In 2014, I joined Sunshine Friends, Inc., a pet therapy organization based in Upstate New York. As a volunteer, I brought my chocolate lab, Blue, to hospitals, nursing homes, and schools to offer comfort and companionship to those in need.
A year later, when I applied for a position on the Board of Directors, I was decisive about how I could make a difference.
“I want to help with marketing and communications.”
“We could use a new brand,” the former Board of Directors President said. Would you be willing to take that on?”
I was thrilled, and my answer was yes.
The Brand Challenge
Sunshine Friends, Inc. was founded by a small group of women passionate about pet therapy. The organization was growing and needed some sophistication in marketing, communication, and operations. The organization name, Sunshine Friends, implied an organization that brings happiness and comfort but critically didn’t communicate that the organization was inherently a pet therapy organization. This put the organization at a disadvantage from a brand recognition perspective compared to the other, nationally-based Pet Partners pet therapy organization. We weren’t competing for the best volunteers because most qualified pet owners in the area didn’t know who we were or what we did, which hurt our growth and expansion capabilities.
The first thing we needed was a new name. Something that was:
- Easy to remember
- Implied pet therapy programming
- Not trademarked
- Reinforced that we were locally based and committed to the Central New York State region
I gave my fellow Board members many new name options to consider, but the ideal new name, and the one I would advocate for, came to me quickly: PAWS of CNY. PAWS was an acronym that stood for Pet-Assisted Wellness Services, a term that encompassed the variety of pet therapy services we performed and allowed us to create a dog and cat-friendly brand.
We chose a fun and warm brand font (adorably named Pluto), to be used within the logo, on branded communications, and the new website that was also on my to-do list.
Next, we needed a new logo. Something that was bold, recognizable, and could create an identity with which our volunteers, customers, and partners would identify and love. I enlisted the volunteer help of the best designer I know (my husband), who helped us create our new brand identity.
In the end, we created a logo that was easily adapted for use in black and white, full color, on pet vests, t-shirts, and even trading cards. We maintained the bright yellow color of the former Sunshine Friends, Inc. entity and named our new mascot Sunny as an homage to the brand’s history.
The new brand identity was the first step in re-establishing the new PAWS of CNY as a leading pet therapy and volunteer organization in upstate New York. After serving one year as the Board of Directors’ Vice President, I was elected President. Over the next seven years, the organization thrived. The new brand empowered me to:
- Expand community partnerships, grow our county presence by 80% in three years, and expand into new service categories
- Implement special events offering, growing from two annually to 100+ by 2018
- Develop an earned media platform that regularly saw our organization on regional and even national television
- Become the chosen and exclusive pet therapy partner for the Syracuse Hancock Regional Airport
