Managing change proactively for a

comprehensive organisational re-brand

The Challenge

Founded in 1953 the Sue Ryder Foundation was one of the pioneering NGOs of the post-war era.  Sue Ryder inspired a network of supporters and the organisation has grown to become a major UK and international charity with turnover of £50million, 2000 staff and operations throughout the world.

During the 1990s Lady Ryder had stepped back from her leadership role and the charity began to lose its vision and identity.  The few people who had heard of the organisation described it as “drab and unfocused”, or “left behind in the ‘50s”. Perhaps more worrying was the fact that vital fundraising revenues were beginning to decline.

But this sad slide masked a very different reality.  Sue Ryder is the UK’s third largest operator of hospices and the market leader in specialist care for high needs neurological conditions like MS and MND.  Working alongside NHS and other voluntary sector service providers the charity delivers vital solutions to real healthcare needs.

So, the challenge faced by Trustees and management was how to reposition the organisation with a modernised image that would help reverse its declining fortunes.

The Solution

Knowing that effective marketing is based on solid research, Steve Thomas of Purple Vision set about the task of identifying what it was that made Sue Ryder special.  He knew that charities come up with new logos all the time but only those that build brands based on truth endure.

Extensive interviews and focus groups were used to explore attitudes among a wide sample of stakeholders, from shop customers to patients, and nurses to donors. 

The outcome was a set of core values which, when expressed as human traits, suddenly defined the spirit of the organisation: caring, professional, supportive, positive, approachable and informative.

“The fact was that Sue Ryder’s underlying vision to care for those in greatest need was alive and well, it had just been lost in the tarnish of an out-dated image.”

Achieving consensus on core values was an essential first step for the work that was to follow.  By now a growing number of stakeholders had been exposed not to a remote or unwelcome makeover, but to a process that was about celebrating their work and their achievements.

The Re-branding Process

The next phase involved re-naming the organisation and designing the new identity.  Quantitative research demonstrated that there was a good deal of trust associated with the Sue Ryder name, but that perhaps ‘Foundation’ was somewhat cold and misleading. 

By contrast switching to use the word ‘care’ not only described what the organisation did but also how it behaved.  With the core values as a benchmark the team embarked on an exhaustive process of auditing, reviewing and redesigning every touchpoint of the brand.

“We were interested in the impact of every experience of the brand, every opportunity to express our values, from a web site to a shop window, a nurse’s uniform to the way the phone was answered – branding is about so much more than a new logo.”

For the re-brand to be really effective a painstaking de-brand had to be first undertaken, with all parts of the organisation taking part to ensure that everything was ready for the launch day.  Celebrating this process was key to the whole launch plan because, like any major organisational change, nothing works without effective internal communication.

Marketing

Communications

In conjunction with the launch an advertising campaign was developed that celebrated Sue Ryder Care through the people who were its beneficiaries.  This carefully developed campaign highlighted the conditions of a number of patients and residents with gentle humour to remove any sense of pity or stigma and celebrated their lives, thanks to the support of Sue Ryder Care.

• Research of brand positioning & awareness
• Audit of organisational communication methods and media
• Involvement of stakeholders at all levels
• Planning & implementation of launch strategy
• Integration of partners: Research, PR, Advertising, DM, Design, Web
• Creation of new brand, identity system and communication tools
• Re-modelling a large retail network with over 400 stores
• Project management of de-brand and re-brand logistical process
• Public and media relations in challenging conditions

“I regarded Steve as a most capable professional who gave of his best at all times.  He relates well to people and is able to motivate staff and get the best out of them.  He worked very closely with Trustees who regarded him as someone who could be relied upon to deliver results within tight deadlines.  Steve is politically aware and able to negotiate successfully in order to seek solutions to complex problems. He works as a team member and is well able to contribute to the wider corporate management agenda.”

John Oldham

Chairman, Sue Ryder Care