Merging two orgs and 75 years into one new brand identity and website
Background
For decades, the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia and Citizen Diplomacy International Philadelphia each created programming that connected the city to people and events from around the world. But with a historic merger announced in August 2022, the two organizations would be reorganized under a new World Affairs Council of Philadelphia — one that needed to align its name, programming, and website before a 75th anniversary in April 2024.
The challenges
World Affairs tasked FVM with a subtle brand “evolution” — updating the look and feel of its graphic identity in a way that could translate to a new website while appealing to a broader, younger audience. With targets including schoolteachers, young professionals, and others less acclimated to international affairs programming, the organization needed to make a hard break from feeling outmoded and reserved only for the wealthy.
It didn’t help that the name World Affairs Council of Philadelphia was sometimes hard to understand, or even hard to say. Sometimes shortened to “The Council,” it faced confusion with other municipal-adjacent organizations in Philadelphia. Their new identity would have to be recognizable, ownable, and intuitive — and supported immediately with strong storytelling that flowed directly into updated website content.
Our solution
FVM launched into immediate research to see how the current organizations were perceived (and misunderstood), as well as where “competitor” organizations held creative ground. The latter was particularly important, since World Affairs Council of Philadelphia had to stand out from similar groups both locally and nationally.
In addition to independent research, FVM held multiple deep-dive sessions with World Affairs’ leadership, learning the goals of the organization, the future of programming, and where their teams struggled most to connect with audiences. We then spoke with members of the public who had engaged with programming to learn where they found value in the organization… and what could and couldn’t remain in an updated brand.
Visual identity
While we were originally tasked with a simple evolution, it became clear early on that the only truly iconic element of the old World Affairs and CDI brands were their unique shades of blue and teal, respectively. And the previous globe-based logo did not add anything to help an organization with “world” in its name stand out from the crowd.
Instead, we crafted a sleek visual identity that alluded to the city of Philadelphia, as well as to the folded paper found at so many World Affairs events: name placards, food labels, translations, and more. We combined sharp, angular shapes common to both glass skyscrapers and paper invitations to build striking visual elements and dynamic juxtapositions between local and global elements.
The new minimalist wordmark served to reinforce the new “World Affairs” shorthand, while also evoking connection, progress, and cooperation. By incorporating evolved blue and teal colors at the top level with four vibrant program-level accents, we infused the new World Affairs identity with an energy that speaks to every key audience.
Name and messaging
Over and over, our discovery taught us World Affairs was not just programming. It was a hub, a place of historic significance, where some of the globe’s most notable speakers shared the microphone with Philadelphia citizens.
By creating a new narrative framing World Affairs as a place of gravity and insight, FVM simultaneously clarified what the organization did, who it’s for, and why it matters. We then extended that narrative concept into all four programming segments, creating an elegant, connected story that spanned the entire organization.
FVM also cemented “World Affairs” as the new shorthand for the organization, enabling more succinct, more ownable communications. With a top-level hook and more intuitive nomenclature nailed down, we could give World Affairs a stunning new visual identity.
Website revamp
With many different audiences — corporate and institutional partners, school staff and students, world travelers, donors, hosts, and the general public — FVM reorganized World Affairs’ user experience to quickly direct audiences to programming best aligned to them. With streamlined navigation, more concise language, and clear call-to-actions, the improvement was night and day.
To better credential World Affairs as Philly’s nonprofit leader in international affairs, we prominently highlighted its long-standing history, impressive speakers, expansive programming and partnerships through callouts and stats, as well as featured participant testimonials and stunning photography.
In nine short months, we delivered:
- A detailed Discovery Findings presentation setting the foundation for a cohesive brand and marketing effort for years to come
- A messaging and positioning guide with top-level hooks, program-level intros, deep rationale, and writing parameters for intraorganizational staff
- Consolidated and modernized brand values to guide employees
- A clean, modern logo and visual identity featuring elements evocative of diplomacy to underscore the organization’s work
- A newly architected, 30-page, user-friendly WordPress website that elevated the brand with a UX optimized for all four key audiences
- CMS training videos to help staff easily update site content
- Customized, interactive Google Looker Studio website dashboard to view real-time site stats and data visualizations
Results
FVM co-presented the new World Affairs brand to the organization’s board with broad acclaim, soon thereafter launching the new website — complete with updated messaging and visuals — to celebrate the organization’s 75th anniversary. Now, World Affairs is poised for decades of additional success connecting Philadelphia to the world.
Leading with award-winning strategy.
2024 w3 Award winner — Best Nonprofit Website
FVM’s design for World Affairs’ post-merger website brought energy and clarity to a historic Philly nonprofit. It’s actively promoting citizen diplomacy — and earning big awards.
https://www.w3award.com/Leading with award-winning strategy.
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