Project Overview
The Australian Red Cross Blood Service was well-known – and treasured – as the guardian of Australia’s blood supply. But not everyone was aware of its broader role – in milk donation, tissue typing, faecal microbiota transplants and organ matching. To support them in saving more lives in new ways, and bring the organisation together under one banner, we rebranded them Australian Red Cross Lifeblood. Our recommended name drew inspiration from ARCBS’s heritage, with a clear nod to its future. Lifeblood (noun) is a vital or life-giving force or component. It also has a dual meaning – donors are the organisation’s lifeblood, and Lifeblood (the brand) is Australia’s lifeblood. A bold name expressing the essential role they play in supporting our health system, beyond blood. A brand with an idea that would mobilise donors – while at the same time engaging the hearts and minds of healthcare experts, Lifeblood’s people and the broader community.
To bring the new name to life, we created a visual identity inspired by Lifeblood’s role as the heartbeat of the nation. We asked ourselves – how can we highlight donors’ critical commitment to saving lives every day? Lifeblood’s brand also had to shift away from the perception that they deal in a low value commodity, to a team of experts delivering safe, high quality products and innovative services. A brand that, through the power of humanity, is building a healthier nation.
Project Commissioner
Australian Red Cross Lifeblood
Project Creator
Team
• Pip Ireland, Creative Director
• Martin Hopkins, Creative Director
• Simon Wright, Executive Creative Director
• Sam Baines, Senior Designer
• Agus Wijaya, Senior Designer
• Min Shim, Designer
• David Cunningham, Head of Production
• Dean Varndell, Head of Motion Graphics
• Jhon Riaño, Motion Graphics Designer
• James Schloeffel, Associate Director XXVI, Brand Voice
• Tim Riches, Group Strategy Director
• Charlie Rose, Associate Strategy Director
• Marine Piersotte, Strategy Consultant
• Mat Hyde, Business Director
• Giovanna Gonzalez, Account Manager
Project Brief
Australian Red Cross Blood Service came to us with a logo and brand architecture problem. With a new ‘beyond blood’ strategy, they were expanding their bio-medical services and people were finding the fact that the blood experts were now collecting human breast milk (amongst other things) confusing … and a little off-putting. Which led us to our challenge. How could we make people understand these new services in a way that built on what they already knew and loved about the Blood Service?
But after in-depth consultation and on-the-ground research with key internal and external stakeholders we identified some other big opportunities. We found a big need to reduce brand fragmentation and inconsistency, as well as clarify the confusing relationship between blood and plasma donations. It was also clear that the previous visual identity was very one-dimensional, overly-functional and shouty. It couldn’t tell an emotional story to donors or communicate with health industry stakeholders. And wasn’t able to drive a movement mentality and motivate the next generation of donors to give blood and other biological matter.
Project Innovation/Need
Lifeblood is unique in the Australian charity and not-for-profit market – it asks people to donate blood and time, not money. It’s a much bigger ask. We needed to get people off their couch and into donor seats. Even regular donors hadn’t had any new news in years, so our challenge was to provoke action. More than a new look, Lifeblood needed to place potential donors at the heart of the new brand.
Our visual identity system had practical tools the internal design team could use from day one. We designed a set of flexible illustrations that the Lifeblood design team quickly activated online and on social media. It helped them cut through crowded feeds and gave donors fun badges they could share on social networks.
Design Challenge
The inherent challenge of rebranding such a loved and iconic institution is knowing what parts of the brand need to be retained and how best to build on them. Our qualitative research groups gave us a clear direction for Lifeblood’s evolution. We found that:
• The colour red is a vital asset because it’s what people most strongly associate with the organisation
• Our brand needed to be unifying and diverse – people needed to see themselves reflected in the identity
• The Red Cross is what sets Lifeblood apart in a crowded charity landscape, while also a strong signal of its humanitarian purpose
• The identity should feel relatable, welcoming, friendly, warm and safe
To deliver on this brief we developed the brand idea, ‘heartbeat of the nation’. The idea inspired an expressive visual identity that works across many channels – big budget campaigns, donation drives, corporate documents and the in-centre experience. The final visual identity builds on the equity the brand has with the general public while enabling effective communication no matter the budget. The rebrand also expanded the colour palette, illustration suite and photography style giving the internal design team the flexibility needed to create assets for donors, government and sector stakeholders.
Effectiveness
Since launching the new brand in November, there has been an immediate response from donors and the general public with strong gains in important brand health metrics for Lifeblood – including:
• 12% increase in trust among donors and the general public
• 6% increase in the perception of Lifeblood as a modern charity that is moving with the times
• 15% increase in the belief that Lifeblood educates the public on broader health issues
• 10% uplift around Lifeblood’s innovative contributions to Australians’ health.
Importantly, Lifeblood is considered a more intuitive fit for their ‘more than blood’ story. Now, the organisation can confidently activate their ‘beyond blood’ strategy and pursue lifesaving services in new and different ways.
Graphic Design - Identity and Branding - Health
This award celebrates creative and innovative design in the traditional or digital visual representation of ideas and messages. Consideration given to clarity of communication and the matching information style to audience.
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