THE ARC | 2010 ANNUAL REPORT


The Arc’s New Brand Identity How does The Arc, one of


over 1.5 million nonprofits in the United States, distin- guish itself to attract support to our cause of promoting and protecting the human rights of people with intel- lectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD)? How can we amplify our


reach into local communities and build a powerful movement of people with I/DD and their families, when 700 chapters na- tionwide are using different names and logos to “brand” them- selves? What can we do about the fact that The Arc, 60 years old


and one of the largest charity networks, is virtually unknown amongst members of the public, ranking 96th in public recogni- tion among the 100 largest national charities? These were our challenges in the beginning of 2010 - chal- lenges we are now well on the way to solving. Without a common brand identity, the power of our chapter network was diluted as the public couldn’t connect the dots that would allow The Arc to be seen as all one organization. Our ability to promote and protect the human rights of people with I/DD and actively support their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes was suffering without a cohesive visual identity. So with the full backing of The Arc’s National Board and a


strong mandate from chapter leaders across the country, The Arc sought expert advice from CoreBrand, a unique marketing agency with a strategy-driven focus, to help us achieve this goal. As Mohan Mehra, then-Chair of the Marketing Resource Devel- opment Committee and now President of the National Board said, “We knew that if we could agree upon an exciting and


motivating visual identity, and the supporting brand promise, we would get the buy-in necessary to energize and motivate chapters to re-brand The Arc as one organization.” Embracing The Arc’s guiding principle of participatory democracy, we pro- vided the means for people with I/DD, their parents, siblings, family members and other concerned members of the public with opportunities to inform and guide us. Jonathan Paisner, CoreBrand’s Brand Director, noted, “under- standing what it was that makes The Arc special in order to com- municate in a compelling and wonderful way required spending a lot of time speaking to stakeholders with many different rela- tionships to the organization – who is The Arc – what is its voice – how does it exercise this to help people to achieve.” A Brand Advisory Group represented chapters across the


country. Webinars, focus groups, and in-person meetings along with an internet poll allowed every chapter in the country the opportunity to be a part of the process. With CoreBrand’s guid- ance, we developed our overall message platform, our promise, and the long sought after single visual identity that captures the essence of The Arc. And in less than nine months, The Arc’s brand promise of helping people with I/DD achieve their goals, coupled with The Arc’s embracing, determined and experienced personality was translated into a new brand identity unveiled at the National Convention in November 2010. Our new brand captured who we are and where we are going


and it will help unite and reinvigorate us as an organization. The next step is implementation, with turn-key graphics and guide- lines that will enable us to confidently hit the ground running. From this day forward, no one will ever wonder “what does


Arc stand for.” We are The Arc, and we can proudly proclaim that The Arc is “For People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities,” it creates opportunities for them, and invites people to “Achieve with us.”


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Jonathan Paisner, CoreBrand’s Brand Director:


“The Arc is a diamond in the rough, a huge orga- nization – with very little consistency and aware- ness – and the opportu- nity to really help them capture and tell their story to the world was an exciting professional and creative challenge. But aside from that, we were immediately taken by the passion and zeal that everyone connected with the organization sincere- ly felt about it.”


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