United Way of Greater Houston

A nonprofit needed to spotlight its big-picture focus and attract donors year after year.

The United Way of Greater Houston is a dynamic organization. A holistic approach—aggregating social services for people in need, maintaining high standards for accountability and performance, and ensuring long-term, positive change in the community—makes it the nonprofit of choice for many Houstonians, including major corporations and business leaders.

Since 2006, Pennebaker has helped clarify messages and streamline communication channels for this regional nonprofit, boosting both brand awareness and efficiency in fundraising and services.

Following an initial Strategic Guardrails session, we defined the organization’s business strategy: The United Way of Greater Houston is the one single-source organization looking to solve the community’s biggest challenges. We created a bold tagline / call to action based on the fact that Houston is a community with an active mindset: "Do Something About It."

“Do Something About It.”

Pennebaker has developed each year’s annual multimedia campaign based on a unique theme and executed the complete set of communication materials. The most recent campaign, “ONE,” focuses on the dramatic effect one small thing—a book, a teacher, a word of encouragement—can make in a person’s life.

Advertising

This year’s campaign also reinforces the United Way’s focus on creating long-term, systemic change. While continuing to support the social services safety net, United Way-led initiatives are transforming individual lives and bringing long-lasting, systemic change to tough issues, like family financial stability and academic success.

Branding

Bright, bold, colorful graphics and close-up photography focus on people of different ages and diversity, in different environments, with different needs. The messaging invites thought, emotion, and engagement. Pennebaker’s focus on selecting the appropriate media channels and media buys ensures that the right messages reach the right target audiences.

Website

Campaign coordinators can download training and support materials from the recently redesigned website. We helped to develop multimedia presentation materials, also made available online.
The new website design offers user-friendly navigation and improved accessibility, while featuring the annual campaign theme. Its evergreen design allows for updating for new initiatives. The content of the site is designed to appeal to emotion with heartfelt success stories, and to stewardship through examples of responsible and effective investment in the community. Visit the site here.

Video

Collateral Material

Each annual campaign involves numerous pieces — everything from table tents to posters to facility banners — designed to appeal to donor prospects at their place of work. A strong United Way brand strengthens the impact.