Wolff Olins helps charity revise 20-year-old image

The Samaritans is overhauling its brand identity next year, following a brand review by Wolff Olins, first proposals for which are due for completion in late January.

The news has emerged following the five-figure revamp of The Samaritans website by Wheel, which went live on Monday.

A Samaritans spokeswoman says the brand audit will be ‘fairly extensive’, including a strategic review and an overhaul of the brand identity itself. It is the first review of the charity’s brand in nearly 20 years.

The site, www.samaritans.org, will incorporate existing Samaritans branding for an interim period, but it is expected it will be revamped once Wolff Olins’ brand audit is complete, says Wheel client partner Gord Ray.

Wheel was appointed following a four-way unpaid creative pitch against Kabel, CCD net and Ogilvy Interactive in May.

The site has grown organically and has, as a result, developed an inconsistent look and feel, and confusing navigation, says Wheel client partner Gord Ray.

The site had to appeal to three core users: those seeking support and help; people wanting to offer their services; and organisations wanting information and statistics on suicide and depression.

Wheel created a highly ‘segmented’ home page so users could see at a glance which area of the site they wanted, Ray says. It has also introduced a ‘no logo’ facility to enable users accessing the site in public Internet cafés to use it confidentially without any Samaritans branding.