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The RSPCA has rolled out a major rebrand for the first time in 50 years, which the 200-year-old animal welfare charity hopes will reflect its drive to become a “modern, forward-facing organisation”.
The charity’s reimagined logo will be accompanied by a brand marketing campaign that will run across TV, cinema and social media channels.
The RSPCA said the rebrand aimed to attract more supporters, particularly the younger generation, and “inspire as many people as possible to get involved with animal welfare”.
The charity’s new logo was designed by the branding agency Jones Knowles Ritchie and features a more vibrant blue than its previous iteration.
The charity said the logo “reimagines the eight-sided ‘lozenge’ shape, which has been used since the 1970s, as a blockier ‘octopunct’, in which different animated animals sit to reflect the breadth of the RSPCA’s work helping all animals”.
The refreshed branding is accompanied by a marketing campaign underpinned by the strapline “For every kind”, which will include a range of adverts rolled out across TV and cinema screens as well as digital and social media.
Chris Sherwood, chief executive of the RSPCA, said this was “for every kind of animal, but also for every kind of person, because we want everyone to feel welcome at the RSPCA”.
Created by the advertising agency AMV BBDO, the advert features the voices of some of the RSPCA’s celebrity ambassadors, including the actor Brian Blessed, wildlife presenter and conservationist Chris Packham, dancer and TV judge Shirley Ballas, JLS singer and TV presenter JB Gill and TV personality Pete Wicks.
The charity hopes the campaign will inspire one million acts of kindness for animals over the coming year, encouraging supporters to carry out activities such as a litter pick, an RSPCA campaign action or to fundraise or support their local RSPCA branch.
Speaking to Third Sector, Sherwood said that the charity’s old branding was holding it back from becoming the “modern, forward-facing RSPCA we want to be”.
He said: “We need people to reappraise us and rethink our place in the world if we are going to face up to the huge challenges facing animals.
“Our bolder, brighter, welcoming brand aims to inspire everyone, whoever they are, to get involved so that together we can help animals now and for many years to come.”
When asked how the previous brand was holding the charity back, Sherwood told Third Sector: “We have great awareness – 93 per cent – but, while many people know who we are, the strength in the brand weakens when it comes to how much they like us and drops even more when considering donating.”
He said the new brand aims to reconnect with its core audiences but also reach more people “from all walks of life, particularly the younger generation”.
Sherwood said the rebrand was developed in collaboration with key stakeholders from across the animal welfare sector and representatives from the RSPCA’s local branches and services.
The charity carried out face-to-face interviews, surveys and workshops with representatives from across the organisation, he said. “It was key we have a brand that works for the whole RSPCA family.”
Sherwood said that the strategic and creative direction was then tested and developed through feedback from “thousands of individuals both within and outside the organisation”.
When asked how much the charity spent on the rebrand, he said that it had made the decision not to release the figure because it “does not take into account the long period of underspend on our brand and marketing”, adding that the RSPCA had not changed its branding since the 1970s.
Sherwood added: “Some of the profits from the sale of our headquarters in Southwater have allowed us to fund this rebrand and it costs less than 1 per cent of our annual animal welfare operations.
“This investment is an investment in animal welfare – it will help us significantly grow our income and spend more on animal welfare in the future. The scale of the challenges facing animals are so great, we cannot afford not to.”