Bark-E-Que
Bark-e-que is a Philadelphia-based fundraising event for Street Tails Animal Rescue. If you love barbecue food and athletic events you will love this get-together in Fairmount Park to get the summer started. The event gathers families who are looking for the furry loved one they have always wanted. There’s also items for sale and active raffles all day long to keep the fundraising going.
INSTITUTION: Tyler School of Art and Architecture
INSTRUCTOR: Kelly Holohan
ELEMENTS: Branding, Packaging, Social Media, and Website
Research
7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those animals, approximately 3.9 million are dogs.
Animal shelters and rescues became my focus for this event branding project. Many rescues don’t do enough programming events to get these cutie pooches adopted. The challenge most shelters face is reaching a larger audience to find home for their rescue animals. Street Tails is one of many that struggle in this category. A one-woman effort to save one dog at a time. Initially operating out of her pet store, The Chic Petique, founder Lindsay Condefer spent years pulling and adopting out one dog at a time.
Street Tails Animal Rescue (STAR) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping the homeless, unwanted, and abandoned dogs in the Philadelphia area. Their goal is to pull local animals out of shelters and find them loving, forever homes.
Why was Bark-e-que developed?
Bark-e-que was created not only to help reach a broader audience for shelters that need to find homes for their animals but also to make a fun, exciting, and informative day for family and friends looking to make a difference in dogs' lives. This event provides Street Tail Animal Rescue an opportunity to connect with adopters and dog lovers who are looking to spend time with some lovable furry friends and understand what Street Tail Animal Rescue stands for.
Look and Feel
When making the visuals of Bark-e-que I wanted to focus on the idea of a family fun day for not just adults, but for kids too. Playful, fun, and colorful are just some words I would use to describe this exhilarating daytime, park event.
Deliverables
Of course, you wouldn't have a fun-filled family play day if you didn't have the necessities to cheer on your friends. This is where the ideas for the foam paws originated. But we couldn’t forget toys for the dogs to enjoy the day with as well…
Doggie Wearables
To commemorate the occasion for these puppers some wearable deliverables were the perfect touch to this event. The branded bandanas let your dog’s unique style show through and make your dogs look so pretty and handsome! Just look at how cute!
Human Wearables
To continue the commemoration some human wearable deliverables were also created so no one was left out. The spirited shirts gave participants, as well as volunteers, a way to show their support during the event.
Website
The website for Bark-e-que was very exciting to design. I knew right away that the brand needed to be colorful and child friendly. This event is meant to entice persons and families to attend, it should be eye catching and exciting to bring in new comers. While the adults would most likely be the ones to navigate this website, it was important that the identity appears in one of the first visuals you would see before even being welcomed into the event. The website is youthful, and overall a fun place to navigate everything that Bark-e-que will provide.
Social Media
A social media presence was one of the main deliverables to address, as one of my goals was to make a wider audience for Street Tails. This social presence had to be enticing to appeal to all the families seeking out information about the event. These sweet dogs that are up for adoption, as well as interactive factors, led to a social presence that will pull the viewer in.
Conclusion
Bark-e-que achieved its goal to be a fun, family inclusive adoption event. It brings families together to support all their furry friends as well as Street Tails Animal Rescue. This event was able to combine the fun, quirky side of families and dogs with the seriousness of the necessity of adoptions for all the adoptable animals left without families in the world.