Vetlife: rebranding the Veterinary Benevolent Fund

In just a few short days, at the London Vet Show, the Veterinary Benevolent Fund (VBF), the charity of which I am President, will rebrand and officially become Vetlife.

In the run up to this change, our team of dedicated staff and colleagues have been working tirelessly to ensure that the new name, image and ethos of our organisation come together to give a full representation of the vital services we provide.

Our reasons for rebranding to Vetlife

We did not arrive at the decision to make this change lightly. VBF is unique in the veterinary world, as the only charity dedicated to providing much needed support to the entire veterinary community in their times of need.

Our team of volunteers are trained to deliver skilled support via the helpline and the anonymous email service. Similarly, our health support service offers professional support for the more serious issues that vets sometimes experience, such as alcohol or drug issues. Many of the people we have helped and continue to help have an affinity with our existing branding.

Market research

However in the past 18 months, as we carried out research into how well we are recognised within the community, it became increasingly apparent that not as many people were aware of us as a viable resource in times of need as we would like.

Further market testing showed that many young vets were put off by the word ‘benevolent’ in our existing title, and did not understand what it meant. Others were not fully aware of all the range of services and support that we provide. This made it clear that with our existing image and part reliance on word of mouth, we were failing to reach a large part of the veterinary community who may have contacted us had they been more aware of our work, or felt it was relevant to them.

Raising awareness of our support services

The need for the work we do is still very high. As we all know, the suicide rate among veterinary surgeons is 3-4 times higher than in the average population. In 2014 alone, 60% of the calls received by the Vet Helpline were associated with stress, mental health and employment issues.

The rebranding work we have done aims to reinforce the importance of the work our volunteers, area representatives and officers continue to carry out on a daily basis.

Under the new banner of Vetlife we hope we will unify our support services we provide, creating the feel of a ‘modern’ charity that those who use our services can relate to. Underpinned by the promotion campaign for Vetlife we hope to significantly increase the awareness of the services we provide and the work we do within the veterinary community.

We are also taking steps towards working more collaboratively with other organisations, such as BVA and Mind Matters, to ensure that we reach and are able to help as many people as possible. As the One Health initiative gains momentum, it is important for Vetlife to be the first point of contact for the veterinary community.

Support Vetlife to support the veterinary profession

I hope you will see in the coming weeks and months, through our advertising, an increase in the profile of Vetlife. We will seek both to encourage people to celebrate the good things about working in the veterinary profession and also support them in times of need.

For those of you attending the London Vet Show, you will be able to see our new image. Along with other directors and members of staff, I will be on Stand L43, in the National Hall. There will also be a session on mental health and wellbeing in the veterinary profession in BVA Congress at 3:40pm on Friday.

If you have any concerns, are in need of support, want to tell us the things you love most about being a veterinary surgeon, veterinary nurse or an administrator in a practice, or simply want to come and see our ‘new look’ for yourselves please visit our stand. I hope to have the opportunity to meet you and tell you more about the work we do under the banner of Vetlife.

You can follow Vetlife on Facebook and on Twitter @VetlifeVBF.

John Moffitt

The Vet Helpline is a 24/7 free and friendly listening service on 0303 040 2551

Written by John Moffitt
Director of VBF from 2010 to present, and President of the charity since July 2014

John was in mixed practice in South Cumbria for over 30 years before becoming a veterinary officer with Defra from 2001 to 2012.