British Red Cross
Affecting real change from the inside out
Everyone knows the Red Cross (it’s the second most recognised logo in the world). But much fewer people know what they actually do. This was a problem both externally and internally: the lack of understanding amongst the public of what the British Red Cross do meant that few people saw them as relevant, whilst the lack of clarity within the organisation on what they were all striving for left a collection of service offerings existing together with no powerful or consistent driving force.
The British Red Cross asked for a communications idea to drive relevance. But we didn’t want to give them what they asked for. Because we didn’t think the answer was just about comms. If we were to make real change, we needed to do it from the inside out. So we spent a year carrying out a rigorous process of research, interviews, focus groups and brand strategy development leading to a new brand promise that would unlock a new way of articulating what the British Red Cross do: ’The movement that connects human kindness with human crisis’. This led to a powerful new brand platform and end line for the organisation: The Power of Kindness.
This was never about creating one campaign, this was about creating an enduring idea that can serve the organisation for years to come and help to drive relevance in the long term. Internally, the new brand strategy has been embedded through a new set of brand guidelines and a number of workshops across the organisation. It’s influenced every part of the organisation, from the Chairman’s Trustee Newsletter, to internal employee values and behaviours, to the office Cake Sale. We introduced it to the wider world with a brand launch campaign, engaging staff, volunteers, celebrities, MPs, corporate partners and the general public with the #PowerOfKindness. What becomes really exciting is how this will continue to come to life.