Description:

The St Vincent de Paul Society of NSW has been making a difference for people experiencing hardship in the community for over 140 years. A key pillar of this purpose‑driven work is Vinnies NSW – the organisation’s retail business. For many, bringing unneeded clothing and other items to Vinnies NSW is part of everyday life – and visiting a local store to search for a unique find is a special ritual. You find something special, you buy it, you make a difference. It’s circular fashion at its best and most beneficial.

The retail environment has changed significantly, though, and Vinnies NSW was ready to evolve its brand to match. A new five‑year plan launched in 2024 included a move into the e‑commerce space. It was an opportunity to re‑establish Vinnies NSW in the hearts and minds of the community, connect with a younger and more digitally‑savvy demographic, and make it abundantly clear how much good can be done (and found) with a visit to Vinnies NSW.

It was going to take more than just modernisation for the platform to thrive, though. Only about 20% of donated clothing actually makes it to the shop floor – with the rest rejected due to quality. This creates more work, more costs, and fewer opportunities to make a positive difference.

We refreshed Vinnies NSW’s strategy and visual identity – building on the layers of good that the St Vincent de Paul Society NSW makes possible through buying, donating and volunteering, and celebrating how it transforms the unneeded into the much‑needed. A key element of this brand refresh was the development of a campaign platform that would introduce the new brand to the community. The campaign needed to focus on quality over quantity – positioning Vinnies NSW as a destination for sustainable style and reframing the act of giving as being just as important as buying.

The result was ‘Bring your best’.

The idea? 72 hours. One statewide call to action. The very best quality goods you’ve got to donate. And the chance to make an even greater impact.

To launch the campaign, a giant four-metre‑high Vinnies NSW donation box appeared in the heart of Sydney’s CBD, so individuals and businesses alike could drop off their best quality pre‑loved goods. Fifty smaller boxes were also made available for businesses to fill and return. Coupled with bold campaign imagery – captured by photographer Jo Duck and styled by Nicki Colbran, featuring real Vinnies Finds – along with a refreshed colour palette, typography and layered graphic language, the campaign cut through the cluttered fashion marketplace and connected with people on a deeper, more human level.

The results spoke for themselves. An incredible 350kg of donations were made within 72 hours, with 97% being high‑quality, sellable goods. The campaign sparked a new era for Vinnies NSW, proving that even after 140 years, the best was yet to come – and that the community was more than ready to ‘bring their best’.