The case for building

common wealth

Far too many Americans lack financial security, but one nonprofit has worked for decades to change that—they just needed help telling their story.

the challenge

Spreading the message of a crucial mission

Harvard Business School faculty founded Doorways to Dreams (D2D) in 2001, which believes everyone should have financial security. But over time D2D’s category had become crowded, its position was being eroded by competing NGOs, and they developed a reputation based on a singular product. D2D contacted Arrow about rebranding when they realized they needed a new strategic plan.

the Solution

We landed on the conceptual name “Commonwealth” to better express its mission-driven purpose of “building more common wealth and making wealth more common.” We created a conceptual logo that visually expressed this idea and we developed comprehensive brand guidelines that included messaging, visual identity, and imagery and usage rules.

the OUTCOME

Commonwealth rolled out the new branding at an industry conference in Washington, D.C. to great fanfare from their staff, board members, partners, and funders. Since the rebrand Arrow has also assisted with top-level messaging around some of Commonwealth’s major new fintech initiatives.
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Commonwealth’s brand messaging was workshopped with the leadership team.

Brand guidelines help the messaging and visual aesthetic stay true.

Qualitative brand research included focus groups with staff and dozens of in-depth interviews with stakeholders that helped shape the digital experience.