Over and over in meetings with scores of clients, I’ve shared that branding should be aspirational.  It shouldn’t only represent what you are as a company or an institution, it should also reflect what you want it to be.  Through the years I’ve seen how a weak or disconnected brand can work as a deterrent to organizational growth and stability. There is confusion. Actually, pride in the work can be diminished when the branding doesn’t reflect the company.

Once solid visual and descriptive messaging is united, there is an unseen power at work.  Employees, stakeholders, and clients who know who you are, understand what your mission is, and how to best communicate it are able to take an organization to the next level.  You become a unifying force.  It’s like momentum.  Momentum can be one of the hardest things in the world to achieve, but when it is present, it’s really easy to spot.  

People unite behind strong branding and that process speeds growth and fuels consistent expansion.

How It Fit4One Special Client

Rarely do I recognize specific 5Points Creative clients in these articles, but I must make an exception.  Last fall I was at a fundraiser for Healing Strides (link) where, once again, I heard the message they have been sharing for years.  It was five years to the day since we revealed their new branding and tagline. Though I had been around it and seen it for half a decade, there was something special about experiencing the brand in action on this particular night.  The logo design communicates how the horse and human are connected and the impact that bond can have for people in need.  The tagline copy – Horses Inspiring Hope - was aspirational five plus years ago.  For me, it has become real life and practical, and yet, it remains aspirational.  

Before we came along, in 2019, the work was being done.  The story was being told, and so much was going right for Healing Strides.  Once the branding arrived it gave this equine therapy organization both a foundation, and a catapult, to more goodness and service. The power of the transformation was amazing.

This is how it’s supposed to work.  Branding should represent what your organization is, while at the same time be the driving factor in getting it where you want it to be going forward.

I’ve seen Healing Strides double in size in its ability to help others, as they touch a wide range of people who are going through personal challenges.  I’m honored to serve with others on their Board of Directors and I’ve greatly enjoyed watching their evolution as a strong, successful, regional nonprofit that uses branding the way it’s supposed to be used.

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