Understand First
Nnenna Onuba, Founder of 100 Allies, wanted to use her experience and connections to take on the lack of diversity amongst the C-Suites.
She created 100 Allies to provide a network of allies, mentors and sponsors who could help those rising stars whose progress might be impeded by gender or ethnicity. As part of our Libero programme to help brands and organisations who have a compelling and deserving purpose but without the budget to do their cause justice, we worked with Nnenna on a pro bono basis. There was a need, principally, for an identity reflective of the disruptive and empowering nature of the initiative as well as all the assets which could propel 100 Allies into the minds and consciences of the sponsors they needed.
At the heart of this ‘Brand Creation’ was the identity. As with all FTB projects, there had to be an idea at the heart of it, an idea which was memorable and told the story of what 100 Allies was all about.
The ‘steps’ logo encapsulated the way that 100 Allies could provide that upward momentum for those who might be denied it. In addition, it was refreshingly ‘uncorporate’ signalling a change in the status quo and drawing more on club culture than the cricket club culture of traditional business boardrooms. Indeed, as one of our leading pieces of messages said ‘we want to change the face and the faces of the boardroom.’ The orange, black and white colour palette was vibrant and contemporary, cutting through the conservative and the conventional. And the logo was locked up with the line, the rallying cry which we created for 100 Allies, ‘Leading Everyone Towards Leadership’.
The identity, the line and the manifesto which enshrined the mission of 100 Allies were the platform for all the collateral which Nnenna needed to launch her initiative and attract mentors and sponsors. FTB designed the website as well as all the necessary presentations, both live and digital, required to put across the proposition in as compelling and consistent way as possible. In addition, FTB produced three films; an animated dramatization of the 100 Allies offering based on the identity, an inspirational case study featuring JuE Wong who embodied the spirit of 100 Allies and finally a moving and impassioned rendering of Nnenna’s story.
All this was achieved in one month in order to meet the launch deadline at a prestigious CEW Beauty Industry event.
A wonderful cause, some Beautiful Thinking, all delivered at speed but at no cost.