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IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy logo large white text and red and blue graphic

The Brand

Handy is a non-profit organization in Broward County that empowers disadvantaged youth through mentorship, academic support, life skills training, food, housing, clothing and more. Their mission is to provide every child in need a personalized program to help them excel from childhood into early adulthood.

 

Handy was founded in 1985. When they came to us, their entire brand was in need of an overhaul. Their consumer-facing image was extremely outdated and they were not engaging potential donors effectively. We were hired to redesign their branding to give their organization a more contemporary and active personality. This was no small task. Every department in our agency had to collaborate to get the job done. From branding and graphic design to professional photography and video production, through to web development, marketing and distribution.

 

Our overall marketing and branding strategy was to capture the side of Handy only those close to the curriculum would know. So, we decided to create a brand narrative that cycled between various perspectives in order to paint Handy’s story through the experiences of those in the program. This approach decided a lot of the stylistic components.

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Stat concerning tutoring improvement

Branding

This was the first step in transforming Handy. Their former logo [the image shown to the right] was stale and unimpressive. As was their original Handy acronym: Helping Abused, Neglected, Disadvantaged Youth. This both upset the mentor staff and children in Handy’s care as it did not properly represent what the organization stood for, nor the ability and power possessed by Handy youth. We needed to change that. Our graphic design team wanted to associate Handy with unity, love, and friendship. They refused to allow these emotes to stand alone, so they got to work on creating an icon that would denote all of these feelings. One of the challenges we faced in this early stage was creating a symbol that clearly represented Handy and their ongoing mission without being too busy or cluttered. In the end, we designed a logo that spoke to all of Handy’s core values.

IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Nonprofit Organization logo Helping Abused Neglected Disadvantaged Youth
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy logo large gray text and red and blue graphic
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Acronym with logo with African American man in the background looking off to the distance
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Brand Guidelines Color graphics with code specs
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Brand Guidelines Typeface specs
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Marketing for nonprofits Handy Brand Guidelines Graphic of Handy logo with creation instructions
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Marketing for nonprofits Handy Brand Guidelines Graphic of Handy logos with creation instructions
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Marketing for nonprofits Handy Brand Guidelines Graphic of Handy icons with instructions

The Website

Following our complete branding overhaul, we moved into the web development phase. Handy’s former site was outdated. They were not converting donors, engaging volunteers, nor representing their mission effectively. We designed and developed a massive 21-page website to both cover the core areas of the organization (from the mission, history, life skills programs, events, and more) and generate maximum conversions. The homepage is clean and informative. Along the right-hand side is a sticky tab with a call to action to “Donate” that follows users as they navigate the page. It is noninvasive but prevalent enough to encourage first time and recurring donorship.

 

The newly redesigned website was perhaps the most integral piece in Handy’s complete brand overhaul. It created living space for all assets produced for their brand, acting as a home base to connect Handy youth with donors, volunteers, mentors, alumni and community at large. From the website, you can navigate the entire history of Handy, accessing social media, reports, infographics, and more with a simple click of the mouse.

Stat concerning school attendance.

Multimedia

Once brand guidelines were developed, we needed to create an abundance of media to assist in launching their new site and gaining a foothold on social media. Since we wanted to tell Handy’s story through people, professional photography and video production were the obvious mediums. We chose to combine both services since Handy’s mission is so expansive.

 

One of the challenges we faced was piecing all of these segments into a cohesive narrative. Not one aspect of Handy stands apart from the rest. The organization serves youth ages 9 to 25 years old, staffs many mentors and volunteers, hosts various community events and outreach programs, celebrates the arrival of Handy youth and the departure of Handy graduates, offers a range of programs, and much more. We had to pay tribute to all of these important areas as if they were a never-ending story. This was tough. In the end, we delivered.

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IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Next Gen Field Day at Jaco Pastorious Park flyer
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Marketing for nonprofits Handy Nonprofit Closeup of teal markings being applied to girl's face
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Marketing for nonprofits Handy Nonprofits Group of people wearing teal colored bandanas, wristbands, necklaces and bows standing in a field posing for the camera
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Marketing for nonprofit Handy Nonprofit Closeup of a man applying marks to another man's face
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Marketing for nonprofits Handy Nonprofit Group of people with black bandanas and balloons posing for the camera in a field
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Marketing for nonprofits Handy Nonprofit African American man holding a pink bandana over his head surrounded by people
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Marketing for nonprofits Handy Nonprofit Group of people with pink bandanas, necklaces and gloves posing for the camera in a field
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Marketing for nonprofits Handy Nonprofit Closeup from behind of two people holding each other in a field was other people standing nearby
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Marketing for nonprofits Handy Nonprofit Group of people with purple balloons. hats, leis and wristbands posing for the camera in a field
Stats relating to grade promotion.

from youth

IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Nonprofit African American holding a black and white poster that shows three people with the word Embrace
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Group of two African American girls posing for the camera sitting on a picnic table with some kids behind them
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Nonprofit African American holding a black and white poster that shows two people with the word Educate
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Group of kids playing a ball sport
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Marketing for nonprofit organizations Handy Nonprofit African American holding a black and white poster with two people with the word Empower
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Group of kids playing a ball sport
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Nonprofit African American holding a black and white poster that shows three people with the word Embrace
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Group of four boys playing a ball sport
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Nonprofit African American holding a black and white poster that shows three people with the word Embrace
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Group of African American males playing basketball with others looking on
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Nonprofit African American holding a black and white poster that shows two people with the word Empower
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy African American girl running with another girl and boy standing by

to young adults

IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Group of two female graduates and one male graduate tossing their hats in the air
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Group of two female graduates and one male graduate posing for the camera
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Closeup of group of two male and one female graduates posing for the camera
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Group of two male and one female graduates walking with two women holding books and one male wearing a pink shirt and tie holding a book
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Closeup from behind of group of two male and two female graduates walking with two women holding books and one male wearing a pink shirt
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Closeup of group of two male and one female graduates walking with two women holding books and one male wearing a pink shirt and tie holding a book
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Group of two male and one female graduates talking to each other by a picnic table
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Group of two male and one female graduates by a picnic table posing for the camera
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Group of two male and one female graduates talking to each other by a picnic table
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Community Coverage

Event coverage is a huge deal to a nonprofit organization as active as Handy. It generates a ton of leads, acknowledges donors for their philanthropy and informs their community of their progress and future initiatives. Not only did we help lead the charge in creating events and raising awareness, but we were also present at every Handy celebration to ensure proper media coverage was recorded. This was essential in Handy’s outreach initiatives and was an integral piece to their social media campaign, email marketing initiatives, and more.

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IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Closeup of Handy boxes with vase of flowers near it on a white tableclothed table
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Closeup of Handy box with pens near it as well as desserts and people around the table
Handy Closeup of Handy box with desserts, drinks, cups and silverware around a teal tableclothed table
Handy Closeup of Handy box with pens near it as well as desserts around a teal tableclothed table
Handy Group of people at tables at a function with balloons in the air
Handy Police officers speaking at a podium with balloons in the background
Handy Group of five men and three women most of them holding awards posing for the camera
Handy Inc Donation check being held by two people surrounded by police officers
Handy Closeup of two Handy Kids Choice Awards on a table
Handy Group of people at a function
Handy Man at the podium talking to a group of people at a function
Handy Three men holding awards looking off stage
Handy Police officer and man helping an elderly woman on the stage
Handy Police officer gesturing elderly woman to go ahead while man stands nearby
Handy Three men and an elderly woman all holding awards posing for the camera
Stat concerning increase in life skills.

Social Media

A nonprofit’s ability to actively engage their community of donors, recipients, and volunteers regularly is essential. So, we invested a lot of effort in increasing Handy’s social media presence. Our approach was to keep the content organic and our presence user-driven, which ultimately made the content more emotive and personal, thus allowing the Handy community to interact on more profound levels. Our outreach focused on Handy youth, the programs they were involved with, the volunteers and mentors who make it all possible and the donors who support their organization every step of the way. One of the more notable portions of our social media strategy was the unveiling of Handy’s new logo that we designed. This post drew a lot of traffic and engagement, marking a turning point in their overall online image. This wave of publicity allowed us to reach new donors and fully embed Handy as a pillar in the community.

 

Before we developed our social media strategy (as we do with all clients) we focus the beginning stages around social listening. This informs our marketing and content strategy team who is already interacting with Handy, who isn’t, and who can be converted into an active follower. Knowing our demographic not only reveals our starting point but also informs of our overall potential, which was profound (and something we delivered on quickly). The research revealed that Handy’s overall mission is not well known. We fought to change that. Throughout our social media strategy, we incorporated graphic elements to inform our community of Handy’s impact on youth in Broward County. Situated alongside informative content were graphics for holidays to remain relevant month after month.

IU C&I Studios Portfolio Young Professionals Graphic Pie Charts
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Young Professionals Pie Graph Charts
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Young Professionals Pie and Bar Graph Charts
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Young Professionals Bar Graph Charts
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Market Research Graph Pie Charts
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Market Research Graph Pie Charts
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Market Research Graph Pie Charts
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Market Research Graph Pie Charts
IU C&I Studios Portfolio KES Group of young adults playing a sport in a field
IU C&I Studios Portfolio KES Group of young adults in front of a pavilion
IU C&I Studios Portfolio IKD Overhead view of a student pointing to an island definition entry in a book
IU C&I Studios Portfolio KES Group of two men and a woman smiling and posing for the camera in a pavilion
IU C&I Studios Portfolio IKD Side profile of person carrying books
IU C&I Studios Portfolio KES Little boy posing for camera in a pavilion
C&I Studios Portfolio IKD Side profile of African American young woman using a computer with other people in background also using computers
IU C&I Studios Portfolio KES African American young adult wearing bermuda shorts and t shirt with money graphics on it posing for the camera with a basketball in a pavilion
IU C&I Studios Portfolio KES Group of young adult males playing football with one poised to throw the ball
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Young adults with two police officers posing in front of Handy Lillian S. Wells Center sign with some holing police logo bags and water bottle
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Group of African American young adults enjoying lunch in the cafeteria
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Teacher showing how to play a game of chess to a class of young adults sitting at their desks
IU C&I Studios Portfolio KES African American man wearing a white t shirt holding a toddler on his shoulder who is drinking from a sippy cup posing for the camera from inside a pavilion
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Group of young adults sitting at a table with more young adults at tables in the background
IU C&I Studios Portfolio KES Three African American young men and one young woman posing for the camera making fun gestures
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Group of young adults in a classroom sitting at their desks with a student in the background wearing a green shirt sitting at a larger desk
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Group of young adults in a classroom at their desks
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Group of young adults in a classroom with one African American student wearing a blue shirt posing for the camera holding a pencil on a piece of paper
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Independance Day Flag Graphic
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Social Quotes Aug Stat
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Oct Social Text Graphic
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Oct Social Text Graphic
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Oct Social Text Mission Graphic
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Multicolored Handy LGBTQ Pride Month logo
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Jimmy Dean Quote with logo
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Labor Day Post with graphic of grill
IU C&I Studios Portfolio Handy Quotes June 4

The Results

We worked with Handy for a number of years. In that time, we completely revamped their brand, which helped expand their organization’s influence to more households and deserving children throughout Broward County. With our help, Handy was recognized nationally for their outstanding philanthropy and activism. The work they do is crucial for the youth and the future of Broward County. Their impact is now greater than it has ever been before. We look forward to seeing what Handy does for our community in the future.

 

In the realm of social media, we grew Handy’s presence exponentially. Their Facebook audience was bleak and unengaged. They were missing out on pivotal interactions that would further their mission. They also only had 200 followers on Instagram. There was room for growth in both areas. We capitalized on the opportunity. [The following reports are from December 2017. They do no show the full scope of growth on social media. However, they show that month-over-month we increased engagement and followership in accordance with the outlines social media strategy.]

 

If you’d like to see what we can do to help elevate your nonprofit organization or philanthropic brand, we recommend reading the Integrated Marketing Communications plan we invented and executed for Handy. We’d be happy to do the same for you.

IU C&I Studios Portfolio DECEMBER Instagram Activity Overview Profiles (Handy) Dec 2017
IU C&I Studios Portfolio DECEMBER Instagram Engagement Profiles (Handy) Dec 2017
IU C&I Studios Portfolio DECEMBER Facebook Activity Overview Pages (Handy) Dec 2017
IU C&I Studios Portfolio DECEMBER Facebook Audience Demographics Pages (Handy) Dec 2017
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