Manifest

A rebrand for the American Red Cross

February 10, 2012

Yesterday, the American Red Cross officially announced a re-brand. Along with a subtle logo change, they have refreshed the look of their organization and have revised the language that expresses the essence of their brand. More >

Posted by Paulb | 0 Comments

The 4 things all members of a coalition must share

February 8, 2012

Every day people get together to explore how they can join forces to address one social problem or another. More often than not the motivation to meet is anger or frustration or both. Being mad as hell and resolving not to take “it” anymore can be a good place to start but rarely if ever is emotion a sustainable propellant for change. Change takes focus, fortitude, resolve and resilience. Harnessing the potential of the group and then growing it into a critical mass with meaningful momentum is a process built in four cornerstones:

1. Common cause: This is a framing issue. The language of change must speak to and for all involved. And it must engage the hearts and minds of a variety of markets and publics. More >

Posted by Mark | Tags: Advocacy, Coalition, Mark Sarner | 0 Comments

“Ifs” we’re glad someone asked: #3 in a series

February 1, 2012

Foreign aid has always been around in one form or another. But it sure has changed from the olden days—so much so that now we call it “international aid”, or even “global development”. Semantics abound, but in modern times the intent is the same however you label it: nations and organizations help other countries and peoples survive, and even thrive, in difficult times.

Foreign aid used to mean sending your troops to help someone else’s troops. Win or lose, what remained of your troops came home, and the rebuilding of devastated towns and lives was left to whoever was still standing.

During World War Two, the nature of foreign aid changed. Why? Because someone asked if keeping peace in the world needed to include helping those nations whose governments, economies and peoples were in trouble. Are we glad they did.

Fifty-one countries founded the UN, not only recognizing that a nation’s stability and success were More >

Posted by Sarah A | Tags: Foreign Aid, Global Development, If, International Aid | 0 Comments

5 issues not to forget about now that the holidays are over.

January 11, 2012

As traffic grinds back to its usual halt and retail outlets gear up for Valentine’s Day we must now accept that the holidays are over. But that doesn’t mean the holiday spirit of giving needs to end along with it.

The Season of Giving isn’t just referring to giving yourself an iPhone 4, it is also a time when people naturally think about others in need. Whether it is volunteering at a food bank, donating toys to children, or buying “a goat” for your great-uncle, December is a time when individuals and organizations alike are more inclined to give their time and money to a cause. So it makes sense that for many charities the majority of their fundraising takes place during the holiday season. More >

Posted by Greta | Tags: Campaigns, Fundraising, Holiday, homelessness, Hunger, International Development, Mental Illness, Poverty, Social Issues, Volunteer | 0 Comments

5 reasons we love ambient campaigns

January 4, 2012

Here at Manifest, cause-focused ambient media campaigns always get us talking, especially ones that are well-thought through and well-executed. They may be silly or they may be serious but their provocative, unexpected nature always seems to capture the attention of their audience. Here are our top five reasons for loving ambient campaigns, as well some issue-specific examples to help illustrate each reason. More >

Posted by StephI | Tags: Ambient, Campaigns | 0 Comments

5 Ways to Say Happy Holidays

December 22, 2011

It’s that time of year in the agency world — the annual toil over the company holiday card. Yes, the typical warm fuzzy greeting could be sent out in the form of a card tucked inside a basket full of tasty treats, but more often than not, this is seized as an opportunity to showcase the agency and what it can do. This is why the holiday card is attacked with all of the creative zeal that can be mustered, because whatever is created needs to be infused with the agency’s personality to showcase its unique talent, and while at it, make something buzz-worthy enough to possibly go viral. The best part? This opportunity comes around once every year. More >

Posted by StephI | Tags: Agency, Christmas, Holiday Card | 0 Comments

4 simple words

December 8, 2011

The smartest branding I’ve seen in years?

Not a campaign, an ad, a design, a logo, a mnemonic, or anything even remotely fancy or elaborate.

In fact, I’ll even bet it was free.

The answer? More >

Posted by Jim Diorio | Tags: Apple, Branding, iPhone | 2 Comments

1 gift we can all give.

December 1, 2011

One of the things we’ve noticed about our blog is that, regardless of the subject, our posts are all pretty personal. And that’s simply because we’re talking about things that touch us both as professionals and as people. That’s definitely true about this next post from Joe, a story he enjoyed hearing as a child that’s right on time for the holidays.

More >

Posted by Joe | Tags: Direct Mail, Holiday | 2 Comments