Drug Free Kids Canada has rebranded as Substance. A big step, the charity says, in terms of changing its identity, and not just with a name change, but by adopting a warmer tone.

The charity tasked longtime agency partner, FCB Montréal, in collaboration with Studio Maubau, which led the design component, to create the new brand identity.

“Modernizing our brand was needed to clearly reflect our mission: to prevent problematic substance use among young people by encouraging open and transparent dialogue and providing families with expert, evidence-based tools,” said Chantal Vallerand, executive director of Substance, whose tagline is “learn about it, talk about it.”

This first launch phase includes several key elements such as the website’s home page, a presentation video and communication tools for rolling out the new Substance brand to its partners. A second phase is expected in the coming months.

In addition to injecting a fresh feel, the identity brings parents and teens closer together “through a relatable visual language of pictograms and images,” according to the release.

By adopting an unmistakably warm tone, the brand says it opens a path for discussions that are even more open and constructive.

“Many parents find talking to their kids about substance use stressful,” says Audraine Houël, strategy director, at FCB Montréal. “The new identity was designed to take the edge off this discomfort while communicating the organization’s value and credibility. The result is a platform that is both reassuring and solid.”

The new name itself is a double entendre, referring both to illicit substances, but also, the substance of a message, meaning the valuable information the organization imparts.

Still, along with the warmer tone, Substance retains its mission to build bridges between parents and teens in order to facilitate discussion about substance use, providing live, 24/7 help to those in need, and serving as an information source for parents and youth about cannabis, impaired driving, nicotine, the dangers of prescription and over-the-counter medicine, vaping and the opioid crisis, and more.

The organization also continues to connect with schools to get its safety message out, bringing its ‘A Strong Start: Navigating Stress, Coping and Substance Use in Youth’ presentation to three Ontario cities this coming summer.