Dog day-care unveils new identity to drive brand expansion

UK branding agency ODA has rebranded Bruce’s Doggy Day Care to Bruce’s with a new proposition and emotive and distinctive brand identity designed to appeal to modern pet parents. The decision to rebrand comes after having received an investment for an expansion plan, with will see the brand go from a single site to the UK’s leading national dog day-care brand.

The new brand needed to confidently distinguish Bruce’s as a breed apart from local centres and dog walkers and establish it as the category-defining brand experience. The new brand proposition, ‘unleashing happiness and enriching dogs’ lives,’ takes Bruce’s beyond the idea of day-care as solely function and into the more emotive world, giving pet parents more reasons to send their dogs to the centre.

We wanted to make the brand synonymous with a different kind of day care experience, run by experts and dedicated to enrichment and socialisation which ultimately ensures dogs are fulfilled and happy.” says Sarah Westwood creative strategist at ODA.

ODA stripped the name back to just the word Bruce’s retaining the personal connection with customers but making the brand more confident and definitive. The logo is formed from the shape of the Bruce’s B and carries its distinctive markings, embodying the distinctive happy expression of a ‘Bruce’s dog’.

“We created a family of dogs of different sizes and poses based on the iconic Bruce’s logotype to bring to life the happy social groups at Bruce’s and communicate the core themes of enrichment and socialisation,” says ODA creative director Grant Willis.

The simple bold typography, always left aligned to match the logo, is distinctive and friendly. ODA also introduced a new warm, positive and uplifting, primary palette that moved away from a clinical use of blue and white and into the more emotive natural world of clear skies and green fields.

“We defined a more playful and fun personality and balanced it with real expertise. Dogs are fun and copy needed to reflect that. We introduced simple dog-directed language to make calls to action more light-hearted,” says Westwood, Creative Strategist.