RSPCA on hunt for agency to help dispel 'cuddly' image

The animal charity’s move comes in the face of a ‘crisis’ facing animal welfare funding, according to new CEO and comms veteran Gavin Grant.

The RSPCA has not yet launched a formal pitch process for PR support but has called for agencies to help it tone down its ‘cuddly’ image and take a more cutting-edge approach.

Grant, who joined the organisation at the beginning of the year, having been chairman at Burson-Marsteller UK, said: ‘What’s happened in the past is that the RSPCA has gone down the softer cuddlier image – that won’t happen with me as leader.’

Grant added that he wanted to see the charity back doing ‘cutting-edge comms work, with a more entrepreneurial and commercial approach’.

‘If there are PR agencies out there that can help us do that then I want to hear from them,’ added Grant.

Grant said that misconceptions such as the idea that the charity receives government funding has led to the funding problems faced by the charity today, which need resolving.  

He explained that a part of his new PR strategy is to engage more with government figures and the media, including alerting the press about upcoming RSPCA-led prosecutions.

‘You’re seeing a crisis in animal welfare across the board and everywhere you look you see a growing problem,’ said Grant, adding that he plans to ‘harness the power of the concerned consumer’.

This article was first published on prweek.com