On June 30, 2020, AIHA’s Board President, Lindsay Cook, CIH, CSP, FAIHA, AIHA’s CEO, Larry Sloan, and AIHA’s Managing Director of Marketing and Communications, Sue Marchese, held a town hall webinar to answer questions from members about the brand evolution. The recording is now available for the public.
Questions submitted that were not answered are being compiled into a FAQ posted to the site. If you have any questions or comments, AIHA welcomes your feedback.
WELCOME TO THE FUTURE OF AIHA.
Building on the richness of AIHA’s historical past and dynamic present to create an exciting, inclusive future. For the organization and the Occupational Health and Safety profession.
OUR EVOLVING BRAND STORY
Since 1939, the American Industrial Hygiene Association has been the premier organization serving those who work in industrial hygiene. Now, changes in our industry are inspiring changes at AIHA.
Although more than half of AIHA’s nearly 8,500 members are Certified Industrial Hygienists, our industry is expanding beyond IH/OEHS to include EHS generalists and “technician-level” practitioners. At AIHA, we embrace this growth and evolution.
Evolving the brand. To enhance our member services and recruit the next generation of professionals into our ranks, we felt it was time to develop our brand to reflect the industry's evolution better and remain relevant to all industry stakeholders.
Here is how our brand evolved to its new look, its unique voice.
RESEARCH FINDINGS
The rebranding process has been collaborative, rigorous, and scientific. Every decision was made with input from AIHA members, from naming to logo to strategic positioning and beyond:
- All decisions were made through collaboration across a broad spectrum of representation.
- We conducted intake sessions with IH/OEHS professional stakeholders (corporate, consultants) to better understand the current state of AIHA’s messaging and brand.
- We consulted senior IHs and professors to understand the potential future direction for the AIHA brand.
With that input, we met with a cross-section of AIHA members to further explore perceptions of who AIHA is today and will be in the future. An independent research company compiled perspectives from hundreds of stakeholders to guide sound branding decisions.
Here is what you told us:
- While IH has served us well in our first 80 years, today, it is a fraction of what we do and does not encompass our entire member base.
- Members have told us that the term ‘industrial hygiene’ is confusing and misleading to both the general public and non-IH co-workers, leading to misunderstandings about our work's importance.
- ‘Industrial hygiene’ education programs shift to titles like ‘occupational health,’ ‘occupational health and safety’ and ‘environmental and occupational health,’ both at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
We heard you. Moving forward, you’ll see a pivot from the term ‘industrial hygiene’ to ‘occupational health.’
A NEW NAME, A NEW LOOK, A NEW TAGLINE
After the input from AIHA members, research helped us design and select the final logo and the tagline. Suggestions from hundreds of AIHA members steered the creation of this logo. It is evidence-based and rooted in research.
Our name “AIHA” is not a radical departure from our old one; in fact, we are building on its legacy. Legally, AIHA is still the “American Industrial Hygiene Association.” Yet, to better explain what our members do to stakeholders outside the profession and those unfamiliar with IH/OEHS, we will be known just as AIHA in our marketing and public education materials.
Our logo is made up of multiple elements coming together to form a whole—much like our membership. These four elements speak to the multiple phases of the exposure assessment strategy: anticipation, recognition, evaluation, confirm and control. Beyond that, the logo represents a continuous improvement, something that we aspire to every day in the work we do.
Our tagline is a reflection of our positioning statement and our vision. It is the simple summation of what we strive for as an organization:
Healthier Workplaces. A Healthier World.
OUR BRAND PROMISE
Our mission statement defines who we are and why we exist. It gives us something to work towards daily: Empowering those who apply scientific knowledge to protect all workers from occupational hazards.
Our vision statement acts as an internal compass, expressing what we hope to be the result if we continue to successfully fulfill our organization’s mission—a world where all workers are healthy and safe.
Together, they form our brand positioning—how we speak about ourselves as an organization, how we think about ourselves internally—and most importantly, how we strive to be.
WHO WE ARE.
AIHA is a forward-looking steward for occupational health and safety professionals.
WHAT WE DO.
We advance the profession by producing educational resources for members, connecting current and future industry leaders, and promoting the value of their practice to corporations and the general public.
WHY IT MATTERS.
Supporting our members' professional growth protects the health and safety of workers, businesses, and the general public.
NEW AIHA BRAND GALLERY
FAQs
ARE WE NO LONGER THE “AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE ASSOCIATION”?
For legal purposes, we retain the designation “American Industrial Hygiene Association, d/b/a AIHA” and will refer to ourselves as such to our members, but to the general public in our public awareness campaign, we are going by: AIHA. Our new name builds on our old name’s legacy. We have shortened it to nod to our history while opening a door to our future—and being more reflective of our present.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ME?
Each of us is an ambassador for AIHA. As such, in the months to come, we all can help usher in our dedication to being a forward-looking steward for occupational health and safety professionals. You can do this in your everyday actions, conversing with members and answering questions when necessary. It’s everyone’s role to ensure that our new dedication, expressed by our new brand, is understood by all our members. This will help the profession as a whole and each person as a member. And it will help generate the crucial excitement and momentum that AIHA needs.
HOW DOES THE REBRAND AFFECT LOCAL AND STUDENT LOCAL SECTIONS?
AIHA has designed a unique logo for each of the Local and Student Local Sections which incorporates elements of the new National logo and will encourage them to use what is provided to them. All Local and Student Local Sections will be provided a JPEG, detailed Brand Guidelines and Instruction for Implementation. While branding consistency is a benefit to all and these tools will be available, you are not obligated to change your Local or Student Local Section visual branding identity in conjunction with the changes for AIHA.
IF I DON’T WANT TO BE KNOWN AS AN “OHS SCIENCE PROFESSIONAL”, HOW WILL THIS IMPACT ME?
That is okay! The brand refresh is meant to both respect the association’s valued members as well as look to future growth with messaging that is aimed at raising awareness of the profession to the general public and attracting the next generation of science-minded students to join our ranks. If you prefer to simply refer to yourself as an OHS Professional (versus an OHS Science Professional), that’s fine too.
BUT, I’M AN INDUSTRIAL HYGIENIST AND WORKED HARD FOR MY CIH! IS AIHA GETTING RID OF THAT?
We fully understand and respect that may people, particularly members will continue to identify themselves as industrial hygienists. The highly respected “CIH” certification continues today and is as strong as ever. You should feel free to refer to yourself as an IH or CIH, as appropriate, and wear that title and designation proudly. However, just know that AIHA is trying to attract more people to join the profession and the association and intends to do so by leading with OHS SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS from now on.
HOW WILL THE NEW BRAND BE ROLLED OUT?
The new brand is being unveiled to the entire AIHA family with a formal brand launch during Virtual AIHce EXP 2020 and communications to the entire membership throughout the month of June. After that, it will be shared through various AIHA communications channels over the following months, including Catalyst, The Synergist, and elsewhere.
In the second half of 2020 we will spread the word to allied professionals, students, and the general public, as affordable. One of our strategies to make the rollout most cost effective is to primarily target priority industry segments—in year one, that includes business/C-suite, students and educators.
We will also begin a multi-faceted public awareness campaign. It will reach out to businesses and the general public, informing them about AIHA and its members—the national association of occupational health and safety science professionals who safeguard workplaces worldwide.