Battersea Dogs and Cats Home has rebranded as ‘Battersea’, created a new logo and introduced a new tagline to better reflect its work.
Working with London-based design firm Pentagram, the charity has dropped ‘Dogs and Cats Home’ from its name; introduced “watercolour illustrated characters” for its logo and launched a new tagline: “Here for every cat and dog”.
The work with Pentagram cost Battersea £75,000, according to a spokeswoman. She said the rebrand was undertaken with "input from our staff, volunteers and supporters".
The spokeswoman said: "On 5 April Battersea launched an ambitious awareness campaign that we hope will introduce more people to the many benefits of rehoming a Battersea dog or cat. With this new campaign we’re also introducing a new look and feel for our charity which we’ve developed with input from our staff, volunteers, and supporters.
"Battersea last updated its brand in 2005 when we incorporated 'cats' into our name and logo. We felt it was time to review how we connect with our audiences and bring people's understanding of Battersea up to date.
"From our own research we know that whilst many people have heard of our charity, they often have an out of date perception of us, and what we do. Like most animal rescue charities, we’re aware that the way people are finding and buying pets is changing and as increasingly people choose to go online to find their next pet we need to stand out and communicate effectively in a digital world.
"We remain fully committed to our vision and mission to improve the lives of unwanted dogs and cats and in order to achieve this we have to ensure that Battersea is easily recognisable and relevant to the widest possible audience."
Rebrand to 'strike out against negative connotations'
According to Pentagram, the rebrand is intended to “visualise the charity’s commitment to unconditionally care for all the animals that come through its doors”.
In a statement on its website, the agency said: “Pentagram’s approach was to strike out against some of the negative connotations associated with the language and tactics of the charity sector, which often leans into a world of shock tactics, euphemistic language, well-worn tropes and overly-sentimental language.
“Instead, the new Battersea brand deploys honest and straightforward language, expressed by a tone of voice that speaks with joy, principles, expertise and endeavour.”
The agency said dropping the word ‘Home’ from the charity name was important as it could wrongly “infer a permanent dwelling for Battersea’s animals” and “could be understood to mean one location, despite Battersea operating across three sites” by members of the public.
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