In 2021, I had the incredible opportunity to lead the rebranding efforts for Evergreen Goodwill of Northwest Washington. This proved to be an enormous undertaking due to the company's 100-year history and its deep connection to the people of the Pacific Northwest area. As the oldest and largest Goodwill company in the nation, we had to carefully navigate a rebrand that would be inclusive of all communities we serve. The name change from Seattle Goodwill to Evergreen Goodwill of Northwest Washington was just the beginning.

One of the main challenges was identifying that we had three distinct clienteles that we needed to reach with our messaging: retail customers, philanthropists, and the local community. Each had different desires and needs when associated with Evergreen Goodwill, and we successfully accomplished this by researching our individual target markets and adjusting the delivery of our messages to meet their needs without changing the overall message itself. Through listening to our customers, prospects, and employees about their motives when making decisions about our brand, seeing what our competition is doing, and using that information to figure out what we stand for as a company, we established a clear vision of the brand with a focus on showing our audience who we are without telling them.

As a way to be more inclusive of all the communities we serve, the name change was necessary to better represent who we are and the people we serve. We have 24 stores, five Job Training Centers, and over 30 donation sites, serving thousands of people in five different counties throughout Northwest Washington. Changing our name to Evergreen Goodwill allows us to be more inclusive of the communities we serve while reflecting the characteristics of our region and our commitment to keeping our mission relevant and vibrant in our community.

Despite the challenges, we were able to establish the new branding for Evergreen Goodwill of Northwest Washington successfully. This included the creation of three logo versions used as an evolution of the Seattle Goodwill logo in order to maintain association with our customers, the establishment of brand colors and voice, the creation of detailed brand guidelines, education and training to staff, design of branded products for internal employees and our retail stores, and establishing the use of typography and imagery. Through this process, we were able to better identify who the company is and establish its voice, all while remaining true to our mission to provide free job training, education, and basic services that help people remove barriers and create better lives for themselves.