Working with global branding agency Landor, we helped create a bounding new verbal identity platform for Petbarn, joining the dots between insight, character and care.

With supermarkets and online retailers eating into their market share, Petbarn were looking to refocus the business around care and the personal touch, while dialling up their expertise. The playful new visual identity created by Landor makes a hero of the core pet categories they cater for, by reflecting their unique personalities.

We wanted the verbal identity to work in a similar way across the brand, but also had to balance the playfulness with some more serious topics like caring for sick pets. With the idea of care at the centre, we developed tone of voice guidelines that mapped out the role of a ‘true friend’ across touchpoints. The tone flexes between when the brand needs to be more dog-like and wag its tail, be more cat, and spark curiosity, and when it should dial it down a notch to simply show its smarts and share the love.

We also included a wide range of active ‘pet-centric’ verbs, making it easy for even the most everyday of messages to include a splash of charm. It all came together in a set of simple tags, making it easy for writers to take ownership and responsibility, while expressing their love for pets.