The New Nodaway Humane Society has helped many animals get adopted over the years, but they adopted something entirely different Thursday — a new brand.
NNHS has introduced a new logo and brand identity after receiving ideas from Knacktive, a student-run full-service advertising and marketing agency program at Northwest. The rebrand follows a year of internal improvements, targeted at enhancing animal care and expanding access to NNHS information and resources, according to the NNHS. Wes Rockwood, a board member for the NNHS, said the rebrand was a collaborative effort with Northwest.
“We worked with Knackative students at Northwest Missouri State, an on-campus marketing agency, and so we were able to use some of the ideas that they had...compile some of our own thoughts and ideas, and our experiences, and kind of put together a final package,” Rockwood said.
Knactive is a selective, advanced educational experience for undergraduate Northwest students from various majors and professional schools: the School of Communication and Mass Media, the Melvin D. and Valorie G. Booth School of Business, the School of Fine and Performing Arts and the School of Computer Science and Information Systems. The program is designed to replicate the creative process and teamwork atmosphere of a marketing agency. Students work with contracted agencies to create a brand image.
Rockwood said one reason for the rebrand was to show how important the community is to the animal shelter. One change made to the logo was a change in the name, now being referred to as “NNHS: a community- and donor-supported rescue.”
Rockwood said that 20% to 25% of funding comes from animal control agencies’ contracts, but 75-80% comes directly from the community. Shelter Manager Kylie Farrow said campus Fraternity and Sorority Life is a large contributor to the shelter.
“Our biggest volunteer numbers are during Greek Week,” Farrow said. “They came in the other day, and they brought about 20 volunteers in during open hours; so every single one of our dogs got to be walked, every single one of our cats got to be pet, brushed — all of those things. Campus is where our numbers come from.”
Farrow said there is a need for fostering pets, a system where participants can house and take care of an animal temporarily, without needing to worry about the medical bills and other financial needs. Animals with treatable illnesses or in need of socialization, as well as nursing mothers and their litters, are animals that need foster care, but all animals are open to fostering, according to NNHS. Farrow said the spring season is a prime time for puppies and kittens, which she said will likely lead to more adoptions.
Farrow said the NNHS is looking for more community businesses to set up more adoption events. She said she hopes the rebranding brings more community involvement.
“We go to adoption events in Saint Joe, all the way at Petco, and we’ve done some in Savannah, (Missouri,) at Tractor Supply (Co.), and we are definitely looking into reaching out to more communities,” Farrow said. “The Pub actually reached out to me, and we’re going to start bringing adoptable pets to Paws at the Pub, and we’re going to try to do a cat event with them as well. If anyone is interested in doing cat bingo, we're so down. Yes, lots of new opportunities hopefully coming around the corner.”
This story is brought to KXCV-KRNW by The Northwest Missourian, the campus newspaper of Northwest Missouri State University.