RSPB rebrands itself to help nature
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The RSPB has responded to the news that 60 per cent of British species have declined by rebranding itself and launching a new campaign to provide homes for wildlife.
The rebrand, announced privately to the organisation's volunteers only two months ago, involves a slightly redrawn logo and a new slogan: 'Giving Nature A Home'. The RSPB estimates the cost of refreshing their graphic appearance in the low hundreds of thousands of pounds, but intends to introduce the changes in a cost effective way, easing the new in as the old runs out rather than recalling all their stationery and reserve livery in one go.
The charity hasn't changed its logo for nearly a quarter of a century, though slogans have come and gone recently. The latest replaces 'step up for nature', 'nature's voice', 'a million voices for nature' and 'for birds, for people, forever' in turn, and is intended to make members and public feel like they can do something close to home and feel a part of conservation, rather than apart from it. It is the result of substantial market research performed on a random selection of thousands of staff, members and public. In fact, the biggest appetite for change was reported to be among staff.
Despite initial fears to the contrary, changing the organisation's name was deemed too great a risk. However, the fact that this was considered at all is an indication of the RSPB's internal perception that it might be 'trapped in the bird cage' when wider conservation and ecological issues are at stake. The organisation has long sought to impress upon the public that all nature is connected and that what is good for birds is good for all nature.
The rebrand is their latest attempt to bring that point home, and will involve continuing to work with other national and international conservation charities and governments, in particular revealing some of the inner workings of their campaigns and projects with different partners, and also demonstrating the workings and effects of their business links (for example, projects on Crossrail and Wallasey on The Wirral, Cheshire).
A major TV advertising campaign beginning on 5 July will also be launched, at a cost of somewhere between £2-3 million, and involving TV homes expert, Linda Barker as a front person, at a reduced 'charity rate'. The organisation believes that the cost is an investment, according to spokesperson Andre Farrar, that will reap greater benefits by drawing in new members and expressing their message with clarity to a great swathe of the British public, estimated at a reach of some 40 million people. Market research apparently bears out the charity's belief that many non-members are sympathetic to the conservation cause but think that the RSPB is not for them. The RSPB's membership has remained static at around the one million mark since 1997.
They say: "We need to change people's perceptions of who we are and what we do, so we can get even more support for Saving Nature. Our new logo and strap line are just a small part of how we will do this – so more people who love nature will know that RSPB is the organisation that is giving nature a home." The RSPB aims to tackle what it calls 'nature's housing crisis' with plans to build one million 'homes' in Britain for many sorts of familiar animals. It says this is its biggest ever campaign.
The launch of the campaign comes a month after 25 wildlife organisations, including the RSPB, released the groundbreaking State of Nature report revealing 60 per cent of the wildlife species studied have declined over recent decades.
Getting individuals to act for nature in their own gardens is the first part of a package of actions that the RSPB is launching in response to the State of Nature. Over the course of the next few months, the charity will be outlining what businesses, communities and politicians can do, as well as detailing the RSPB's own plans for saving nature.
Mike Clarke, RSPB Chief Executive, says: “Nature in the UK is in trouble and some of our more familiar garden species are amongst those suffering serious declines. Gardens provide a valuable lifeline for species like starlings, toads, hedgehogs and butterflies, which are struggling to find homes in the wider countryside. Although the overall problem is huge, the solution can start on a small scale, right on our doorsteps. It doesn’t matter what sort of garden you have, what size it is, or even if you have no garden at all, we need everyone to help by turning their outside space into a wildlife haven. The more people that get involved in our Giving Nature a Home campaign the better. Our aim is to provide one million homes for nature across the UK, because if there’s no home for nature, then there’s no nature – it really is that serious.”
TV homes expert, Linda Barker, is one of the famous faces supporting the campaign. She said: “I’m getting behind the RSPB’s campaign because, to me, having wildlife in your garden is the perfect finishing touch to any home. Planting wild flowers, digging a pond or creating a log pile for bugs is not just a good way of getting creative and making your garden more attractive, but it will also benefit threatened garden wildlife at the same time. Individual actions will make a difference and start to help tackle the lack of habitats for some of our wild creatures. In my garden I’ve put up a nest box for birds and planted nectar-rich flowers to attract bees. If everyone can do just one thing and gave nature a home in their outside space it would be amazing - together we can make a big difference.”
To help spread the word, the RSPB has joined up with UK property website Rightmove to help promote the campaign to homeowners, renters and those looking to get onto the property ladder. Matt James from Rightmove said: “Though we’re more used to helping people find a home than helping them build one, when the RSPB told us about the parlous position of some of the UK’s favourite species we felt compelled to throw our support behind the campaign. More than a million people visit Rightmove every single day looking for a new place to call home and we’ll be doing our bit to spread the word about just how easy it can be to make a difference.”
The Giving Nature a Home website will give everyone access to expert advice about helping nature in any outside space – whether it’s a huge garden or a small planting tub on balcony. By visiting this website people can get their free Giving Nature a Home starter guide, help populate a map by telling the charity when and where they’ve given nature a home, and share pictures, tips and ideas with others. You can also find out more about what the RSPB is doing to give nature a home in the wider countryside.
The rebrand, announced privately to the organisation's volunteers only two months ago, involves a slightly redrawn logo and a new slogan: 'Giving Nature A Home'. The RSPB estimates the cost of refreshing their graphic appearance in the low hundreds of thousands of pounds, but intends to introduce the changes in a cost effective way, easing the new in as the old runs out rather than recalling all their stationery and reserve livery in one go.
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| The old (top) and new (bottom) RSPB logos and slogans: part of what seems like an expensive refreshing of the organisation's brand and public perception. |
The charity hasn't changed its logo for nearly a quarter of a century, though slogans have come and gone recently. The latest replaces 'step up for nature', 'nature's voice', 'a million voices for nature' and 'for birds, for people, forever' in turn, and is intended to make members and public feel like they can do something close to home and feel a part of conservation, rather than apart from it. It is the result of substantial market research performed on a random selection of thousands of staff, members and public. In fact, the biggest appetite for change was reported to be among staff.
Despite initial fears to the contrary, changing the organisation's name was deemed too great a risk. However, the fact that this was considered at all is an indication of the RSPB's internal perception that it might be 'trapped in the bird cage' when wider conservation and ecological issues are at stake. The organisation has long sought to impress upon the public that all nature is connected and that what is good for birds is good for all nature.
The rebrand is their latest attempt to bring that point home, and will involve continuing to work with other national and international conservation charities and governments, in particular revealing some of the inner workings of their campaigns and projects with different partners, and also demonstrating the workings and effects of their business links (for example, projects on Crossrail and Wallasey on The Wirral, Cheshire).
A major TV advertising campaign beginning on 5 July will also be launched, at a cost of somewhere between £2-3 million, and involving TV homes expert, Linda Barker as a front person, at a reduced 'charity rate'. The organisation believes that the cost is an investment, according to spokesperson Andre Farrar, that will reap greater benefits by drawing in new members and expressing their message with clarity to a great swathe of the British public, estimated at a reach of some 40 million people. Market research apparently bears out the charity's belief that many non-members are sympathetic to the conservation cause but think that the RSPB is not for them. The RSPB's membership has remained static at around the one million mark since 1997.
They say: "We need to change people's perceptions of who we are and what we do, so we can get even more support for Saving Nature. Our new logo and strap line are just a small part of how we will do this – so more people who love nature will know that RSPB is the organisation that is giving nature a home." The RSPB aims to tackle what it calls 'nature's housing crisis' with plans to build one million 'homes' in Britain for many sorts of familiar animals. It says this is its biggest ever campaign.
The launch of the campaign comes a month after 25 wildlife organisations, including the RSPB, released the groundbreaking State of Nature report revealing 60 per cent of the wildlife species studied have declined over recent decades.
Getting individuals to act for nature in their own gardens is the first part of a package of actions that the RSPB is launching in response to the State of Nature. Over the course of the next few months, the charity will be outlining what businesses, communities and politicians can do, as well as detailing the RSPB's own plans for saving nature.
Mike Clarke, RSPB Chief Executive, says: “Nature in the UK is in trouble and some of our more familiar garden species are amongst those suffering serious declines. Gardens provide a valuable lifeline for species like starlings, toads, hedgehogs and butterflies, which are struggling to find homes in the wider countryside. Although the overall problem is huge, the solution can start on a small scale, right on our doorsteps. It doesn’t matter what sort of garden you have, what size it is, or even if you have no garden at all, we need everyone to help by turning their outside space into a wildlife haven. The more people that get involved in our Giving Nature a Home campaign the better. Our aim is to provide one million homes for nature across the UK, because if there’s no home for nature, then there’s no nature – it really is that serious.”
TV homes expert, Linda Barker, is one of the famous faces supporting the campaign. She said: “I’m getting behind the RSPB’s campaign because, to me, having wildlife in your garden is the perfect finishing touch to any home. Planting wild flowers, digging a pond or creating a log pile for bugs is not just a good way of getting creative and making your garden more attractive, but it will also benefit threatened garden wildlife at the same time. Individual actions will make a difference and start to help tackle the lack of habitats for some of our wild creatures. In my garden I’ve put up a nest box for birds and planted nectar-rich flowers to attract bees. If everyone can do just one thing and gave nature a home in their outside space it would be amazing - together we can make a big difference.”
To help spread the word, the RSPB has joined up with UK property website Rightmove to help promote the campaign to homeowners, renters and those looking to get onto the property ladder. Matt James from Rightmove said: “Though we’re more used to helping people find a home than helping them build one, when the RSPB told us about the parlous position of some of the UK’s favourite species we felt compelled to throw our support behind the campaign. More than a million people visit Rightmove every single day looking for a new place to call home and we’ll be doing our bit to spread the word about just how easy it can be to make a difference.”
The Giving Nature a Home website will give everyone access to expert advice about helping nature in any outside space – whether it’s a huge garden or a small planting tub on balcony. By visiting this website people can get their free Giving Nature a Home starter guide, help populate a map by telling the charity when and where they’ve given nature a home, and share pictures, tips and ideas with others. You can also find out more about what the RSPB is doing to give nature a home in the wider countryside.
