Rebrands, Marketing

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Veterinary Hospitals Association

Veterinary Hospitals Association

Overcoming naming challenges with innovation + collaboration.

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Project Overview

When the Veterinary Hospitals Association (VHA) engaged Mercury for a comprehensive rebrand, they embarked on an exciting evolution. Founded in 1984 by veterinarians for veterinarians, VHA was eager to grow their membership and increase engagement in their services. Mercury’s approach focused on highlighting VHA’s unique operational model, which resembled a cooperative more than a traditional association. This insight led to a strategic pivot and a recommendation to rename the organization. The brand and marketing project also included a strategic overhaul of their website content, imagery and functionality emphasizing VHA’s purchasing power, business services, and pet cremation services that support and elevate their members.

VHA ads

Client Goals

VHA, aimed to expand their reach beyond their 400 clinics and 1,000 veterinarians. They wanted to identify key contacts and opportunities to help within current member clinics without adding to the busy workload of veterinarians and attract new members. With changes in VHA leadership underway, they also sought continuity for their internal team and strategic partners.

Project Focus

Mercury’s insights revealed that practice managers, not just veterinarians, were key decision-makers who could appreciate VHA’s benefits. These managers delegate tasks, manage operations, and seek resources to simplify their roles. To expand rapidly, Mercury recommended that VHA focus on a new name, messaging and outreach to specifically engage practice managers.

The project hit a bump when a proposed name closely resembled an existing brand. This experience underscored the need for cross-functional collaboration, ensuring that multiple stakeholders are integrated into the decision-making process as early as possible. Mercury quickly navigated the naming challenge by initiating a comprehensive review of the competitor’s brand and seeking guidance from a local legal resource. Ultimately, the decision was made to pause on renaming, as VHA was already experiencing organizational change, and renaming would fall to the new leadership team. Instead, Mercury’s brand strategists and designers worked with the team to modify their current name, logo design and tagline to better reflect their refreshed brand image.

Veterinary Hospitals Association
VHA tagline knockout

In addition to rebranding visual elements, Mercury’s website content audit and update played a crucial role in aligning VHA’s online presence with their refreshed brand image. The new website content effectively communicated VHA’s value proposition, further enhancing their ability to attract and retain members.

Mercury’s approach involved highlighting key content and simplifying the website journey for members. By identifying and emphasizing the most important information, Mercury ensured that visitors could easily navigate the site and find the services and resources most relevant to them. This strategic website update not only improved user experience but also contributed to increased engagement and revenue for VHA.

VHA Website

Results

Mercury’s rebranding efforts significantly impacted VHA’s visual identity and ability to reach and engage their newly identified target audience. The new logo and tagline clarified their mission amidst organizational changes. By pausing on a full rename and embracing continuity, VHA positioned themselves well to support existing members and expand their reach, thanks to a strategic, innovative and collaborative approach.

“We are extremely happy and excited about the content and help you have provided us. We appreciate all your hard work and dedication to helping us through this tumultuous last year.”

— Erin Potts, Chief Operating Officer of VHA

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