Scotland’s national children’s charity has rebranded with a new logo in a bid to better meet the needs of a new generation.

The 140-year-old charity Children 1st – the trading name of the Royal Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children – has changed its name to Children First, created a new logo and launched an integrated ad campaign as part of a rebrand to help it “meet the needs of a new generation”.

The logo includes a lowercase ‘i’ in the word First, which Michelle Supple, director of fundraising, marketing and communications at the charity, said is a “symbol of a child who is living in an adult’s world, and all the pressures and challenges they face as a result”. 

She added that the typeface was chosen for its distinctive characters and details between its letterforms, which represent the charity’s “beacon of hope”.

Supple said the charity needed to be “bolder and braver” but its purpose, to protect all of Scotland’s children, remained the same.

She said: “Our refreshed brand keeps our purpose at its core, as it shines a light on the challenges children face today and offers them hope for the future.

“To make life better for all children in Scotland, we need to be bolder and braver. We have refreshed and evolved the Children First brand to help us meet the needs of a new generation,” Supple said.

As part of the rebrand, the charity is launching a new campaign to declare a “childhood emergency” in Scotland. The campaign includes a new one-minute brand film to highlight the challenges that children face now.

The charity is also merging its Parentline and financial wellbeing teams into one service called the Children First support line, which Supple said would enable the charity to “reach a wider audience and be there for anyone worried about a child in Scotland”.

The charity, which recorded a total income of £14.2m in the financial year to the end of March 2023, invested £50,000 in the rebrand but also had pro bono support, Supple said. 

“We believe our brand will have a positive impact on our ability to help children across Scotland,” she said.

The charity’s internal marketing and communications team worked with the Glasgow-based brand agency Stand to develop its new identity, while its brand film was produced by High Tide, a film production agency based in Edinburgh.

The rebrand was developed in partnership with colleagues, young people and partners through a series of workshops and conversations, Supple said.

She added: “It was important that our brand could be agile enough to work for a campaigning audience but also the children and families we support.”