BRAND STRATEGY
FRAMING + MESSAGING DEVELOPMENT
POSITIONING
NAMING
STORYTELLING
VISUAL IDENTITY / LOGO DESIGN

Brand: "a person's perception of a product, person, experience or organization." (The Dictionary of Brand)

Note the key word in that definition: perception. People form their perceptions from any number of contacts with you, be it your website, a news story, brochure, email, Facebook, viral video, your logo or tagline.

You have a story to tell, and there are many ways you could tell it. Successful communications efforts speak with a cohesive, singular voice. We'll guide you in the development of your story and your voice.

We can help discover your essence and design a good brand positioning and language that will drive and unite all communications so they have maximum impact. We'll explain your mission, values and personality to help people truly understand what is different about you and form a positive image in their consciousness.

We'll address these questions:

• Who are you?
• What do you do?
• Why does it matter?
• Who do you serve? Your key target audiences?
• What is your promise to funders, clients, volunteers, partners and the community?
• Does your name, visual identity (logo) and messages accurately convey all of this?

A good brand strategy builds a good identity, the perception people will form of you: your name, key messages and a visual identity. These give a solid foundation for all of your communications, PR, marketing and fundraising efforts.

Ultimately, it should help articulate your stories to the folks who matter in a way that resonates with them.

MESSAGING
Messaging tells the brand story to external audiences. It crystallizes and communicates your essence and vision, describing what you do and how you do it in a clear, strong voice. Messages must be relevant and consistently infused throughout all communications. They not only reinforce your brand but are crucial to the success of any campaign, whether targeting the media, grassroots or influencers.

NAMING
Be it of your organization, a product/service or a program, a good name captures the essence of your brand promise through linguistic association. It can help create a stronger connection between target audience values and your organization's values. We develop names that are distinctive, relevant, memorable and sustainable.

antidotes in action

RETHINK HEALTH / RIPPEL FOUNDATION
This collaborative of leaders, thinkers and doers convened by the health care-focused Rippel Foundation had a newly defined mission that "differed significantly from other efforts" and included an ambitious, transformational scope. Ultimately, they intend to "shift the paradigm in America from a focus on care to a focus on health." Besides being a new initiative, one of their main challenges was that the individuals of the group had their own identities and brought their own approaches. They were coalescing a unity of purpose.

We conducted a fairly immersive process to clarify their mission and approach and uncover their essence. We designed a branding strategy that uniquely positioned them and established an identity of the group while acknowledging the renown of the core members. We used that as a foundation for the collaborative's name (ReThink Health). Perhaps most importantly, we helped craft a common language for the members to convey the group's story and ambitious vision to the outside world.

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS > PR + PUBLICITY > CONTENT + CREATIVE

Contact us and let's discuss how we can best help.