Near Southside Branding
finding brand identity through new, updated design
Event Branding
The Challenge
The three primary fundraising events for Near Southside, Inc. (NSI), a nearly 1,400-acre nonprofit redevelopment district in Fort Worth, were failing to meet growth goals. NSI was on a mission to revitalize the Southside neighborhood through new business development, but these events, along with membership fees, were their primary source of funding. Impressed with J.O.’s ability to craft high-performance brand assets, NSI came to us with one essential request: Help us grow our events. That’s just what we did.
The Solution
We examined the problem from two fundamental angles: the message and the messenger, content versus form. We discovered NSI’s key challenge was not necessarily the reach or resonance of their messaging, but rather public interest (or lack thereof) in the messenger. NSI’s existing event branding was tired, old and inconsistent; NSI’s target audience was not responding. So, we created graphic identities tailored to reflect their interests and values.
The Result
The Near Southside community — and a broader audience well beyond the district’s borders — responded to the work immediately. From mural reproductions to sold-out apparel, the new branding was a hit. Event attendance and net revenue have since skyrocketed. By addressing the problem at the root, J.O. was able to build a solid brand foundation from which NSI could leverage positive word-of-mouth to vastly exceed their event attendance and revenue goals. In fact, NSI still uses our templates to create imagery for their events each year.
2015 Silver Addy for Advertising for the Arts & Sciences – Collateral
2015 Bronze Addy for Elements of Advertising – Visual
2015 Platinum MarCom Winner for Logo Design
