Hope Services

­Branding

Hope Services is the largest provider of services to the developmentally disabled in California and one of the largest in the country. Thanks to their programs, people who were once considered a burden on society are employed, living with dignity, and setting an example of self-sufficiency that inspires everyone around them.

Yet in 2012, most people only knew Hope Services from the signs on their donation trucks and viewed them as a lesser version of Salvation Army or Goodwill.

They were long overdue for a brand refresh. A dated logo rooted them solidly in the past, and was at odds with the progressive approach they take to addressing the challenges of the developmentally disabled. Their tagline “Your Help Builds Hope” carried a fundraising message rather than communicating the outstanding results of the many innovative programs they run and the countless lives they have improved. And their dark color palette suggested anything but hope.

With government funding becoming less reliable, expanding their donor base, and developing alternative sources of revenue were the priorities. Their new brand identity needed to reflect an innovative, dynamic, results-oriented organization that optimized every resource and was in the process of pivoting from a charity model to one of social enterprise.

We began with a brand audit of the current audiences, including clients, government agencies, donors, and prospective donors.

We found a strong connection existed between Hope Services and their clients and client families:

• “They know that Hope will have the ability to serve them in a variety of ways.”
• “Families depend on Hope for long term, stable services for their sons and daughters…competent and trustworthy. Staff and management often have relationships with families that go back over time.”
• “Stable, safe.”
• “Families are very grateful for Hope. Most are highly satisfied with the services.”

Donors and businesses were also positive:

• “…enjoy the interaction and support from the staff and clients.”
• “Responsive, reliable, will be there for the long term, providing a valuable community service.”
• “Competent, trustworthy, professional, dependable.”

However, overall awareness of Hope Services’ activities and their value to the community was mixed:

• “Large agency that is expensive but provides quality service.”
• “Too big.”
• “Good agency that collects clothing for the disabled” (rather than for resale to support their programs)
• “Oh, you guys run those trucks…”

At the time of our brand audit, the unemployment rate in California for developmentally challenged adults was 80%. Hope Services was the leader in vocational training and job placement with an impressive track record of success. We recommended that they own their leadership position and expand on it. Today, they are still the leader in developing and implementing these kinds of programs, and they have expanded their activities to include their own retail stores that employ many of their clients.

It all started with Hope Services’ positioning statement that we developed:

“If you are a part of the Bay Area or Central Coast community, looking for a deeper understanding of the world in which you live, and the opportunity to make it better, Hope Services offers a positive way forward on an ongoing social challenge that exists in every community.

“Unlike other organizations that rely on the ‘feed the tiger’ model, Hope Services gives you a social enterprise model with a real return on investment for the community. We do this by championing people with developmental disabilities so they can contribute economically, live with dignity, and set an example of self-sufficiency that inspires everyone. Hope focuses on both social acceptance issues and sustainable business models, so you can partner with us to make the world more accepting, more enriched, and more prosperous.”

The new brand:

Graphic Design

Hope Services is a very visible brand, thanks in part to a large fleet of trucks that picks up  household items for resale.  As soon as the rebrand was finalized, we produced a style guide for branding the exterior signage for dozens of properties throughout the South Bay and Central Coast, as well as for business stationery, forms, truck signage, and newsletters. We completely transformed their identity, nearly overnight.

 

HopeTHRIFT

Five years after the launch of the new Hope Services brand, the organization opened its first mega thrift store in San Jose, an important milestone in its pivot from a charity model to one of social enterprise. The store employs clients of the organization, furthering Hope’s mission of finding employment for people with developmental challenges. Our team consulted on the naming convention and extension of the Hope Services brand throughout a retail environment.

Graphic Design

We also created an entire suite of in-store graphics. The graphic design supported retail merchandising. We wanted an upscale look that clearly differentiated HopeTHRIFT from other thrift stores like Goodwill, Salvation Army, and St. Vincent de Paul. Our look was closer to that of discount retailers like Marshall’s or Nordstrom Rack, and less like conventional thrift stores.

We also designed drop-off stations that were strategically placed at retail centers in the South Bay and in Southern California.

 

Website

We directed the design and developed the content for a website that supported all HopeTHRIFT stores while connecting the value of HopeTHRIFT to Hope Services’ organizational mission. HopeTHRIFT.org

Video

We worked with videographer and editor Jeffery Davis of Lumen Productions on videos supporting the launch of HopeTHRIFT aimed at donors, customers, and retail property owners. These videos introduced a myriad of Hope Services’ programs designed to support new parents of a developmentally disabled child, training programs for adults, and tying in the donation and sale of household goods to the larger organizational mission of facilitating independent living for the developmentally challenged through employment. The video, “HopeTHRIFT a Valued Partner,” helped retail property owners understand the value that a HopeTHRIFT store would bring to their shopping center. Many shopping center managers and owners viewed thrift shops as an unattractive nuisance and discouraged their tenancy. This video helped change that perception.

Media Relations

We managed both pre-and post-store opening publicity. We directly tied the HopeTHRIFT experience to Hope Services overall positioning and their tagline “Amazing is all in a day’s work.” We secured significant print radio and television coverage of the opening of stores in Santa Clara and Monterey counties.