Revitalising the Trust brand

You may have seen some speculation regarding the Canal & River Trust’s branding, and this is to confirm that they will be launching their new, revitalised brand on 22 May.

After 5 years in which they have successfully established the Trust, they are looking ahead to the wider, significant role to play in enriching lives. The Canal & River Trust have an amazing legacy, with 8 million people across the country living with one of their waterways on their doorstep, in both urban and rural areas, so they can make life better for millions by encouraging people to use and enjoy them, to improve their health and wellbeing and get involved in helping to care for them.

The Canal & River Trust haven’t made that breakthrough yet; right now, only around a third of the general public know about the Trust, way below other national charities. This means that a large proportion of the millions of people who live around them, and may even use their local waterways or towpaths, do not know who the Canal & River Trust are.

The new look for the Trust has been developed to appeal to those who don’t currently know about the Canal & River Trust, whilst still connecting with our existing users and supporters. Whilst they want to have an impact, with changes happening instantly across digital and social media, they are also doing everything they can to keep costs to a minimum. This means that their new look will be rolled out gradually over 2-3 years, as and when things need replacing, so the majority of costs would be part of their normal on-going spend. Very little has been spent on developing their new branding, and it has been paid for through an existing marketing budget. Their work to care for the waterways themselves continues to increase.

The brand re-launch will be key to securing the waterways’ long term future; the Trust has to connect with, and build support amongst, a much larger and broader group of people. The re-launch is critical to achieving this boost in awareness and support over the long term so that, many years from now, they have the resources to enable the Trust to care for the waterways effectively.

That is why investing time and effort in re-positioning the Trust, and revitalising the brand, will give a significant return, many times over, in the future.