The setup
An iconic brand ready for its next chapter
When the Network of Executive Women (NEW)—a powerful non-profit dedicated to advancing all women in business and creating diverse workplaces—approached Envisionit, they were preparing to celebrate their 20th anniversary. Their mission was steadfast, but the world around them had changed, facing shifts like the “Shecession” and evolving ideas of success.
The organization, with nearly 15,000 members and over 300 corporate partners, recognized the need for a reimagined brand to connect with a new generation of Gen Z and Millennial women, as well as male allies.
Their goal was to stand out in a crowded space of women-centric and DEI-focused organizations. Their primary challenges were rooted in complexity and scale:
- Legacy systems: They utilized numerous legacy systems, with Salesforce at the center, all requiring thoughtful integration.
- Data management: They possessed a large amount of data but lacked a clear vision for its efficient utilization.
- Stakeholder alignment: Aligning and prioritizing the needs of 30 board members (many with CMO credentials), corporate partners, and a massive membership base was paramount.
- User journeys: The existing digital experience was a “mess of iterative bandaids the site could no longer support,” affecting both front-end interactions and back-end usage.
The solution
Clarity for a brand revamp and updated digital ecosystem
Envisionit crafted a full brand transformation and launch support to usher in an exciting new chapter for the organization, now named NextUp. Our core work was focused on providing clarity to a complex, multi-stakeholder organization. The overall goal was to create a rich web experience that felt inclusive, inspired engagement, and fostered meaningful connections with all audiences—from prospective members and current members to corporate partners.
The solution included a comprehensive suite of services and deliverables:
- New brand identity: Naming, full brand positioning, key messaging, logo, sub-brand logos, and visual identity development.
- Digital platform: A new website relaunch at nextupisnow.org to replicate the sense of community and support members feel at live events.
- Launch enablement: Content strategy, creative campaign development, social content calendar and asset creation, email strategy, communication toolkits, videos, and brand training.
The strategy
Designing for scale, governing for consistency, and automating for growth
The strategic approach focused on deeply immersing the team in the organization’s needs, beginning with extensive research and interviews with more than 30 NextUp stakeholders. This initial phase led to the exploration and testing of over 850 unique names and more than 9 visual directions, resulting in a new identity that conveyed forward momentum.
Key strategies and tactics included:
- Flexible architecture: We ensured the new architecture was flexible to translate the brand to its 21 regional chapters while maintaining consistency across the sub-brands.
- Governance and consistency: Particular emphasis was placed on establishing user permissions and CMS requirements to govern backend access and content consistency across national, regional, and local chapters, which was crucial to avoiding previous complications.
- CRM integration and efficiency: We established automated processes around all Nimble/Salesforce data to support dynamic content distribution across the entire site, which removed a ton of wasteful manual activities for the internal team.
- Event and member experience: Specific rules and CRM integrations were implemented for event management, greatly enhancing the discovery and registration experience. Single Sign-On (SSO) was introduced to streamline the member experience and increase content engagement by removing friction in user interactions.
- Rollout: With numerous user groups and stakeholders to onboard, we strategically planned a multi-phased rollout of the new experience and functionality, including webinars, social communication, and live events.
The results
A thrilled organization and significantly surpassed benchmarks
The campaign delivered impressive results that immediately empowered the organization to better serve its mission.
- Exceeded goals: Since the launch, all performance benchmarks have been exceeded, significantly surpassing expectations.
- Stakeholder satisfaction: The entire organization was thrilled with the results of the transformation.
At NextUp, we are so excited to celebrate our new brand, our same mission, and our community of nearly 15k amazing women and men. Our partnership with Envisionit supported the future focus positioning our mission deserves and we are so excited to celebrate it EVERY day to truly impact the lives of our members and the cultures in Corporate America to be more inclusive.
The power of a clarified brand and a strategically engineered digital platform helped NextUp achieve their next level of impact. How can the same blend of strategic insight, brand transformation, and technical execution apply to your current business challenges and pain points? Let’s talk.
