Landor rebrands Zoological Society of London

Landor was appointed on the strength of its reputation for innovation and design excellence, as well as its previous work with similar organisations such as the New York based Wildlife Conservation Society.

ZSL is a charity devoted to conservation and education. Its mission is to achieve and promote the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It achieves this by presenting outstanding living collections, breeding threatened species, increasing public awareness through information and education, conducting relevant research and undertaking action in the field.

The rebranding comes hot on the heels of a major management and operational restructure at ZSL. It is committed to transforming itself to attract the reputation it deserves not only through London Zoo and Whipsnade as leisure attractions, but equally importantly, as a leading force in conservation through its activities via the Institute of Zoology and Conservation Programmes - leading to increased funding and sponsorship.

Landor's first challenge was to analyse the key components of the ZSL brand - its values, mission, vision, image/positioning, visual language and communications - against those of other organisations vying for public attention and funding such as tourist attractions, museums and charities. This was followed by recommendations for a brand strategy that reflects ZSL as relevant to its breadth of audiences and different from the competition; the development of a clear architecture to define the best brand relationship between ZSL and its divisions and properties to increase ZSL's visibility; and defining and prioritising messages for key audiences.

The final stage of work was to develop the identity, visual language and look and feel for ZSL, expressed through the brand signature, colour, typography, imagery, tone of voice and marketing materials.

Landor worked in partnership with ZSL to devise a Brand Driver' - the unique, central concept that would power and unite all aspects of the new visual identity and serve as a building block for the entire branding programme. 'Engaging hearts and heads' was the chosen concept. This reflects a major shift from existing perceptions of ZSL as a scholarly institution to an organisation that is world-class, authoritative, hands-on and galvanising. The new positioning aims to correct misperceptions by clearly communicating ZSL's unique abilities. Through its range of activities it can engage its varied audiences on both an emotional and rational level.

The new identity conveys conservation and biodiversity, and the link to ZSL's work with animal conservation is evident through the use of animal patterns and textures in each of the letters. The brand line 'Living conservation' has been created to further reinforce ZSL's presence in the field of conservation. Both the London Zoo and Whipsnade Wild Animal Park will retain their own identities, however there will be a strong visible endorsement by ZSL at both attractions.

The identity will be implemented across all points of touch over the coming months.

Dr Michael Dixon, Director General, ZSL, says: "After 175 years of existence the Zoological Society of London faces many challenges old and new, but I am heartened by the enormous goodwill towards the organisation and a determination by our people to work on advancing our mission. We are delighted that Landor committed itself to helping us. This augurs well for the brand revitalisation that will be needed to take ZSL into a successful third century of existence."

For further information, please contact:
Stephanie Brown
Landor Associates
Tel: 020 7880 8316

Debbie Curtis
Zoological Society of London
Tel: 020 7449 6363

About Landor
Recently voted as Design Agency of the Year, Landor Associates is the world's leading branding and design consultancy. Now in its 60th year, Landor pioneered many of the research, design and brand consulting methodologies that are now standard for the global branding industry. Landor takes a holistic approach to brand creation and management, using strategic insight, brand valuation, research, internal branding, design, naming, packaging, environmental and digital branding to help companies build their brands and communicate with internal and external audiences more effectively.

Landor is a global community of more than 20 offices and has an unrivalled client portfolio that includes such names as Walkers, Camelot, BP, bmi british midland, RWE, Ford, FedEx and France Telecom.

Landor is part of the Young & Rubicam Group, which has 340 offices in 73 countries around the world. Young & Rubicam is a member of the WPP Group, one of the world's largest marketing services groups.