A passion for putting pets first — and for staying ahead of the curve — fuels the ASPCA’s innovative strategies, and kept it energized when Katrina-relief efforts, a rebranding campaign and the overhaul of its development department all converged.

By Margaret Battistelli Gardner

“So we took a really hard look at what we looked like, what our competitors looked like, where you saw us in the news, where you saw us in print, where you saw us on TV, and we realized that the ASPCA looked a lot like other animal-welfare groups,” she explains. “We were using the puppy paws and the kitty paws, and the hearts and the kitty tails. And those things are great, and they’re iconic, and they’re quick and easy to identify — but to identify with who? Certainly not us alone. Everybody.”