“Our brand now reflects who we are in terms of our purpose, who we
are as people and who we are as a company. Without The Pudding,
we would be nowhere near our current level of branding, culture,
or identity. It has been momentous for Hibernia.”
– David Wallace, Director of Strategy & Operations at Hibernia.
In this instalment of The Client Chronicles, we sat down with David Wallace, Director of Strategy & Operations at Hibernia.
Founded in 2021, Hibernia is a home care provider in the Dublin area that helps people age in place.
A new client of The Pudding, we helped Hibernia refresh and remodel its brand, with our work spanning deep dive sessions, employer brand strategy, culture co-creation, messaging workshops, brand identity evolution and website development.
Here David speaks openly about the rebranding process and why it was a “momentous” moment for the business.
1. Can you start off by telling us a bit about Hibernia?
Hibernia was founded in September 2021. It came out of a need by people to be cared for in their own communities. Bearing in mind this was after the pandemic and there was a cultural shift in this country about people wanting to age in place and remain at home and live independently.
The need was, and is, huge. Home care is what people with disabilities and older people want in terms of their ideal model of care. We felt there was room and space to do things differently. To treat staff better and to put them first and continue to innovate in terms of quality. We wanted to do all of this and still show you can have a very successful business.
2. Tell us about your partnership with The Pudding
and why you sought out our services?
I suppose it really started when we talked about our corporate culture. Our relationship with The Pudding started through a body of work to explore, map out and develop that culture. I wanted to find out who we were as an organisation and establish an identity in that sense. We were already so proud of the work we had achieved but we wanted to better communicate that to our staff, our clients and to our future potential staff. It really made us rethink our brand and our visual identity.
Then from the minute we first sat down with Gillian Horan [CEO of The Pudding] for a coffee, we knew instantly that she understood the business. We were really impressed and wanted to work on something together. We knew that The Pudding could help take us to the next level and make us the best business we could be.
3. How did you find your brand development
journey working with The Pudding?
Overall, it has been a hugely positive experience. It has greatly aided us in understanding what constitutes a brand. We learned that it is more than just visuals and imagery and colours. You have to look at it in a holistic way. We do this when we care for people as we have to look at them in a multi-dimensional way. Now looking back at it, we have great confidence in terms of knowing that it’s an all-encompassing approach to the brand.
The experience was engaging. We felt we were part of the process every step of the way. Each meeting was like a workshop. I underestimated, at times, the amount of effort that had to go in from our side and the commitment needed. Now I know that if you want a rock solid brand, you need to put in the work. It is a collaborative process. You have to be prepared to give over your time.
4. What has been the impact of
this brand identity work?
Our brand now reflects who we are in terms of our purpose, who we are as people and who we are as a company. We can see that all of the materials, whether offline or online, are going to relay that message in a clear way. It’s all aligning. Our branding is now saying that “yes, this is a good place to work”.
We are providing a high-quality, reliable, safe level of care to you or to your loved one. And we have set a bench level that has to be met. We have set a standard. We have a newfound sense of optimism in our ability. Our competitors are not even near that and all of this is down to the work we have done with The Pudding.
5. Finally, would you recommend working
with the Pudding? And why?
Yes, definitely. Without The Pudding, we would be nowhere near our current level of branding, culture, or identity. The Pudding has helped us understand what we need to do to succeed and figure out our purpose for the next five to 10 years. It has been momentous for Hibernia. We would 100% recommend working with The Pudding to other clients. I just wish we had done it sooner.