A baby loss charity has formally changed its name and logo, as part of its plan to double its income from £7.5m to £15m over the next five years.
Sands said its new identity will help it reach a wider audience, after finding that some people were unclear about its work or worried that their experience of baby loss did not qualify them for support.
The charity, which was previously called the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society but has been using the name Sands publicly for years, said it was legally changing its name to reflect this.
It will keep its existing strapline: “Saving babies’ lives. Supporting bereaved families.”
The charity said this performed better than any alternative strapline tested during the rebrand process, both with warm and cold audiences.
Sands’ new logo, which includes an orange abstract shape, was “carefully designed to connect with and enable everyone to see their own personal connection to Sands through their interpretation of the symbol”, the charity said.
During testing, some people saw the shape of an infant within the symbol, while some others said it represented a “warm, inclusive embrace at a moment when most needed”, the charity said.
Other people said they believed the symbol was a speech bubble, “representing the voice of our community of changemakers who enable Sands to speak up about baby loss”, the charity said.
Sands has also updated its brand guidelines, which includes elements such as font, icon styles, colour palettes, animation and photography styles.
“Also included in this work is the first Sands style guide, message matrix and tone of voice guidance documents, so we can be consistent in how we write and talk about Sands, as well as how we can visually present Sands,” said Daniel Brett-Schneider, Sands’ director of income and engagement.
During the rebrand, the charity carried out an extensive consultation exercise, guided by the branding consultancy The Team, which Sands said helped them to make sure the brand worked in both digital and physical spaces.
The charity said it received more than 10,000 pieces of feedback from thousands of people, through workshops, surveys and steering groups over an 18-month period.
“Sands made sure to hear from both the community who knew the charity well and those people who were less familiar with Sands – to make sure their needs, thoughts and feelings were understood, so in the future Sands could reach those people too,” the charity said.
The charity said it was taking a sustainable approach to the rollout of the new brand, with changes beginning on its digital platforms, before updating its physical content when it needs to be restocked or updated.
Sands spent nearly £40,000 on the rebrand in total, with Brett-Schneider saying: “We believe that this investment in our brand will see a positive return in terms of supporting us to reach more people, build supporter engagement and recognition of our work to both save babies’ lives and support anyone who needs us.
“We don’t want anyone who has experienced pregnancy or baby loss to hesitate or worry about whether Sands is for them. And we want more people to better understand our purpose and what we do, both providing support and our work to save babies’ lives.”
Clea Harmer, chief executive of Sands, said: “Change can be hard, but we know we need to evolve our brand if we are to continue to grow and reach more people.
“I am personally pleased to see the heritage and essence of what makes Sands special shine through in the strengthened brand and am inspired by the opportunities it provides to connect with everyone who needs us.”