The Zones is a youth center and afterschool program based in Santa Rosa, California. The center began in 1949 as the Santa Rosa Boys Club in response to the community’s need to provide boys with a place to go after school for guidance, learning, development, and opportunity. Girls were permitted to attend in 1989 and the club became known as the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Santa Rosa.

Now after more than 7 decades of providing after-school and summer programming for Santa Rosa’s youth, The Zones continues to provide a safe and fun environment with caring youth professionals and high-impact youth development programs during critical non-school hours.

Learn More About The Zones

The Challenge

The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Santa Rosa (BGCSR) had provided enriching educational programs for local youth since 1949. However, by 2021 BGCSR was struggling to raise funds and enroll students. This was due to:

  • Competition from the neighboring club (BGC of Sonoma Marin), which is larger and better-funded
  • Ineligibility for Title 1 funding from the CA Department of Education
  • National messaging from BGC of America spurring negative public perception

In recent years, the BGC of America shifted its messaging to evoke a sense of urgency. The national HQ has run numerous campaigns that highlight how the nonprofit helps “kids in crisis” or even saves lives by keeping youth out of prison.  One billboard boldly stated: “Inmate, or Nurse? You decide.”

As such, Santa Rosa area parents perceived the BGCSR as an after-school program for “disadvantaged” or “at-risk” youth.

While no child is turned away from BGCSR programming (in fact, 54% of memberships are subsidized), this image is far from the truth. The majority of local students do not qualify for free lunch (hence no Title 1 funding) and come from middle-class families. Furthermore, while life skills and mentorship are key aspects of BGCSR programming the chapter wanted to focus marketing on their unique enrichment opportunities and state-of-the-art equipment.

As such, BGCSR decided to branch off and become its own independent nonprofit. Though she had a loyal membership base and peerless programs, Executive Director Amber Heidtke wasn’t sure how to rebrand the organization so as to position itself as the best after-school option for Santa Rosa parents.

iPad displaying The Zones brand naming presentation – stage 1 of the rebrand

The Solution

A new brand name to build on legacy and light the path forward

Brand naming is a tricky business. Everyone has their own opinion of and associations with certain words, so getting stakeholders (in this case, an entire board) to agree can be a challenge.

Fortunately, we had a well-established membership base and a clear idea of our target audience. With that in mind, we followed my signature brand naming process to hone in on best fit:

  • Phase 1: Discovery
  • Phase 2: Ideation
  • Phase 3: Naming Formulas
  • Phase 4: Vetting
  • Phase 5: Final Selection

To learn more about Brand Naming services, see here.

The Solution

A Brand Messaging Framework to reshape The Zones’ brand story

Without a strategy to guide your messaging, you run the risk of sounding inconsistent at best – incoherent at worst.

The Brand Messaging Framework builds on the findings of the Brand Audit to clearly define an organization’s:

With the framework in place, the marketing team can confidently create on-brand content for each stage of the buyer’s (or donor’s) journey.

  • Brand archetype
  • Brand positioning
  • Target audience(s) & buyer persona(s)
  • Pain points
  • Competitors
  • Key differentiators & benefits
  • Key messages to use at each stage of each persona’s journey

Establishing a new brand messaging allowed us to build on the strengths of The Zones’ past, while highlighting the nonprofit’s new direction.

It also helped us better understand the pain points and aspirations of The Zones’ target audience so we could develop marketing campaigns and website copy that resonates.

  • Samples from The Zones brand messaging framework to rebrand the website copy

The Solution

An elegant website that highlights The Zones’ unique and enriching experiences

With the messaging in place, a strong understanding of our target audience, and the visuals to bring The Zones’ new brand to life, we embarked on building a website.

We started from scratch to optimize user experience, and drive visitors to a desired action (register, donate, etc.). Additionally, I drafted new copy for all pages to tell The Zones’ refreshed brand story.

A critical component of all rebrands is informing your audience as to why the decision to rebrand was made. We did not shy away from The Zones’ history as a Boys & Girls Club, but rather built on that heritage and generations’ worth of memories with that brand to paint a new picture for our local audience.

Some key changes that improved user experience were:

  • Highlighting the diversity of programs offered right from go
  • Adding some simple animations to enliven the page
  • Simplifying the main menu navigation to spur action (register, donate, etc)
  • Developing infographics that explained the interdisciplinary nature of The Zones’ programs
  • Showcasing The Zones’ state-of-the-art equipment and classes throughout the site to illustrate “use cases” for our audience

Before

The old Boys & Girls Club of Greater Santa Rosa website

After

The Zones' new website after the nonprofit rebrand

The Results

The rebrand launched in March of 2023. This included the new website, updating all social media profiles (including Google My Business – which has proved an invaluable source of new prospects and current members’ feedback), and email communications to The Zones’ members.

While we do not yet have the data to quantify the success, we are thrilled that the news of The Zones’ independence was met with such support. Today, The Zones can continue to serve the greater Santa Rosa community as they have for generations.

Hillary Lyons copywriter & brand strategist
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