Live Case – Project
Building a cohesive branding and marketing strategy
A Collaboration Between
Challenge: Lack of cohesive branding and marketing strategy means local stakeholders may not be aware of the work we do
Opportunity: Building templates and implementing strategies to create a cohesive branding and marketing presence
Reviewing and evaluating social media strategies, including content, channels
Local stakeholders, including government officials, journalists, activists, and community members, associate our name and branding with our work. We aim to be the first resource that comes to mind when someone is in need of services that we provide. Parents for Peace & Justice recognize that brand awareness increases opportunities for us to provide services to the communities and individuals we serve.We need your help increasing brand alignment, cohesiveness, and awareness. The Parents for Peace & Justice Board has tools in place to easily comply with brand standards. Activities we suggest for this project include but are not limited to evaluating assets including letterhead, logo, slogan, and website copy for unison in messaging and design; developing prototypes and recommendations for strategies and content.
Project Topics
Marketing
PR & Communications
Company Information
Company | Parents for Peace & Justice |
HQ | Chicago, IL |
Revenue | N/A |
Employees | Unlisted |
Stage | Pre-Revenue Startup |
Hiring Potential | N/A |
Website | https://www.parentsforpeaceandjustice.org/ |
Company Overview
- Violence Prevention: addressing the violence before it happens through activity-focused youth programming
- Healing Support: helping families cope with the enormous loss that results from violence
- Victim Advocacy: advocating for justice through vigils, media campaigns, and legislative advocacy
- Mental health resources, including support groups, counseling, retreats, and workshops for mothers, fathers and siblings who lost a loved one to violence,
- Athletic camps and career workshops for children affected by gun violence, with mentorship from professional athletes and business leaders,
- Advocacy training for families learning to use their voices for positive change.
Experiential Learning Program Details
School | Northern Illinois University (NIU) |
Engagement Format | Live Case - Think "Hackathon" or Case Competition with a whole class of students! This learning format allows educators to deliver experiential learning to students at scale. Students are often split into groups to work on a live case (or a series of cases) from a real host company that directly relates to key learning objectives. |
Course | Business in Action, Spring 2022 (Doughty) – Parents for Peace & Justice |
Level |
|
Students Enrolled | 40 |
Meeting Day & Time | Tues/Thurs |
Student Time Commitment | 4-7 Hours Per Week |
Company Time Commitment | 1 Hour |
Duration | 13.14 Weeks |
Program Timeline
Touchpoints & Assignments | Due Date | Type | |
---|---|---|---|
Project Reveal
Project Reveal
Students are introduced the the project topics
|
February 2nd, 2022 | Event na | |
Students Submit Project Preferences
Students Submit Project Preferences
Use this process to elect your preferences and be assigned to project teams. [INSERT LINK]
|
February 2nd, 2022 | Event na | |
STUDENTS! Take the Project Kick-off Survey!
STUDENTS! Take the Project Kick-off Survey!
Take a few moments to complete this KICKOFF SURVEY before the project begins!
|
February 9th, 2022 | Evaluation evaluation | |
Project Launch
Project Launch
[NEED TO COORDINATE with organization to schedule videoconferencing meeting with class]
|
February 21st, 2022 | Event na | |
Milestone Deliverable 1 Due
Milestone Deliverable 1 Due
Please upload your deliverable using the link above.
|
March 7th, 2022 | Submission Required submission-required | |
STUDENTS! Let us know how you are doing!
STUDENTS! Let us know how you are doing!
Please take a few minutes to let us know how the project is going for you using this TEMPERATURE CHECK SURVEY
|
March 9th, 2022 | Evaluation evaluation | |
Milestone 2 Deliverable Due
Milestone 2 Deliverable Due
Please upload your deliverable using the link above
|
April 6th, 2022 | Submission Required submission-required | |
STUDENTS! Let us know how the project is going!
STUDENTS! Let us know how the project is going!
Take this short survey to let us know how the project is going for you! [INSERT TEMP CHECK LINK]
|
April 11th, 2022 | Evaluation evaluation | |
Milestone 3 Deliverable Due
Milestone 3 Deliverable Due
Please upload your deliverable using the link above
|
May 2nd, 2022 | Submission Required submission-required | |
STUDENTS! Take a short survey on YOUR learning experience!
STUDENTS! Take a short survey on YOUR learning experience!
Please take a few minutes to complete this SELF ASSESSMENT SURVEY on your learning experience with this project!
|
May 4th, 2022 | Evaluation evaluation | |
STUDENTS! Let us know about your observations and experiences working with YOUR PEERS on this project!
STUDENTS! Let us know about your observations and experiences working with YOUR PEERS on this project!
Please take a few minutes to complete this PEER EVALUATION SURVEY!
|
May 4th, 2022 | Evaluation evaluation | |
Official Project End!
Official Project End!
Note: Schedule a time for student final virtual presentations to industry partners.
|
May 4th, 2022 | Event na |
Key Project Milestones
-
March 7, 2022 - Deep-dive into the Organization
- What is the organization’s brand, including their history, mission, vision and goals?
- What is the organization’s relationship to the community? What geographic area, subpopulations, etc. are served by the organization?
- Who is the target audience of the brand? Resist the temptation to list only a few subpopulations and consider the categories and groups the organization aims to reach, connect with, etc.
- What community, group, and individual needs does the organization meet, and how? How are their programs and services defined and organized?
- Take inventory of the organization’s communications: website, brochures, emails, newsletters, annual report, fundraising appeals, mailings, social-media outreach.
Suggested Deliverable:
Infographic overview of the organization and current challenge (internal); communications inventory; questions for industry mentor
-
April 4, 2022 - Define the status quo and ideate solutions
- Define the status quo by analyzing the organization’s current communication:
- Does the material visually represent your organization?
- Is there consistency in color, design, and layout?
- Does it all look like one family, and does that family accurately represent your organizational
personality? - Are the messages compelling and interesting, and do they move people to action?
- Do they tell your story in a way that makes you excited to share your story?
- In addition to these criteria, what other factors are important when evaluating the quality of a non-profit’s branding strategy? What criteria are often used?
- Brainstorm:
- What is the brand promise of this organization?
- What central messages can be used to establish an emotional connection with the target audience? To describe the benefit of the organization to individuals, groups, and communities?
- What are the talking points? Strive to develop one set of talking points for each target audience that includes the following elements:
- Who we are (description)
- How we do it (programs and services that deliver your work)
- Why you should care (specific to each audience)
- What you can do (call to action, tell me how I can help)
- Given your understanding of criteria used to evaluate non-profit brand strategies, what other ideas do you have for elevating the organization’s brand?
Suggested Deliverable:
Communications assessment; Brainstorm recommendations for brand promise, central messages, and talking points for each audience. Presentation to obtain feedback from industry mentor.
- Define the status quo by analyzing the organization’s current communication:
-
May 4, 2022 - Present curated resources, prototypes, recommendations
- What adjustments or updates are needed to improve the organization’s brand? For instance:
- Photos, symbols, images
- Messaging
- Consistency
- Can you provide examples or prototypes to support your recommendations?
- How should you recommendations be implemented across different communication channels? Target audiences?
- What communication channels do you recommend for increasing brand awareness, and why?
- Can you provide estimated costs associated with your recommendations?
- How can the organization evaluate the strategy you recommend?
Suggested Deliverable:
Branding Strategy Playbook & Prototypes; Presentation
- What adjustments or updates are needed to improve the organization’s brand? For instance:
Academic Mentors
Assigned Students
There are currently no students assigned.