Luis M. Rodriguez

Building a Best-In-Class Social Impact Brand

New Story is a social impact organization with one ambitious mission: pioneering solutions to end global homelessness. Thinking big and thinking differently is inherently reflected in every action, and every project the organization undertakes and creative is no different. When I took over the in-house creative group at New Story, I saw a brand about to reach a transformational moment—an inflection when the impact they had in the world was going to reach a much larger scale. I also saw enormous opportunities for creative endeavors that are the innovation itself to build awareness, advocacy and partnerships.

Cohesion + Consistency

One of the most common challenges (and opportunities) with organizations that have start-up culture is rapid iteration—perfection is not needed in the spirit of advancing towards and outcome. This was the case in terms of creating a cohesive brand strategy: too much iteration, too many versions, too many variations. By applying a combination of strategic and brand planning frameworks, I helped define a path forward to connect and chart different expressions of the brand across the organization.

My experience working with start-up organizations reaching key inflection points (TaskRabbit for example) was useful in terms of establishing the right combination of legacy processes to keep, evolve or replace. Partnering with other organization leaders, I implemented a creative studio system that treated other internal teams as stakeholders, each responsible for the strategic inputs of each project, planning, and success measurement.

High Quality Content with Purpose

Through every project and creative endeavor I began instilling a simple idea—every single brand expression must share New Story’s purpose and view of the world. That story has to be carried throughout, and not just in copy and messaging, but in the choices we make to bring each piece to life. High-quality content like our first documentary titled No Small Dreams or Un Sueño: A New Story VR Experience drove engagement and advocacy with donors, partners, supporters and new audiences.

Making Social Impact More Social

Working with World-Class Partners