Parkinson's foundation
Building community to drive progress on Parkinson’s disease
From holistic rebrand to new fundraising programs, our decade-long partnership with the Parkinson’s Foundation centers the community and promises measurable progress that improves lives.
Services
Brand Strategy
Messaging
Visual Identity
Brand Guidelines
Art Direction
Campaigns
Print Materials
Brand Strategy
Messaging
Visual Identity
Brand Guidelines
Art Direction
Campaigns
Print Materials
Ultravirgo project team
Marina Csomor
Patrick Durgin-Bruce
Seth Margolis
Benjamin Tuttle
Luisa Velez
Collaborator
Juan Silva
Marina Csomor
Patrick Durgin-Bruce
Seth Margolis
Benjamin Tuttle
Luisa Velez
Collaborator
Juan Silva
BACKGROUND
The field of Parkinson’s organizations presents many challenges — competition for funding is high in an undifferentiated marketplace, as donors want to fund a cure even though a cure is many years away, while people living with Parkinson’s need support now. Two organizations with different missions — National Parkinson Foundation and Parkinson's Disease Foundation — merged in an effort to combine forces to achieve a common goal: a world without Parkinson’s.
Finding opportunity in accountability
Competitors generally fall into two camps: those who are deep into research of long shots for a cure, and those who emphasize treatment and care – both of which have brands that speak in fluffy terminology like “hope”, “optimism”, and “strength.” Through research, we uncovered opportunity to create a distinctive brand focused on quality, accountability, and open cooperation within a very engaged community.
THE BIG IDEA
Nothing is impossible when a passionate community works together.
Better lives. Together.
Our solution is built on the promise of “Real Progress. Together.” which is communicated publicly through the tagline “Better Lives. Together.” It underscores the demonstrable successes of the two legacy organizations and emphasizes accountability to true, measurable progress through cooperation throughout the entire community.
Designed for the community
Inspired by the Parkinson's community and their highly personalized approach to participation, especially in the popular Moving Day walks, the logo is specifically designed to serve as a platform for community expression. The stylized P is an open prompt offering a space for individuals to handwrite their own messages to personalize materials.
Unifying sub-brands
Analyzing their varied programs and activities, we defined two specific types of sub-brands, and created specific guidelines and assets for each. In addition, an identity system was defined for local chapters, empowering the mostly volunteer-led teams with assets, artwork and templates to ensure professional branding at all levels.
We commissioned custom portraits to feature a wide range of individuals from across the Parkinson’s community – doctors, people with Parkinson’s, researchers, family members, caregivers, donors, and more.
The launch campaign included a printable social media template for individuals to customize their own version of the logo, which become a recurring feature at events.
“Ultravirgo did an outstanding job of helping the Parkinson’s Foundation develop its branding and update its strategic messaging. From our first planning meeting, to the working team meetings, to the launch of our new brand, Ultravirgo demonstrated a keen understanding of our organization’s vision and mission objectives. I strongly recommend Ultravirgo to any firm, large or small, looking for the very best in branding and messaging.”
John L. Lehr
President & CEO
Parkinson's Foundation
President & CEO
Parkinson's Foundation
Building the brand over the long-term
We have continued to work with the Foundation since the rebrand to produce a variety of materials, including developing a popular series of educational booklets (above), producing new advertising and fundraising campaigns, launching new sub-brands, and creating event materials.
Provide answers where people go to ask questions
We developed an online advertising campaign focused on providing answers to the 10 most common questions people have about Parkinson's disease. Ads were placed on WebMD, leading to a landing page with all the answers, as well as the number of the Helpline for any questions not covered.
Parkinson's Revolution
When the Foundation asked us to help launch a new fundraising event focused on indoor cycling to engage a younger audience, we created Parkinson's Revolution, which went on to become a signature annual event.
Learn about Parkinson's Revolution
Caring and Coping
We produced Caring and Coping, a comprehensive guide for caregivers of people with Parkinson’s. Conceived as a lifelong resource, the workbook contains practical guidance, advice and tools to make the caring ‘journey’ as productive as possible with the least amount of stress. It is complemented by online resources that include interactive worksheets and how-to videos. This free publication has quickly become the premiere resource for caring for someone with Parkinson’s, and has been known to elicit tears of joy from recipients.
results
Annual revenues have increased from $22 million to
$84 million
since launch.
$84 million
since launch.
Named to REBRAND100 list of the 100 best rebrands in the world.
Won Gold in the Transform Awards for Best Visual Identity by an NGO or Not-for-profit
