Project Info
Project Description
Client Challenge
The Ubuntu Center core team is passionate, dedicated and resilient in their fight against racism and the advancement of population health equity. With a multi-million dollar donation for their new center at Drexel University’s School of Public Health, they required communication experts who matched their vigor and would ensure a successful launch of their new center focused on racism and health.
About The Ubuntu Center on Racism, Global Movements and Population Health Equity
The Ubuntu Center on Racism, Global Movements, and Population Health Equity (The Ubuntu Center) is a new, multimillion-dollar research center at the Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health in Philadelphia, PA. Established to bring together a vibrant mix of activists, environmentalists, researchers, and community residents – especially those historically excluded within the academy – whose range of perspectives, expertise, and experience will mobilize, strengthen and build capacity. Their mission is to provide the platform and organizational infrastructure to advance collective anti-racism scholarship, training and action.
This is What Happened Next…
Nice Work
We listened and uncovered their “why.” The core team at The Ubuntu Center were clear about their intentions to work towards a just future, free from oppression. Nice weaved messages of power and advocacy throughout their brand messaging, official brand colors and landing page– positioning The Ubuntu Center as a force for change. Nice’s storytellers and strategists took a human-centered approach and created space for their “why” to shine through via our donor strategy. We built a strategy around listening to our client and the marginalized voices throughout the Philadelphia community.
Strategy Session
We first listened from The Ubuntu Center’s senior staff. Learning more about their vision helped us to better support the launch by identifying their tone, visual appearance, and messaging goals. After connecting with their tone, objectives, and mission during the strategy session, Nice developed warm and powerful colors to be included in their branding guide. In addition, norms on the use of The Ubuntu Center’s name and fonts were established. Furthermore, we created a two-year strategic marketing plan that included email, social media direction, marketing and fundraising strategies. The plan included engagement activities through microlearning content, opportunities to develop ambassadors and donor development strategies via social media and email marketing.
Digital Communications
The work of The Ubuntu Center is powerful, inclusive and inspirational. We ensured the visuals and content captured these tones. We created launch templates that included bold colors from the brand, space for photos to ensure audience members connect with speakers and key words that encourage inspiration and motivation.
Website Development
It was important that our first impression be strong. We selected Fannie Lou Hamer as the header image to speak to the resilience and determination audience members would feel as they explored the website and connected with our client’s mission. A cohesive identity influenced our font choice, tone of voice and message. Leaning on the brand guide we established for the client, we created a site the community could relate to. Throughout the site, we created clear call-to-actions for each audience member–the community member, the donor, the educator and activist all have a place at The Ubuntu Center.
Event Support
Our clients enter into spaces prepared. Nice led The Ubuntu Center senior staff and keynote speakers through a run-of-show for their teach-ins. Tech, sound, and connection checks were performed to guarantee a polished presentation. On the day of the event, Nice was present. We supported The Ubuntu Center’s event by filtering questions from audience members and ensuring the team adhered to the schedule.
Nice Results
- Launch video shared via Twitter received over 8K views, 66 retweets and 101 likes.
- LinkedIn post received 443 impressions and 12 shares
- The Ubuntu Center website garnered strong website traffic, drawing the attention of other similar academic centers across the country
Client Feedback:
“Our Institute of Advancement for Drexel University praised our strategic marketing plan. They said we were the most prepared program they had ever encountered.” – Jennifer Ware, MPH, Deputy Director
