WAN-Ifra is formalising its use of the 'World Association of News Publishers' tag with the adoption of a new brand identity.

The long-established acronyms appear in a circle alongside the slogan, while elsewhere the group calls itself "the leading world association of news publishers and media tech companies".

Chief executive Vincent Peyrègne says the changes come at a time when the association is evolving its service offerings and expanding its global reach. "Editorial, tech and business used to belong to different universes," he says. "They slowly started to merge in the past few years prompted by the necessity to convert audiences into loyal, engaged users and digital subscribers. Undoubtedly, the effects of the ongoing health crisis have reverberated within news organisations, accelerating this move towards better alignment of every aspect of publishing: newsroom, distribution, production, product development, planning, business development."

He says 2021 will be marked by accelerating cultural and strategic shift, with the change of corporate visual identity emphasising WAN-Ifra's commitment to supporting this transformation.

"It brings to light our call for a strategic realignment within the industry. It demonstrates our commitment to building a more robust symbiotic ecosystem for news. This unparalleled positioning in the field of international publisher associations was at the very origin of our foundation some 75 years ago. It's still our pledge in 2021."

President Fernando de Yarza said the new brand identity would help bring coherence and showcase the breadth of offerings. "It reaffirms our objective to be the preferred organisation for the global news media ecosystem."

WAN-Ifra was formed in 2009 by the merger of the World Association of Newspapers with the INCA FIEJ Research Association, itself the product of a 1970 merger. INCA was the acronum of the International Newspaper Colour Association, while FIEJ that of the French Fédération internationale des éditeurs de journaux et publications.