SBLC: Learning Works
- FRESHSTART BRANDING
South Baltimore Learning Center (SBLC) is a community-based nonprofit organization providing functional literacy education, life-skills training, and career preparation services to adult residents in the Baltimore area.
Challenge
Challenges faced by SBLC included the need to craft a compelling narrative that resonated with their audience, distinguish themselves from similar organizations, and convey their overall value beyond the label of a “learning center.”
Objectives
To address these challenges, a comprehensive strategy was developed by the Redstart team:
Create
a unifying message that highlights the depth and breadth of SBLC’s services and experiences.
Communicate
their unique contributions to the community.
DISTINGUISH
SBCL from other peer organizations, beyond calling itself a “learning center.”
our Process
Redstart Creative engaged in the STORY process with multiple stakeholders at SBLC so that we could identify the gaps in communication and find opportunities to clearly articulate who they are, what they do, and why they do it. Our STORY process is designed to provide the information and tools an organization needs to find their voice, tell their unique story, and discover opportunities for success. The STORY process for SBLC brought to light the following:
1. We pinpointed SBLC's core motivation, which is:
to support the desire in each person to learn and excel to the highest points of her or his abilities and potential.
2. We identified SBLC’s core strengths including:
a peopleand support- first approach; the ability of its expert, knowledgeable staff to instill confidence and inspire achievement; and a focus on shared success.
3. We determined SBLC’s target audience
so that their brand message would speak directly to their desired market.
4. We centered on key distinguishing aspects of SBLC
enabling us to underscore their significance to their audience in the communications we developed for them. These characteristics comprised their proficiency in tailoring content to align with the individual and distinctive requirements or professional aspirations of adult learners, as well as the diversity inherent in their program offerings.
The Results
SOLUTIONS/PRODUCTS
After identifying the key differentiating features through the STORY Process, the next step was to craft SBLC’s unique narrative and messaging. Every interaction with their audience was designed to evoke a consistent feeling and convey a unified voice. The elements devised to bring SBLC’s brand to life included:
1. Redstart composed SBLC’s story, encompassing the organization’s history, elucidating their approach to adult education, and spotlighting the positive impact they make.
2. We curated a set of concise, core messages for versatile use across different contexts, along with a potential tagline – “At SBLC, we put learning to work.”
3. Our designers developed a new logo and print materials to support SBLC’s rebranding and align with the new communication strategy.
4. Our team designed and implemented a new website that incorporated the updated story, logo, and messages. These elements collectively reinforced SBLC’s key message and personality, ensuring a cohesive and impactful brand presence.
Redstart was able to help SBLC create and articulate a compelling story about the organization that would engage and resonate with all stakeholders. That story would then help generate awareness, increase enrollment and support, and help the organization to stand out from peer organizations in a positive way. Most notably, through the discovery process, SBLC was able to recognize that it functions not only to educate adult learners, but also to empower them to succeed. That led them to adopt its newfound tag line: Learning works.
“We love our new look! The Redstart Creative team includes professionals who are experts in their fields and sensitive to the unique needs of a non-profit marketing strategy. Their genuine compassion for our mission helped SBLC achieve a brand that effectively conveys the story we’ve been longing to tell, but just couldn’t find the words or images to express so succinctly.”
—Dana Marron,
Fund and Instructional Development Director
southbaltimorelearns.org
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