Re-brand of a regional charity is the catalyst for taking YOU nationwide
When a 25-year old charity faced a re-brand, it gave them the high profile that they had always aspired to.
From Southern Focus Trust - to You
For most of our seven-year working relationship, this client has been named Southern Focus Trust. We have been honoured to lead them through a re-brand recently, which included a new name – The You Trust, commonly known as YOU.
The organisation is a leading provider of specialist support services including accommodation, to a variety of vulnerable sectors of the population such as those with learning disabilities, mental ill health, drug and alcohol-related needs, domestic violence situations, homelessness and debt.
Why re-brand?
- The need to shake off location-centric barriers suggested by the former name
- Strategic requirement to extend reach geographically
- Be more easily recognisable particularly to vulnerable service users
- Plan to assist more service-users towards independent living
The springboard to creativity
Some people seem to think that you have to keep changing agencies to get fresh creativity. ‘You’ has found the opposite to be true. Working as a team with us for many years has instilled trust, confidence and many layers of shared knowledge that are springboards to creativity.
We facilitated the LCM brand workshop with the key team members, and they developed the brand promise around five words: innovative, excellence, trustworthy, can-do and person-centred.
Impact of the re-brand
Some service users have difficulties with reading and writing, and feel more comfortable when they can recognise symbols and easy words. One service-user summed up general positive feedback:
"I wasn’t sure about it when I first saw it. Then I saw the word YOU and I thought they were talking to me. They are saying that they are going to help me make my life wonderful and I felt really special.”
The team had been concerned about changing the organisation’s name for many years; according to Chief Executive Nicola Youern: “The new visual branding blew us – and all our concerns - away. We have never been anywhere near this high profile and talked-about before.
“I really like how the image reflects our brand promises and who we are. The design of the word itself is innovative, and the name explains we are person-centred. The arch of the O can be seen as a shelter, supporting and providing a safe haven for our service-users. The ball that represents the O is vibrant and looks as if it’s can-do, able to bounce away to independent living. The arms of the Y and the U are symbols of strength and our trustworthiness. The ball used to be a dot and now is a bright gleaming ball that shines with excellence. It is also a can do ball. It is just held there and at any moment it can float away and when it touches people’s lives they change for the better. As an icon it portrays excellence and trustworthiness.
“When we launched the new name and brand, it was a positively-charged emotional moment in our history. People saw the future and how the branding and name will help carry us towards our vision.”
Future of the brand
There are myriad opportunities to build on the strong, memorable name and icon, such as:
- We design a service around YOU
- We do it YOUr way
- YOU helps you gain the life you want
- We’re all about YOU
- We work for YOU
We have developed a set of brand guidelines that enable any authorised team member to create marketing material, recruitment and internal communications tools that adhere to the brand disciplines.
Now, YOU has a whole set of branded stationery, literature, Website, banner stands and promotional gifts that they are proud to use.