West Midlands Safari Park has announced it will be having a new look this year, by teasing a brand-new logo, with the help of some of its resident animals.
The award-winning tourist attraction celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, so the Park felt like it was the right time to embark on a rebrand and truly mark the start of a new era.
Since being taken over by the Looping Group in 2018, the Park has grown substantially, with the addition of unique onsite accommodation, upgraded animal habitats and brand-new attractions.
The Park’s logo has had a complete revamp, with a new, fun font, vibrant colours and the addition of a giraffe icon, which reflects the attraction’s exciting offering of up-close animal experiences.
Head of Marketing, Rochelle Zare, explained, “We have grown so much as an organisation, especially in the last four years, so we felt that we needed a new logo and brand identity, that can grow with us into the future.
“After thorough research, in which we invited feedback from various stakeholders, including regular guests to the Park and prospective customers, we gained valuable insight into why people love our attraction and why guests want to visit. This showed we have one of the best, immersive animal experiences in the country, so we wanted our new brand identity to reflect that, hence the addition of a giraffe icon.”
She continued, “As a family attraction we wanted to get the seal of approval from our core audience, so we tested the new logo with hundreds of local school children, aged 4-11 and it was a big hit! We hope all our guests love it as much as we do.”
Ahead of unveiling the new logo to the public, the Park gained important feedback from some of its esteemed judges – the animals!
It was a hit with the lemurs, with the whole troop running straight over to investigate, whereas Rhianna, the reticulated python, was a bit slower to approach, but quickly gave it the ‘ssssssseal’ of approval by using it as a resting stop.
The new logo’s ambassadors showed appreciation the only way giraffes can – with prolonged staring, although Henry did give it a big lick!
Finally, the logo was presented to the family of Sumatran tigers and first to approach was dad, Nakal, who took a big swipe at it, knocked it over, then sat on it, fiercely protecting it with snarls and growls.
When he finally moved on, mum, Dourga approached with baby, Lestari. The logo was such a hit with Dourga, she picked it up and dragged it into her sleeping quarters, expertly navigating it through the entrance hatch.
When keepers managed to retrieve the logo, it was left with the memento of four magnificent tiger teeth impressions!
Alongside the logo, the Park will adopt a new brand identity and although their name is not largely changing, they have added the ‘s’ back into Midlands (it was West Midland Safari Park for 50 years)!
From next month, guests can expect to see the logo change across the Park’s signage and digital channels, including a brand-new website, shortly followed by the release of a range of new retail products as well as staff uniforms.
As well as the rebrand, the Park has announced new attractions and events for 2024, including a family ride called Jungle Jeeps, a refresh of its playground, the chance to see cheetahs on foot in an extension of the Park’s African Walking Trail as well as new hippo and wild dog lodges.
There will also be the chance to see the Park’s latest arrivals, including tiger cub, Lestari, month-old rhino calf Malaika and a troop of tiny pygmy marmosets, who will be venturing outside for the first time this Spring.
Managing Director for West Midlands Safari Park, Chris Kelly, added, “This is an exciting time for all of us here at the Park and we’re delighted to be sharing our new look after months of hard work behind the scenes. This definitely signifies a new chapter and I’d like to take the opportunity to thank all our guests, past and present for supporting us. Without them, we couldn’t continue to take the best care of the animals who call the Park home and all the conservation efforts we support for their counterparts in the wild.”
