Tote gets a Curious rebranding

The Tote is to return to its horse racing roots, with the rebranding of its seven bets by Curious. The first to relaunch is Trifecta, which went live on Saturday, replacing the Trio bet.

“The existing brand was negative and difficult to understand,” says Tote marketing director Peter Dow. Curious has returned the bet to “its horse racing heritage, and is positioning each bet within the parenting brand”, he adds.

“The perception of the Tote was as dull and dated,” says Curious deputy creative director Jon Jones. “They wanted to inject a bit of fun and excitement back in.”

The consultancy created the brand identity, copyline and launch communications programme. The betting products have been colour-coded and incorporate a graphic horse racing icon system.

Tote bets are distributed via 4500 terminals in betting shops. Its 347 high street outlets are currently being revamped by Calcott Anderson Design Associates, “to make them more lively”, Dow says. Calcott Anderson also created the new corporate identity.

The Government is looking at ways to incorporate more private sector involvement in the Tote.