The Provident Fund Office going in for a change of image, will also hire a brand ambassador

To rebuild its image that was lost because of some controversial decisions, authorities at retirement fund body Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has decided to give it a brand makeover.

The first thing that EPFO would get would be a tagline, so that it can brand itself. This would be followed by a brand ambassador, so that people can connect to it.

A senior labour ministry official told ET that the idea behind these changes is to ensure that EPFO becomes a household name, and can come of use to everyone. "Many of our subscribers who are poor workers are not aware of the benefits like the pension, provident fund and even the deposit-linked insurance scheme under EPFO besides several new initiatives undertaken in the last two years. Hence we aim to reach out to the last mile subscriber," the official said.

In the next step of this brand makeover, EPFO will also get all its 120 offices renovated, in a bid to make them all look similar to the State Bank of India buildings, with logo and signages installed on their facades.

Some brand experts believe that these initiatives are being taken to handle the negativity that some controversial decisions in the past have brought to the body’s image. These decisions included tax on withdrawal of PF money and restriction on the withdrawal of the employers' contributions.

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