• By: Eric Murphy

Giving Charitable Brands a Helping Hand

For a charity, sometimes having your heart in the right place isn’t enough. No matter how much good work you do, not having the right look can hold back potential volunteers and donations.

That’s why local creative agency McMillan is offering to help one Ottawa charity develop a new, re-energized brand. Through their “Betterful” initiative, McMillan will partner with the selected charity to develop fresh strategic messaging, naming, visual identity, and a plan for brand activation. Whatever is required to help that charity get the attention it needs and deserves.

Any local charity can throw its hat in the ring as long as they have a registration number from the CRA, an office within the Ottawa city limits and stakeholders who agree that rebranding is a priority worthy of serious commitment.

“We’re seeking a charity with the appetite for big, bold change,” says McMillan president Rob Hyams. “Our goal is to help that charity build awareness with the confidence and visibility of a new brand. It’s our way of giving back to the community that has been our home for 20 years.”

McMillan has already worked with great charitable and cultural organizations like the Ottawa International Animation Festival, Citizen Advocacy, the Mental Health Crisis Line, Opera Lyra. They’re currently partnered with the Shepherds of Good Hope, a charity whose name is synonymous with helping Ottawa’s less fortunate.

To be considered for the Betterful initiative, charities only need to submit a short video at betterful.mcmillan.com. McMillan is accepting submissions until May 17, 2016, and they’ll be announcing their selection on May 23, 2016. You can find out more by checking out the video below: