In late 2015, Heather & Pooch rebranded as ‘Cuddles & Fetch’. This was due largely in part to the expansion of the business beyond dog walking – and also because it wasn’t just Heather any more. I had been walking dogs with her for a number of years (and getting the question “So are you Pooch?” was getting tiresome), and we had plans to expand the business once we’d purchased a home, and hired employees. We wanted something a little less personality oriented and a little more dog-focused.
The process actually started in January of 2015. We knew we wanted a change, but we hadn’t gotten to the point of knowing exactly what that change would look like. We put it out to our friends on facebook to get some feedback and suggestions:
Over the course of the year, we’d had a few setbacks and finally a few opportunities. By late 2015 we were aggressively pursuing acreage properties in the countryside, and once purchase looked like it was imminent, we brought on an employee to take over my walks so I could focus on getting the house ready and start a boarding business. We reviewed the suggestions and narrowed down the names to ‘Rover Rangers’, ‘Pawbarks’, ‘Greywind Walks’, ‘RevelDog’, ‘Cuddles & Fetch’, and ‘Denbarra Dogs’.
We put the names through a vote with our friends on Facebook (and also taking suggestions), and Cuddles & Fetch became the clear winner.
In designing the logo, I wanted to pay homage to our dog, Gemma. At the time she was our only dog, having lost Goliath earlier that year. Gemma is our scruffy mutt, having been with us our entire relationship. She’s also been the ‘best’ dog, and a great mascot for our business. She’s been a referee and a calming presence for other dogs, a steadfast companion that’s great with kids and other dogs.
For the design, I went with something that felt fluid and action-oriented, but looked in the right light could look relaxed and comfy. From one perspective, it looks like she’s leaping through the air to fetch the bone. From another, she’s lying on the floor with a favourite chew not far away. I chose fonts that felt clean, crisp and elegant to give it a feeling of professionalism mixed with a bit of intimacy, and arc’d the title to add to the movement of the logo. Response to the branding so far has been positive.
Later in 2016, once we’d acquired our kennel license, we began creating materials to promote the business locally. Tri-fold brochures, new business cards and ‘postcards’ with all of the essential information got distributed to local businesses. And just a few weeks ago we revamped the website to focus solely on the boarding – we’ve transferred the walking business to The Bark Rangers.
If you love dogs, you should check out the Cuddles & Fetch Instagram. We take some pretty great pictures of adorable dogs.