How we transitioned a conventional global nonprofit into a bold and relevant wellness advocate

Client:  American Heart Association

The Ask:  Reposition the American Heart Association (AHA) as a relevant brand with timely solutions for better health – particularly for women.

Key Research: Social listening, patient and at-risk interviews, stakeholder interviews

The Problem: Women have lost track of time, lost faith in themselves and lost motivation. And it’s not getting better anytime soon. They don’t want to be preached to about health – rather they need inspiration and real solutions that positively impact their wellbeing.

My “Aha” Moment: The new CMO of AHA is also a motivational speaker for women. Trolling her Insta account and website, I found the words she uses to champion her followers and was inspired as I wrote the brief to create the new brand. 

Strategy: Ignite women with a strong battle cry to do more for their wellness, donate/volunteer for others, and stay strong in troubled times. I offered “fierce” as the type of word that would motivate women to channel their inner Beyonce and do more.

Creative: The brand essence line that AHA approved is “Live Fierce.” To launch the brand internally, we created an emotional manifesto video as well as brand-in-action examples. 

Results: Consumer validation showed intense love for this strong, bold statement among women. The manifesto video will be launching with a public-facing edit soon, with a full roll-out of the Live Fierce campaign in January 2021.

Team Credits: Merritt Martin – Copy; Cory Kilduff – CD/Design; Katie Wilson – Account