Saint-Urbain rebrands Digs Dog Care with hospitality-style system

Digs is a national dog care network designed to acquire and partner with independent operators across more than 15 states. When Saint-Urbain took on the rebrand – transforming the company formerly known as Better Than Home – the challenge was creating a unified system that could bring diverse local operators under one recognisable umbrella while preserving the warmth and individuality pet parents value. The model draws from hospitality, where distinct locations operate under a shared standard of experience, care and trust. The name does significant work to back up that ethos. Digs is a colloquial term for where you live, reframing dog care as a place of belonging rather than a transactional service. “Early explorations touched familiar territory for the category, with names rooted in care, comfort, home and play,” explains Alex Ostroff, Creative Director at Saint-Urbain. “Some felt friendly, others clever, but most were either too sentimental or too literal. They described what the business did, but not what it was becoming.” The breakthrough came when the team reframed the challenge through a hospitality lens. The name scales naturally across storefronts, packaging, digital products and partnerships, supporting both the emotional experience for pet parents and the credible, scalable framework for business owners joining the network. A custom dog-face icon serves as the unifying symbol across locations, signage, packaging and digital touchpoints. Saint-Urbain was acutely aware that a dog icon can quickly tip into something juvenile, which would undermine a brand that needs to communicate trust and professionalism. The solution was abstraction – reducing the idea of a dog to its most essential, recognisable features rather than illustrating a specific breed or personality. “We tested it early across signage, packaging and digital contexts to ensure it felt confident at scale, legible from a distance, and flexible in motion,” Ostroff shares. “Whenever it felt too expressive, we pulled it back. Whenever it felt too neutral, we reintroduced subtle personality.”