New look for ZSL and “Let’s Work for Wildlife” positioning

The Chase has rebranded the suite of Zoological Society London (ZSL) brands which includes ZSL London Zoo and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo.

The new look
The new look

The Chase has rebranded the Zoological Society London’s family of brands, which includes charity arm ZSL, ZSL London Zoo and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo.

The consultancy started working on brand architecture in January 2014 before the project grew into a full rebrand.

The Chase senior designer Rebecca Low says: “ZSL is a diverse organisation, and as such our challenge was to create a united brand positioning that everyone could relate to and rally behind.

Old logos
Old logos

ZSL is the master brand, with ZSL London Zoo and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo sitting beneath these. Each of the three brands has been clarified, with the ZSL brand given more prominence and the new positioning “Let’s Work for Wildlife”.

This replaces the previous strapline “Living for Conservation” and Low says: “They do a lot of work through scientific research, global conservation programmes, campaigning and education, so the old positioning was quite limiting. The new direction stands for everything they do and represents everyone from zoo keepers to people doing important research in labs or working out in the community.”

ZSL_brand_book

Low says that it was important to show that ZSL is a highly active and engaged conservation charity and that the new branding would help the two zoos forge a better connection with the ZSL brand so the public can understand the value of the conservation work.

“Let’s work for wildlife’ not only rings true for all areas of ZSL, from science and education, to conservation and both zoos, but also invites the public to take up the challenge too,” says Low.

ZSLbrandguidelines

All of the brands have been made much cleaner and Low says, “The wildlife is the hero now. The updated, cleaner brand helps position ZSL as a progressive conservation charity and puts wildlife at the centre of its communications.”

According to Low, previous campaigns focused on unrealistic montages, “such as penguins in sunglasses, which seemed a bit wrong.” Instead the new brand “embraces natural beauty” says Low, who adds: “It will still be fun; there’s one campaign for example where we’ve got lemurs hanging off of all the letters.”

ZSL_campaigns

A new colour palette has been created and features 12 new colours such as tiger orange, otter brown and turtle green. Any imagery used will always be full bleed.

The branding is rolling out now across touchpoints including signage around the London Zoo and Whipsnade Zoo sites.

“Our hope is that, by being consistent with a single, powerful message and a united look and feel, we will build a stronger ZSL brand, increase visibility and engagement with all their audiences,” says Low.

The previous ZSL identity was created by Landor in 2002.

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