I recently made a very happy discovery
Namely, that I was wrong about a client’s brand line. Here’s what’s particularly interesting about it: In my conversations with their clients, every one of them had agreed that the line was NOT reflective of what they thought of the organization.
Background
I’m working with my longtime friend John Steakley, who’s hired me to help his addiction ministry — Unbound Grace — with its marketing. From the outset, his brand line, “Find Hope In The Wilderness Of Addiction,” struck me as potentially too negative to appeal to prospective clients.
In my interviews with existing and past clients, I asked each one, “What comes to mind when you think of Unbound Grace?”
Here were their responses
“Community. Community through the groups. One-To-One communion with the counselors, and one-to-one communion with God. It makes me so hopeful.”
“One-to-one help with addictions. A source of encouragement, and truth. A place where you are embraced. A place where the people are living as examples.”
“It’s a safe place. A place that is open and honest. My story no longer weighs so heavily on my conscience. It was the first time I had told a stranger the depth of my sin. And yet, Tyler was calm and quiet. He was a safe person to talk to, and he was compassionate.”
“To me, Unbound Grace is about community and connection. It’s a safe place.”
“What really resonated with me is that those guys are me. They’ve been through my journey as addicts.”
“I would say passion. They are very compassionate. Everyone in the ministry is compassionate. They give hope. Sobriety is possible. But it’s about connecting. And they provide that connection.”
Here’s what I said next —
“I didn’t hear you say ‘Find Hope In The Wilderness Of Addiction,’ and I’m concerned that the line isn’t an accurate reflection of Unbound Grace’s brand.” Every client agreed with that observation. So I sat-down and developed a new brand line.
Here’s what i created:
Connection. Compassion. Community.
Every Step Of The Way.
It’s a pretty good line, if do I say so myself. More importantly, though, it’s taken straight from the words Unbound Grace’s clients volunteered — with no coaching or direction.
Would you believe I got pushback?
John loved the line. Later, though, he reported that some staffers and board members were so opposed to replacing the existing line that we would be keeping it, moving forward.
I politely but firmly reminded him of the obvious — that not one of the clients I’d interviewed had supported it — then suggested I conduct a poll to demonstrate the obvious to our naysayers.
The poll was quick and simple:
I emailed it on a Friday afternoon to three dozen people I was comfortable asking for a couple minutes of their time. Sixteen responded.
When the first response (from another good friend of John’s and a longtime fan of his ministry) came back in favor of #1, I replied, before thanking him, “Wrong answer! 😉” After all, how could Bill possibly read the client quotes and not pick #2? Then it occurred to me: Bill’s known about Unbound Grace for a long time, so he must have a sentimental attachment to the existing line.
When the final vote came back just 9 – 7 in favor of my line, instead of 16 – 0 (which is what I’d expected), I couldn’t deny it: There is a power to “Find Hope In The Wilderness Of Addiction” I simply did not appreciate. Nearly half of my respondents had chosen it knowing the other line was overwhelmingly more consistent with the client comments they’d just read.
Honestly, I couldn’t be happier I was proven wrong
First, because I don’t enjoy it when I have to disagree with clients — even though it’s my moral and professional obligation to do just that, when necessary. But second, and much more importantly, it’s a great reminder to test, and re-test, all assumptions — even the most obvious ones.
Here’s what my biggest problem was:
It’s the way that line was presented on the home screen. When you count-out the syllables, FIND HOPE is less than 20% of the message, and not only isn’t it emphasized on the home screen, it’s presented against a depressingly dark background.
Here’s how we fixed it on their updated website
By making FIND HOPE bigger, and placing it on a line by itself, we’ve given the message a much more uplifting feel. And as you can see, we replaced the depressing background with an image that genuinely supports the most “important” part of the message — at least from a marketing perspective.
All that said, I learned a great lesson from the experience: Sometimes clients are right, even when all the “evidence” — not to mention my decades of professional experience — indicates otherwise.
To see the new website we built for Unbound Grace – –
Click Here
