Charity shops to get new look from Provokateur

Ethical branding consultancy Provokateur is developing an identity for Octavia Housing and Care’s new charity shop brand. Octavia bought all 19 Notting Hill Housing Trust stores last October.

Provokateur has been briefed to ‘clarify’ the branding for the west London housing association’s community outreach arm, Octavia Foundation, as well as its umbrella brand, Octavia Housing and Care.

Octavia appointed Provokateur in November last year, following a non-competitive credentials pitch.

‘The challenge is to clarify the Octavia brand generally, and to develop brand ideas to enable it to launch the shops. This project must take into consideration a broad range of target audiences,’ says Joshua Blackburn, director of strategy and founder of Provokateur.

Notting Hill Housing Trust claims it sold the shops ‘to concentrate on our core business…the board did not consider that we were best placed to oversee the development and long-term future of the shops.’

The shops’ interior design has not yet been commissioned but ‘is currently being discussed’, says Octavia. The new branding will launch in March.