Roundhouse in Camden (London) this morning at the launch of the new brand for London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

London’s bid for the 2012 games centred around four themes: passion; inspiration; participation and stimulation, so I’d expect the brand will be all about bringing those values to life between now and 2012.

I’m a firm believer in brands being about more than just visual identity, even though they’re so often confused. The visual identity (including the logo) is just a small part of what a brand’s about. My simple definition of a brand – it is:

• how you behave – the decisions and choices you make and their results
• how you sound – the words, language, tone of your writing and verbal communication
• how you look – your visual identity, your buildings, people, vehicles – or indeed anything people can see

So how does London’s new brand stack up? What will the games organisers be doing to put their brand at the heart of preparations for the 2012 games?

The big unveiling is at 11am, so maybe I’ll have the answers then.

[tags]London+2012, 2012, london, branding, brand, brand+values[/tags]