Case study
Inicio
Brand Identity & Website
Inicio, formerly known as ERS Training and Development Centre, is a Montreal-based, federally incorporated not-for-profit organization with charitable status, established in 1986. Since its inception, Inicio has successfully operated over 200 employability training and professional development programs for Montreal residents. Inicio offers job training and personal development programs to help unemployed or underemployed first and second-language English-speaking Montrealers reach their full potential.
Look
ERS needed help reaching out to new participants to offer their much-needed programs.
With low brand recognition, program enrollment, and an outdated website, the organization was struggling to get the word out as well as make it easy for people to apply.
Looking for help with diversifying their funding and increasing participant recruitment and community engagement, Phil began collaborating with ERS on various fronts.
While first working together on an urgent campaign, it became clear that a strategic planning exercise was needed.
During the strategic plan work, it was determined they needed a complete brand overhaul to accomplish their goals. They wanted a name and brand that would help them stand out, be memorable, better reflect their audiences’ needs, and showcase the impact their program has on the lives of their participants.
“We had not had a plan done in a number of years,” said Alistair Price, President and CEO of Inicio. “It was a terrific group that helped with the strategic plan, reviewing our strengths and weaknesses, and aligning our board and staff. Out of that process, we now have a useful tool for implementation that we’re still following today.”
Alistair Price
President and CEO of Inicio
Think
Narrowing in on the “X factor” that makes an organization tick and then translating that into a name is no easy feat.
Phil led the organization through several workshops on strategy, mission and vision, and brand ethos.
Getting the team together and aligned “made it easier to move forward quickly with the rebrand and new program campaigns,” said Alistair.
They wanted their new brand to feel uplifting and welcoming by signifying the beginning of a journey; an important detail considering the majority of their participants are newcomers to Canada.
After weeks of consultation, the group landed on Inicio, which means “beginning” and “inspiration” in several languages, and strengthened it further with a new tagline, “Start your journey to employment success.”
The rising sun icon and warm bumblebee yellow added to the starting anew, welcoming feel and also coincided with a move to a new and brighter office space for the organization.
“I enjoyed the creative process of bringing to life our brand and creating a shared narrative that our participants can relate to.”
Nathalie Fauteux
Director of Operations at Inicio
Before
New logo
Primary Colours
Secondary Colours
Inicio Brand Guidelines
Plan
Once the new brand was established, the work of drafting the new structure, content, and user interface for the website began.
Phil and Inicio collaborated on the website content to make sure it connected and resonated with their main audience: their participants. Everything from vocabulary to user experience and accessibility was fine-tuned to make sure the website spoke to the people who mattered most.
Inicio staff were coached on the management of the new website, social media best practices, and video production. Phil hosted working sessions to help Inicio better tell their story through video, including interviews with administration and past and current participants.
A social media strategy was put together for the launch of the new brand with accompanying assets and a brand launch action plan. This included important audience segmentation and personalized messaging built into the timeline of the soft launch.
Website
Do
With the new website and brand assets ready to go, Phil recommended timing the big brand reveal with the website launch.
The soft launch kicked off with Inicio sending personalized emails to their three key stakeholder groups, followed by a hard launch weeks later via social media.
“We’ve had a significant increase in the number of participants since working with Phil,” said Alistair.
“From 24 participants to almost 150 with a new program launching soon, which was birthed during the development of our strategic plan and re-brand.”
Plus, as an organization that teaches digital citizenship, they now “look like they know what they’re doing,” with modern tools, like a communications calendar, brand templates, and a new website they can manage and update themselves.
“We have a strong brand that we can feel proud of and everyone is aligned. Now we have an idea of how to market ourselves and have all the tools at our disposal. Now it’s about moving forward and executing our strategic plan.”
Alistair Price
Social media covers
Social media posts