Auntie goes interactive: unusually for such a famously complex organisation, the BBC has unified its interactive services under one brand. And the strategy seems to bye paying off. (Strategic Play)

New Media Age, November, 2002 by Greg Brooks

What does the 'i' in BBCi stand for? Whatever you want it to.

Ashley Highfield, BBC director of new media and technology, says it can mean anything from 'Internet' to 'interactive' or to getting the content that 'I' want. Yet the use of the single letter, with a singular meaning, will lead to a greater sense of togetherness for people if the BBC's plans come to fruition.

Since launching on this day last year (7 November 2001), BBCi has developed into one of the biggest online destinations in the UK and beyond. Latest figures show that BBCi had 6.4m unique online users in September, 34.8% of the UK audience. But how and why did the BBC, not known for its structural simplicity, create such a powerful singular brand?

Highfield explains that before he...