Rebranding For A New Era
The Challenge
Since 1989 Kids Who Care Musical Theatre Inc., has been the premier organization for children’s theatre education in Fort Worth. While its reputation has spanned throughout the city and even crossed international waters, a lot had changed in 33 years. Seeing dips in enrollment of camps and classes, and lagging ticket sales, Kids Who Care knew it was time for a brand refresh.
That’s when J.O. took center stage. The first step in any major rebrand is to learn about and appreciate the history of an organization. J.O. held multiple branding workshops among key stakeholders, including everyone from the Kids Who Care Founder to staff to board members and student leadership. After extensive research and internal development, J.O. identified a branding platform that honored Kids Who Care’s rich history while taking them to the next phase of their organizational story.
The Solution
Cue, KWC Performing Arts. J.O. developed several iterations of a name change for the organization, but the one that rose to the top of the call list was KWC Performing Arts. Kids Who Care had been affectionately referred as “KWC” by students, families, and alumni for years, so the transition to a permanent acronym was seamless but kept brand equity in mind. By adding “Performing Arts” to the name, J.O. helped expand the definition of what the organization provided. Yes, students will learn show-stopping dance routines, monologues and songs, but they will also learn the art of lighting design, stage combat, and the logistics of putting on a show.
For the new logo, J.O. developed a clean, streamlined icon utilizing the tragedy and comedy masks that are synonymous with theatre. The iconography takes a sleek minimalistic approach that can be used in various manners across mediums. Along with a mark, the J.O. creative team introduced a three-color brand pallet with one primary and two secondary colors. The selected pallet paid homage to the original KWC brand while bringing a fresh take on the supplementary colors.
The Result
In early 2022 KWC Performing Arts introduced its new branding to their student, families, alumni, staff and board of directors. The organization was so pleased that they engaged J.O. to handle the brand roll-out through public relations and graphic design services. From the PR initiative, J.O. secured two interviews, one with NBC 5’s Texas Today show and one with Fort Worth Weekly. Currently, J.O. is developing KWC Performing Arts’ new website to be unveiled in fall 2022.
