Complete in-house rebrand for Barnardo’s

The UK’s largest children’s charity, Barnardo’s, is embarking on a five- to ten-year rebranding programme to reposition the organisation and make the public more informed about its work.

Barnardo’s in-house creative studio is responsible for the whole project, which is being developed in conjunction with advertising agency, Bartle Bogle Hegarty.

Barnardo’s head of communications Leon Choi says: “We are looking at a repositioning exercise throughout Barnardo’s, internally and externally, which will probably take five to ten years.”

Several appointments will be made to oversee and implement the extensive programme, including a studio manager to act as the brand guardian, a junior designer and a Mac operator.

“We are making an investment into the in-house studio which reflects our commitment to the long-term process of rebranding the organisation from within, before it can be truly repositioned in the outside world,” according to Choi.

Barnardo’s works with 43 000 children every year and has an annual turnover of £100m. But Choi claims that the majority of people don’t know the wide extent of the charity’s current work.

“We’re known for our past not what we do today. Over 90 per cent of people think we run orphanages, although our last one shut in the 1970s,” he says.

“Today, we are involved in the lives of children from pre-birth through to adulthood. Our work includes organising parenting groups and dealing with girls exploited through prostitution.”

Barnardo’s 320 retail outlets will be revamped. “Over time they will happen as natural refurbishments. The in-house head of retailing will be responsible for interior redesign and point-of-sale,” Choi explains.