Understanding the Story:
Minnesota Adoption Resource Network is the state’s only adoption agency focused on representing the children as a stakeholder in the adoptive process. The organization needed to reposition the agency to reflect new leadership, market the agency to potential corporate donors and communicate their commitment to helping adoptive children find permanent families.

The agency also needed an overall brand identity that could encapsulate current and future programs, including Our Voices Matter, a leadership and mentoring program for children in foster care; Minnesota Adoption Support and Preservation hotline for adoption resources; and the Minnesota State Adoption Exchange – a database of children currently in the state foster care system. The agency also saw the changing economic climate and state budget shortfalls meant they needed to reach out to corporate donors more effectively.

Crafting and Telling the Story:
branding strategies relied on acronyms whose meanings were only known to a small number of adoption specialists in the state and the positioning did not succinctly communicate the central vision of the agency. Sight Marketing conducted a series of brand strategy interviews and developed a set of coordinated brands that fit one simple, clean and straightforward agency brand. Sight also developed a public service announcement and collateral pieces to help Minnesota Adoption Resource Network quickly tell its story with an emotional impact that left an impression on targeted donors under the “Zero Kids Waiting” campaign. Sight also developed a new web design and template for future web presences that bring a new level of professionalism to the agency’s communication and fundraising activities.

The Story’s Impact:
Minnesota Adoption Resource Network has secured tens of thousands of dollars in donations, due in part to the employed strategic communications plan. The agency has also diversified its board of directors to include more business professionals with a special interest in the area of adoption and foster care to help guide the agency through the next exciting chapter in their 20-year history. Sight continues to offer ongoing strategic and design assistance to Minnesota Adoption Resource Network.

Visit www.ourvoicesmatter.org

Visit www.zerokidswaiting.com