Amplifying Good to Inspire Good.
THE ELEVATE PRIZE FOUNDATION
WHAT WE DID TOGETHER
Brand strategy
Brand voice
Messaging and copywriting
Brand identity and design guidelines
Brand guidelines
Brand application and materials
Social media assets and campaigns
Events
Elevate Academy and education
Brand consultancy and creative direction
Founded by Joseph Deitch in 2019, The Elevate Prize Foundation is a global non-profit that empowers social entrepreneurs and activists by providing them with the resources they need to amplify their impact. We set out to build a brand that The Elevate Prize could grow into and on, and a platform to tell stories of good.
THE CHALLENGE:
Building a Platform that Could Elevate Good
Joe has always believed that by identifying, amplifying, and empowering those who are driving positive change around the world, we can inspire others to do the same.
But to help others be visible, we must first be visible. If The Elevate Prize wanted to help social entrepreneurs and activists grow visibility, it must first have the presence and position as a platform to tell these stories.
Our challenge was to find a unifying narrative that embraced their values, radical diversity and aligned across their sub-offers and internal structures. We then translated this into an experience to resonate with social entrepreneurs and activists from all sorts of backgrounds, ESG target areas, geographies and causes.
“ Lauren and her team are brilliant at taking your vision, values, and goals, and turning them into brand and messaging that resonates with audiences and stays true to who you are. They are thoughtful and a joy to work with!”
Matthew Minor, Chief Impact Officer
The Research:
The Focus on Visibility
Understanding and creating The Elevate Prize’s ‘Theory of Change’, origin story, and future vision, we knew they were one of a kind. Their goal was to democratise philanthropy by reducing barriers for organisations to get funding and provide resources and support for growth with a lens of visibility and communications.
Aware of the multifaceted nature of social issues, The Elevate Prize didn’t want to just focus on one particular issue. They wanted to amplify good in the most diverse and inclusive way possible, being issue agnostic.
This diversity and openness is the core of their message, with their point of difference being their focus on visibility and communications.
“It’s been such a pleasure to witness this Foundation grow from strength to strength and increase its impact. From its initial intentions, many ‘how’s’ have been played with, matched with a true entrepreneurial spirit that lives in Joe to try and test, iterate and change. The focus has always been visibility of good and impactful storytelling, with the team driving initiatives and programmes that align to that. More please!”
Lauren Jones, Brand by Boudica
THE STRATEGY:
Both a Foundation and Media Company
The main question we needed to answer was: How can we resonate with a diverse audience and emphasis on storytelling of good? Answering this meant looking beyond positioning The Elevate Prize as a foundation, we needed to embrace the role of a media company—a platform where stories are shared and celebrated in a growing community.
We started by architecting the full offering of the Foundation – With many sub-brands under the larger brand [The Elevate Prize GET LOUD Award, The Elevate Prize Catalyst Award, Amplify Newsletter, Founders Award], we clarified the role and focus for each sub-brand. We identified their core audiences, and outlined the appropriate messaging and visual strategies.
The STORY:
Make Good Famous
More visibility = More inspiration = More good = More impact.
Uncovering this core message was a huge ‘ah-ha’ moment: In order to appeal to different audiences fighting for different social issues, we needed to get to the ONE thing that united it all, and be provocative at the same time.We knew that everyone can be a part of social impact—whatever their passions and skill sets may be— so the unifying narrative for The Elevate Prize isn’t about giving the leaders the spotlight, but highlighting the good work people are doing. The phrase ‘Make Good Famous’ sets the basis for the voice and messaging across the entire brand experience and sub-brands.
THE IDENTITY:
Diverse and Flexible, yet Cohesive
Having a number of key audiences we needed to be able to speak to, engage, and activate, The Elevate Prize needed a flexible visual identity. The identity system must have ‘brand stretch’ that allows us to use all our brand elements in numerous ways and have flexibility in our visual language while giving a cohesive brand feel.
We achieved this with a broad colour palette, a range of fonts that bring different personalities and a ‘highlighter’ mechanic that could be used in a large combination of ways. The principle was to be diverse and flexible, yet cohesive, to appeal to different audiences and narratives.
For the main logo, we chose a typeface that is bold and grounded, with a weight of credibility whilst being accessible and friendly. The ‘highlighter’ has a 3 degree tilt, upwards in a positive movement—linking all the words and acts to highlight ‘ELEVATE’, the vision of the Prize.
The APPLICATION:
A Unified Brand Narrative
To help The Elevate Prize bring the brand to life, we created comprehensive brand guidelines for the staff and partners. Including boilerplates for each program within the brand architecture so everyone understands what sets one initiative apart from the other.
This is a section specifically for writing instructions with word and phrases examples, evaluation criteria, and language mechanics that the team needs to pay attention to in more formal settings.
We included everything else the brand could need to activate – imagery, motion graphics, video, print, events, merchandise, campaigns, social media, office spaces, and much more.
“I’m so incredibly grateful we could do this work so early on – which also captures my happiest moment: I was able to build a team that included Lauren and her incredible skills! The impact has been to give us a North Star – through our visuals, our words and everything that we do, to build the foundation.“
Carolina Garcìa Jayaram, CEO
THE IMPACT:
A Clear North Star
The work gave The Elevate Prize its ‘North Star’- to make aligned decisions, build awareness and establish their prominence as a global non-profit organisation. The redefined positioning allowed them to seize strategic opportunities and partnerships at even bigger platforms, leading to greater visibility for the social impact leaders and activists.
Our work together helped shape the way The Elevate Prize shows up, works and tells its story to the world. Not only has it brought clarity to their team internally, but helped people understand their Theory of Change, to inspire more people to take action and do more good.
Ongoing Collaboration
Beyond the initial brand strategy and design project, we continue to support The Elevate Prize through brand consultancy and creative direction.
Being able to work across all departments as a part of the The Elevate Prize team has allowed the brand to have consistency and stability as the foundation has grown and continues to grow.
With an aligned vision, clear strategy and direction, and ongoing collaboration, The Elevate Prize has disrupted a traditional model of philanthropy, set the stage to propel Good forward and continue to Make Good Famous. Because, as Joe said “When we make good famous, we take good further.”
