Brand new chance

According to The Howard League, a charity working across the UK for penal reform and safer communities, this week there are over 85,000 individuals incarcerated nationally.

Of this 85,000, around 19% are serving a life sentence; many may never be eligible for release. It therefore stands that around 69,000 of those currently serving a prison sentence are certain to once again enter society, returning to the everyday struggles of housing, employment, and the various complications that can emerge as a result.

One company set up to tackle the associated issues this drastic change in circumstances brings is Brewbird Coffee. A social enterprise set up as part of the St Giles Trust, the charity works with ex-offenders to help break the cycle of offending and equips individuals for life after prison.

With such a unique take on challenging the preconceptions associated with ex-offenders, Brewbird needed a brand strategy to reflect its position and credentials. The charity thus approached London-based brand agency, Spencer du Bois, which specialises particularly in the education, health and charitable sectors, to tackle the two main implications of this charitable brand strategy.

Firstly, establishing the profile of Brewbird as a social enterprise while challenging the stigma associated to its potential employees was paramount. Secondly, and most pivotally in terms of Brewbird’s position as a coffee vendor in a city overcrowded with the same product, the brand needed to assume a consumer-facing identity.

These key issues are addressed while retaining the reasons behind its inception, a background which informs a large part of the Brewbird visual identity.

A black, white and orange colour palette, implemented by Spencer du Bois, is an obvious nod to the Brewbird origins. Slogans such as ‘Coffee house rock’, on billboards and in the brand implementation, create an environment where employees can use past experiences to inform future choices – while providing context for the social enterprise itself.

Brewbird Coffee go beyond image, however.

The social enterprise equips its employees with barista and baking skills, as well as training in customer service relations and management. Its mobile and static services offering a variety of packages convenient to location, and it endeavours to intervene as quickly as possible after a prisoner has been released.

Claire Biscard, creative director at Spencer du Bois, says, "I love the determination and vision behind the whole concept of Brewbird and their powerful belief in giving ex-offenders a second chance. The branding and cheeky attitude of the Brewbird character captures this spirit and energy. It's helping to tell their story, change minds, challenge stigma and sell coffee with a conscience."

With 60% of those leaving prison reoffending within five years of release, current reform strategies clearly lack in strategy enough to prevent the cycle from recurring. The Brewbird concept goes at least some way towards remedying this.