RSPCA Australia’s farm animal welfare certification program now has a new name, RSPCA Certified.
Seventeen years since the last brand refresh, the newly launched RSPCA Certified brand will replace the existing RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme. This is hoped to help consumers and stakeholders cut through the current slew of misleading marketing and labelling to identify products that meet the stringent animal welfare standards developed and implemented by the RSPCA.
The updated brand, which comes with a revamped strategy and visual identity, is said to reflect both the program’s rigorous assessment standards and its commitment to ongoing improvements to industry practices nationwide.
The rebrand
Strategic advisory firm Nature led the rebrand in partnership with creative agency the thrills.
Nature Head of Strategy Aliya Hasan says the collaboration between Nature and the thrills was built on a long-standing relationship, shaped by previous branding projects and a shared creative approach.
“We received the brief from RSPCA Australia and engaged the thrills to spearhead creative development, while Nature led the rebrand as a strategic step to make the RSPCA’s comprehensive and credible farming certification standards the core brand platform,” she says.
“We treated naming as a critical strategic lever. ‘Certified’ communicates verification and ongoing assessment of standards in a much clearer and more compelling way than ‘approved’, which can imply the job is done.
“That seemingly small but powerful word change, along with a streamlined brand architecture, strengthens the program’s role at shelf and supports a more consistent system across packaging and partner touchpoints to ultimately help consumers make conscientious choices.”
The new RSPCA Certified Welfare Standards logo is said to signal assessment against the “higher than legal” RSPCA standards, while the unified brand architecture improves recognition across all protein types.
the thrills Managing Partner Kate Richardson says the new visual identity brings the RSPCA Certified brand to life across packaging and retail environments.
“We developed the visual identity and guidelines for RSPCA Certified to create a system that is distinctive, usable and consistent at scale,” she says.
“The refreshed use of the iconic RSPCA blue strengthens memorability and cut-through, while the combined animal icon acts as a unified symbol representing all animals raised to RSPCA’s standards, reinforcing collective commitment and credibility.
“Shaped over several years of consultation with stakeholders, the system is designed to work across on-pack, in-store, foodservice and advertising environments as the certification transitions.”
The roll out
Australians will continue to see the previous and new logos on product packaging and in menus as businesses progressively update their product packaging and marketing.
Both logos indicate the products are from RSPCA Certified farms, and in time the previous logo will be phased out entirely.
