Cruse Bereavement Support
A brand sensitive to difficult times
Improving support for everyone experiencing grief
Cruse Bereavement Support, previously Cruse Bereavement Care, is the leading national charity for bereaved people. Offering support, advice and information for children, young people and adults when someone dies, working to enhance society’s care of bereaved people.
Red Stone was commissioned to create a new brand identity to express their values – genuine, kind, ambitious and inclusive – and reflect their strategy to put ‘Bereaved People First’.
What we delivered
– Desk research and market analysis
– Brand identity and logo creation
– Messaging and tone of voice
– Brand guidelines and assets
– Bespoke illustration and icon suite
Understanding the challenge
Red Stone worked with brand consultant Dan Dufour and Cruse’s Director of Communications and Digital. We were in the initial stages of rebranding Cruse when the Covid-19 pandemic began. As the gravity of the situation unfolded, it became clear that the charity would be challenged like never before.
A change of emphasis
Whether to change the name of ’Cruse Bereavement Care’ was a central question of the rebrand. Although an unusual word, the name ‘Cruse’ had a high degree of recognition and attachment among supporters. A change to this was felt to be counter-productive. However, the word ‘care’ was felt to be passive – by shifting this to ‘support’ we subtly changed perceptions around the active support Cruse offers.
Communicating empathy
Key to increasing the accessibility of the brand was a sense of humanity, warmth and authenticity. We achieved this through photography and illustration, a new hand written font and a softer colour palette to complement the charity’s core purple.
We also developed a set of abstract shapes to visualise the emotions grief brings and words alone cannot express.
Sensitivity in difficult times
Cruse Bereavement Support has a long history of supporting people through one of life’s most challenging events. With a sensitive approach that helps Cruse to become more approachable, we hope that many more people will find the support they need in these difficult times.
Winner
Cruse Bereavement Support
Communication: Public branding category
"This is an important step for Cruse. As we emerge from the pandemic, the need for bereavement support will increase in the future. We now have a brand that everyone in Cruse can feel proud of. A brand that everyone had an opportunity to feed in to. And a brand that will leave a legacy of supporting and reaching more grieving people than ever before."
Steven Wibberley, Chief Executive
More like this
Centre for Ageing Better
The tools to affect real change
