The Pet Advocacy Network, formerly known as the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC), has announced a comprehensive rebranding with a new name, logo and website that reflects its evolution over the past 50 years as the legislative and regulatory voice of the responsible pet care community. The association made the announcement at its 50th anniversary celebration reception, held in conjunction with the Global Pet Expo tradeshow in Orlando, Florida.
“’Pet Advocacy Network’ embodies who we are, what we do and why we do it,” said Mike Bober, president and CEO, Pet Advocacy Network. “This new name purposefully aligns with our role as a connector for the responsible pet care community to lawmakers, governing bodies and coalitions in the U.S. and worldwide advocating for the well-being of pets and the value of animal companionship.”
Research for the Pet Advocacy Network’s rebranding efforts started in early 2021 with a comprehensive communications audit, interviews with key stakeholders, and a survey of select pet care community audiences. The results revealed that the name PIJAC no longer resonated with audiences and did not effectively represent who the organization is or what it does.
“The name PIJAC served us well for our first 50 years, but it was apparent after the research was conducted that it was time to make a change for the future,” said John Mack III, Pet Advocacy Network board chair and founder and CEO of Reptiles by Mack in Xenia, Ohio. “Becoming the Pet Advocacy Network best represents our mission to advocate for animal well-being and responsible pet ownership, access to healthy pets and environmental stewardship.”
Pet Advocacy Network’s new logo was designed with intentional symbolism. The brand colors were chosen to represent the different environments where the animals that become beloved pets live and are arranged in a way that corresponds with each environment, with light blue representing air, green representing land and dark blue representing the sea. The logomark was constructed to represent a stylized animal face, suggesting eyes, a nose, ears and whiskers. The individual sections of the logo mark resemble hearts, birds or ornamental fish.
In addition to its new name and logo, the Pet Advocacy Network unveiled its new website, PetAdvocacy.org. Visitors to the site will see a refreshed, modern design and streamlined navigation. The pet care community also will appreciate a more efficient member registration and donation process and an easy-to-navigate library of expert-backed resources including animal care guides and retailer best management practices. Additional website features include an updated advocacy section to view state and federal legislation and local ordinances that the Pet Advocacy Network is tracking.
The Pet Advocacy Network continuously monitors information sources to learn about proposed government bills and actions that could help or harm their members’ businesses, and acts, as needed, to advance or stop prospective legislation or regulations before they become law. This work is especially crucial as the percentage of U.S. households containing at least one pet continues to rise while legislative and regulatory challenges to restrict opportunities for pet ownership or impede access to pet care products and services intensify.
The Pet Advocacy Network kicked off its year-long 50th anniversary celebration in December 2021 with a series of social media posts depicting 50 memorable moments from the organization’s history of positive pet and pet care advancements. In addition to the event held at Global Pet Expo, there also will be another celebratory event at SuperZoo in August 2022.