A Brand Story
How do you “rebrand” a program when it’s already part of an established and well-respected institution?
This was the question I faced when I first joined the Michigan Collaborative Care Implementation and Support Team (MCCIST). The team was on the cusp of expansion, ready to launch their work beyond the state of Michigan and to broaden their training portfolio to encompass a wider range of behavioral health care services. Put simply, the team had outgrown its name and it was time for a change.
What’s in a name?
I led MCCIST, including our full leadership team, through collaborative activities designed to help us establish a new direction. First, I developed a survey to gather everyone’s perspectives and ideas about MCCIST and its future. Then, I compiled the survey results and used those insights, coupled with my own benchmarking research, to develop a team-centered, creative brainstorming exercise. (Dare I say we had fun?) By the end, we all agreed that the future of behavioral health care, the future of our work, had to be agile and multifaceted to meet growing needs. PRISM was born.
To brand or not to brand?
PRISM was housed within Michigan Medicine, one of the nation's top academic medical centers and an institution with a strong brand. However, PRISM’s clients came from different health systems and many of them considered Michigan Medicine a direct competitor. So, how could I help PRISM stay in alignment with the brand guidelines set by Michigan Medicine’s communications leadership without jeopardizing PRISM’s current and future client base?
Time to get creative!
When developing a new look and feel for PRISM, I worked within Michigan Medicine’s secondary color palette and fonts. Designing a unique lockup for the program would have conflicted with Michigan Medicine branding standards, so instead I focused on simple text and cohesive color choices for the website, e-newsletter, and other marketing collateral. The result? An identity that fit seamlessly into Michigan Medicine’s larger branding vision but could still stand on its own.
