Our brand

A brave new identity for Cancer Research UK

Our collective force will bring forward the day when all cancers are cured

This September we are rolling out a refreshed brand identity. To find cures for all cancers, the time to act is now. Research holds the solution and we believe that if our brand works much harder and we gain more support, we can achieve this goal sooner - for everyone.

What's changing?

Our supporters are rightly proud of our brand – what we do, why we do it and what we have achieved. So the big question is, why change?

To answer that question, let's start with what we're not changing. Our name for one. Cancer Research UK is recognised as the leading cancer research charity in the world. We're not changing our strategy and will continue to pioneer research into prevention, treatment and cures for all cancers. What's not as widely recognised is the impact of our work. We've been instrumental in discovering and developing newer, kinder treatments and helping double survival rates in just 40 years. But there's so much more to do – 1 in 3 of us will be affected by this devastating disease and due to an aging population this statistic will get worse.

That's why accelerating progress is one of the strongest catalysts for change. New technologies and our understanding of genetics means that we can get closer to cures much quicker – if we can raise additional research funding. To do this we need the impact of the work we do and the work our supporters generously fund, to be better and more widely understood than it currently is.

So what we have changed is our logo and communication style to more accurately reflect who and what we are: a collective force of supporters, scientists, doctors and nurses coming together to beat all cancers – including the one that matters most to you.

This change is more far reaching than simply a new logo – it's about who we are, how we do things and what we're here to achieve. And this includes you. Each and every one of us is represented as part of Cancer Research UK. We are the smart, brave people that come together to make up this collective force – and if we stand united, cancer doesn't stand a chance.

Our new logo

Cancer Research UK is leading pioneering, life-saving research and our long-term ambition is to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured. We’re the only cancer charity dedicated to fighting all cancers (over 200). Our new logo and specifically the ‘C’ symbol embodies our role and ambition – lots of smaller parts that make up the bigger picture, all coming together to disintegrate cancer, and deliver a world where cancer is no longer feared.

Our new look is inspired by the smart, brave people who come together every day to beat cancer. It’s this collective force that makes us stronger than cancer, and means that no-one is alone in the fight against the disease.

Connecting our supporters

It’s for you, because of you and thanks to you. 

Our charity is made up of many parts, but the biggest part represents the people that support it. Our progress is your progress – but without you we are powerless. That’s why we want to recognise all our supporters and the impact of the work they do to help save more lives.

The issues we had to address

Research (which included a cross-section of our supporters) brought to light that we’re showing our age – our brand was created 10 years ago (formed from the merger of the Cancer Research Campaign and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund) and in that time a digital revolution has taken place. We’re also looking out of touch at a time when the economy is fragile and the public have more choice than ever before.

We’re here to save more lives and to do this we need funding. Whilst we’re highly regarded and seen as part of the fabric of the UK, this also leads to some confusion over our status. To set the record straight, we are a charity and we don’t receive government funding for our research. We rely on every pound donated. It’s also worth noting that 89% of our donations are for £10 or less, so we need to inspire millions of supporters each and every year.

Our investment

For our brand to continue to grow and achieve scientific advances, it’s important that we invest in it, just like all great brands do. We cannot afford to simply stand still.  

The cost of this work will be more than outweighed by the added income and support we will create by building a stronger brand which is distinct, stands out, and is more engaging.

During this financial year 12/13 we expect to spend £687,000 on refreshing our brand. This cost is less than 0.2% of our annual income budgeted for this period. And over 5 years, we expect this to equate to 0.03% of our projected income. This gives us a lot of confidence that the benefits of undertaking this change will easily outweigh the upfront investment.

It’s not without careful scrutiny that we have decided to commit to this cost. We have made savings in other areas and therefore still plan to give 80p of every £1 donated to scientific work. 

But we are a large organisation, with a retail chain network and an event series which requires large, branded equipment. We are planning on changing 20% of our shops this year and spreading the costs of the rest of our shop signage over a number of years, in line with the usual maintenance commitments we have as a leaseholder for the retail space.

Because we expect our brand refresh to underpin our work for the next 10 years - driving income growth and our ability to invest in more pioneering, life-saving research - we believe this is a considered and important use of our expenditure.

Our future starts now

We believe that our brand is central to the future scientific success of the charity as it moves into an exciting next phase of development.

“We’re living in a golden age for cancer research. Our understanding of the disease is increasing at a faster pace than ever before, and more people are surviving thanks to the work we do. However, our scientific ambitions are being limited by our ability to fundraise at the level we are striving for.” Dr Harpal Kumar, CEO, 2012.

Please do have a look at our brand refresh FAQs or contact our supporter services team if you have any questions or comments.