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St. John Ambulance Canada Brand Refresh

Refreshing A Century-Old National Not-For-Profit Brand

After a national request for proposal process, McGill Buckley was chosen by St. John Ambulance Canada to help them define, develop and re-launch their brand across Canada.

In spite of the fact that St. John Ambulance had high brand name recognition, there was a low level of understanding about exactly what they did and what they meant to Canadians. In other words, they had an awareness issue. 
 

Developing the Brand Strategy and Platform

Over the course of three years, McGill Buckley worked closely with the Director of Communications at the National Office as well as regional offices to develop a brand platform, brand messaging, brand architecture and brand guidelines that were applied to a wide range of traditional and web-based collateral materials

Brand Architecture and Deliverables

There were dozens of projects that we would work with St. John Ambulance on but first we needed to get their brand platform organized through a cohesive strategy and brand visual standards. The visual standards included a new brand architecture that assigned specific colour palettes to the core areas of the organization; First Aid Training, First Aid Products and Community Services. The goal was to build recognition and understanding of the organization. We also produced:

  • A new look and feel to all first aid training materials. St. John Ambulance was training one million Canadians each year. 
  • A revamp of the packaging for their first aid products and their first national catalogue and online store.
  • Revamped messaging collateral materials for their three core service areas
  • National PSAs for distribution to media across Canada
  • A logo and materials to celebrate their 125th anniversary

Every branding project for a non-profit has its unique nuances and challenges. Refreshing the brand of a century-old not-for-profit brand was filled to the brim with nuances, challenges and a host of special considerations. We loved every minute of working with St. John Ambulance. 

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