Overview
Rehearsal for Life’s (RFL) mission is to empower and strengthen the social and emotional skills of young people through creativity, dialogue and performance. The organization is comprised of two primary programs: Freelance Players (tuition-based theatre program) and Urban Improv (inner-city program offering structured improvisational theater workshops focused on self-regulation, cooperation, and positive decision-making skills). Since its founding in 1992, the organization has engaged over 75,000 young people at more than 125 schools and community groups.
Assignment
As the organization evolved over the years, the public-facing branding and messaging no longer reflected the depth and breadth of its programs. From a branding and communications perspective, the organization’s mission was unclear and lacked a cohesive, unifying objective. marlo marketing was tasked with overseeing a complete rebrand for the entire 25+ year-old organization, from a strategic approach to messaging followed by integrated branding across all of the organization’s touchpoints.
Strategy
- Create the name and structural identity for a unifying umbrella brand – Rehearsal for Life – that tied together the two programs based on the idea of “using theatre as a vehicle for social change.”
- Design the logo for RFL and logos for all sub-brands, including color palettes and icons.
- Concept and write all messaging/copy to cohesively tie together the two programs under the new umbrella brand for all of the new brand’s touchpoints, including collateral package, website, initial annual report announcing new brand to stakeholders, email marketing, and invitation package for the organization’s signature fundraising event, Banned in Boston.
- Oversee strategy around messaging for relaunch of the brand to all constituencies, including timing, delivery, and content.
- Concept social media strategy for non-profit internal team to execute.
- Developed and executed against media strategy designed to tie together the new brand launch in January with Banned in Boston in May, providing the organization with
a five-month “opportunity” to be a part of the news cycle.