Client Spotlight: The Merchants Fund

When it comes to starting a memorable brand refresh, a key part of that process stems from self-searching, revisiting your core values, and realigning on your overall mission. A brand that's going to resonate most is one that feels authentic – a personality trait that’s particularly true for nonprofits. 

Take the recent brand refresh work we completed for The Merchants Fund, a Philly nonprofit whose mission is catalyzing economic mobility for small businesses through capital and coaching. Our refresh process started with a deep dive into the organization, along with a commitment to consensus building and collective buy-in throughout the entire branding refresh process. From there, we moved forward with the following:

1. We conducted a discovery phase that included stakeholder interviews and a  competitor analysis. By talking directly with board members, staff and past grant recipients, we were able to better understand the organization, who it serves and what makes it unique.
2. We culled insights from our conversations and reflected our findings back to the client, to confirm we had the right updated foundation from which to distill recommendations and storytelling for their updated brand.
3. We learned that TMF is quite distinct in its personal, trust-building relationships with their clients, so we developed a brand language update that emphasized its directness, honesty, and humanity.
4. We focused our updated look and feel on TMF’s position as a trusted partner and lifeline for financial support, and designed a visual identity that signified strength, partnership, and reliability.
5. We consulted directly with The Merchants Fund to refine all brand assets before implementing them on the website and through other marketing materials.

Branding should always be a collaborative process – whether from scratch or as an update –  so don’t get frustrated if you don’t get it right on the first try. Engaging multiple stakeholders usually leads to going multiple rounds, but that moment when consensus happens can be incredibly rewarding. And seeing that new identity come to life can be quite extraordinary. 

In the case of The Merchants Fund – that content can also lead to fundraising and providing lifechanging results for businesses looking for help. 

Find out more about The Merchants Fund and how you can support their mission. Or give us a shout to learn more.