Following the 2008 sub-prime mortgage crisis, the word “home” struggled to maintain national relevance and vigor. For the National NeighborWorks Association (NNWA), a major trade association of national community development practitioners, extensive research points to the connections between stable family housing and other vital parts of society including education, health, the economy and public safety. Ideon had the audacious idea to take NNWA’s newly minted movement called “Home Matters” and establish it as the leader in uniting America around Home as the bedrock for thriving lives, families, communities, and a stronger nation
NNWA unites housing and community development practitioners to advocate for housing and economic opportunities for individuals, families, communities, and neighborhoods around the nation. Ideon navigated NNWA’s complex collection of coalitions and community organizations to create why based brand positioning for Home Matters that transcended the fragmented and opaque housing industry, and instead taps into the universal, emotive appeal of home. The new brand story returns “Home” to the national agenda while speaking boldly and broadly to all Americans.
The new brand design is warm and vibrant, emphasizing Home Matters’ fearless commitment to the cause. A sunny, orange color palette shines in a hand-painted logo, as if someone had written the words “Home Matters” on their kitchen table – a friendly script to invoke the emotive appeal of home. A new tagline, “Home is where it all starts,” underscores the new brand voice and visionary rallying cry. Ideon also developed six distinct touchpoints where Home Matters will influence society: Educate, Collaborate, Engage, Advocate, Support, and Celebrate.
The website was designed to represent a beautiful, multicolor tapestry of stories and emotive messages about why Home Matters to all Americans. Ideon created a toolbox of brand assets including notebooks, postcards, stickers, buttons, invitations and mailers to invite grassroots support for the movement organized by NNWA chapters and other organizations. All materials were downloadable and customizable by chapters and organizations via the website’s deep materials library. At every level, Ideon made it incredibly easy for NNWA and all “boots on the ground” community groups to engage with the Home Matters movement.
Ideon launched Home Matters as a national movement on Capitol Hill as well as online via its user generated social media campaign, inviting Americans to write their own stories about why Home Matters to them.
A visionary long-term goal was set: Simple yet influential, Home Matters will see success when Americans truly recognize the power of the home. This powerful and emotive movement, built around the value of a home in a recessionary market, draws attention to the undervalued but essential role Home plays in American life, and sheds light on connections between stable housing and other areas vital to society.
As a result, Home Matters is still reorienting the housing industry and Americans everywhere, to think of Home Matters as a foundational bridge to an enriched life, imbued with access to education, healthcare, transport, services and more.
Chris Krehmeyer, former Chairman, Home Matters and CEO, Beyond Housing Corp. is a fan, explaining "I could not have envisioned a better end result or a better process. I would unequivocally and whole heartedly endorse Andrea and Ideon to anyone in need of help creating a brand."
