Y.U.V.A. (NGO)
Service
Pro Bono Branding & Community Development
Location
Australia & New Zealand
The Brand
An exciting branding project working with a youth development organisation introducing their new initiative aimed at students aged 18-25.
Y.U.V.A ~ Youth Under Voluntary Action, is an initiative by students for students. A self-funded not-for-profit volunteer organisation that helps students achieve a balance between cultures and generations. They take a round table approach to all their activities which are specifically designed to challenge students and help them evolve as individuals.
The Challenges
brand awareness, brand connection, building a brand community, Increase Voluntary Involvement
Students making the transition from high school to university is an exciting time. Crucial for the development of values, beliefs, sense of adventure and how the world works. Younger generations are understanding the value of genuine human connections. Especially with the exponential growth of technology and social media. YUVA is essentially a group of friends based across AUSTRALIA, who always wondered what it would be like if they helped each other grow and take on the ‘real world’ together. This is where they reached out to us to help them structure and design their brand.
Building a brand community banks on the natural human need to belong, combined with a strong sense of common purpose. It’s a skillset we have strengthened here at XX.
Our Solution
brand foundation build, logo design, brand naming, brand strategy, brand ethos, brand vision, mission & values, brand merchandising
We really enjoyed working with the team at YUVA. They are a group of life long friends who are proactive, full of ideas and want to grow together. Plenty of positive vibes challenging status quo and out to change their world.
The main tool that helped us develop a solution was to listen. In our first couple of meetings we listened, took notes and understood their motivations, fears, desires and frustrations. We learned that their goals are international. They want to attract and empower youth who think alike and want to make a difference in the world.
We conducted a few branding workshops to educate and help them understand how branding can be used to achieve their goals and build a community of like-minded students. We then helped them develop an onboarding marketing process that minimised miscommunication and ensured everyone understood YUVA’s vision and mission. We then developed processes and systems so they could replicate the same concept nationally and internationally Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Auckland. It started with their logo which also doubled as their brand mascot;
XX Caution; simple & effective at work.
We decided to go a step further and conducted a workshop to educate the team on how to use social media and merchandising to grow their student community rapidly. Step One was to emphasize the brand mascot to build a sense of belonging and unity in thoughts. The solution for this was simple. Ensure the core team is always seen in the brand apparel. We started with hoodies and then added tees and singlets to cover attire for all seasons of the year.
It was awesome to see the team sporting their brand new YUVA brand and mascot. We then helped the YUVA team to develop Brand Slogans to boost Brand Connection and increase their sense of community and belonging. The team championed their new brand at each and every youth volunteering event. They went on to facilitate a wide variety of experiences across Australia and New Zealand. We have showcased just a handful of the events they conducted; Weekly Yoga workshops, road trips to explore the wider cities, team building workshops, youth connection sessions, weekend long personality development camps, neighbourhood and beach clean ups, local Holi and Diwali events, monthly bush walks, community meditation workshops, rock climbing nights, bowling meetups and a plethora of activities and events that is focused on uniting the young communities accross the two countries under one purpose and one belief.
Building a brand community for a younger more dynamic crowd requires a certain level of provocative finesse. Capturing their attention, challenging their beliefs and sparking healthy debate over life’s big questions was the key to our success of launching their first official week-long international youth development camp. This initiative involved over 50 student volunteers coming together to coordinate and orchestrate an action packed 7 day camp in Sydney. Which saw over 150 students travel from Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland and Wellington to attend this amazing event.
Brand Connection Through Controversy.
Their first official annual Youth Development Camp was on the horizon. They shared their camp content with us which was definitely engaging and relevant to their generation. But their challenge was communicating it to potential members. They also needed help attracting organic attention to the camp and the brand new initiative.
We developed a concept aka theme for the camp called “Get Lit”. As you can tell, this captured a perfect balance of controversy and purpose. The theme itself was a conversation and in some cases a debate starter. It’s at that point where the YUVA team chimed in to direct the interest and curiosity towards the YUVA mission and vision. This camp is now a biennial event and the highlight for all the new and existing students involved in YUVA.
To make most of the momentum and hype built up from this camp, we helped team YUVA channel this energy into their regular events held locally in their 5 key cities across Australia and New Zealand. From a marketing perspective this major international camp became YUVA’s flagship effort to attract more students to the cause AKA lead generation magnet. What started with a membership of around 150 students has now reached the 500 mark.
Since YUVA is focused on developing an amazing bunch of students doing all sorts of awe-inspiring things in life, we decided to launch a storytelling initiative that showcases the amazing lives the members of YUVA live each and every day. What may seem normal to themselves was quickly realised as amazing to other students.
The Power Of Storytelling.
The YUVA brand now evolved into a powerful storytelling platform when we developed an initiative called Humans of YUVA. A showcase of intimate stories capturing the amazing lives lead by the members of YUVA. As you may have guessed, this initiative is a tribute to Humans of New York in a sense that provides the students of YUVA to experience the joy and novelty of running their own version.
This initiative not only boosted brand loyalty from the members but added a level of intimacy that was vital to uniting YUVA members across 5 cities and two countries. It also allowed the featured members to realise that the lives they lead are amazing and actually make a positive impact on others. This was the beauty of the entire initiative and resulted in students reaching out to each other expressing their appreciation and sharing a common ground in this adventure we call life.
To give you a taste of what we mean, below are a few features from Humans of YUVA;
“To try again, to fight again, to inch towards some distant dream? Why? It was that voice within her, the one who never ever gave into defeat.
Even when the other voices would scream NO! That, that voice would always be a YES. YES! Yes, you can do it. Someone else just like YOU did it before you. YES, you are chosen because YOU CAN. YES, if you have done it once YOU CAN do it again. YES you! If not you then who?!”
~ Neha Malik, Melbourne
“My story is not overly special, and I will never claim to be wise enough to give advice but if there is one thing I take away, it’s this. Be willing to embrace your emotions. Acknowledge them. Write them down. Reflect on what you feel, why and ways to tackle them. Then put it aside and continue living. This has been one of my most healthy lessons to date and is what has kept me looking back over this year with a new sense of courage, some pride, and a small smile.
Moving to a new country is tough. I have struggled with so many moments and triumphed through many more. I guess that’s what makes us human and what makes life so worth living.”
~ Malika Hariharan, Sydney
“Make-It-Happen. I learnt the real meaning of this phrase on Day One of my six-day trek to Machu Picchu. I found myself laying on a cold mountain road in the pouring rain, my knee split open and my bicycle broken.
Five days and many painkillers later, I found myself atop of Machu Picchu’s ‘Mountain-of-Death’ – Wayna Picchu. This 2,720 metre climb included thousands of steps, sixty degree slope angles, and almost zero handrails. My moment of realisation had come. We achieve through our own efforts, and when determination is greater than circumstance, we succeed. That became my motto, and it is what drives me to this day. This is why I am with YUVA. I choose to Make-It-Happen.”
~ Karan Mahisuri, Perth
Establishing an emotional connection between people and purpose is a key element , of branding and has the power to build a thriving brand community that organically grows itself. The sense of community, loyalty and belonging created as a result, can last a life-time.
The Result
An international brand community driven by purpose and powered by a common vision. This pro bono project has been an absolute pleasure to work on for our team, fuelling our commissioned projects with even more creativity and excitement.
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