First impressions are always important, especially for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. At 88, the organization offers a spectrum of services, from research and prevention to advocacy and rehabilitation. But extensive research revealed many consumers considered it a government-funded institution devoted largely to caring for the blind, and awareness among Canadians was declining. As a result, the CNIB decided to revamp its mandate and image to better define itself, without alienating key supporters.
“This new brand really represented the most comprehensive rethinking of the organization in our history,” says Lesley Wilmot, director of communications at the CNIB in Toronto. That meant consulting with clients (more than 100,000 each year), 10,000 volunteers, a staff of 1,200 and the public.
The process began in late 2004 when Environics Research surveyed 1,010 Canadians by phone. On the plus side, the study showed awareness was strong, at 65%, but those under 30 were about half as likely as those over 50 to say they knew of the CNIB or even what the acronym CNIB stood for. “That’s a bit of a warning sign,” says CNIB president Jim Sanders. “The folks coming up are potential clients, volunteers, donors and potential staff.”
Of those surveyed, 69% said the CNIB caters to a wide range of people with varying degrees of vision loss, while 6% said it serves only those who are totally blind. Many saw the CNIB as a “last resort” for people going blind when in fact nine out of 10 people who register have some usable vision, says Sanders.
The poll also found a significant number of people believe the CNIB is a government body because of the word “national,” but the organization raises 75% of its annual $75-million budget from the private sector, he says.
For richer details, Environics conducted three focus groups: with the public, clients and those who had contributed to the CNIB. The results were encouraging as participants spoke positively about a wide range of services offered by the organization. However, many people preferred “vision loss” instead of the finality of the word “blind,” which had frequently been used by the CNIB, so the organization decided to change its language going forward, says Wilmot.
Focus groups also said that switching to the acronym CNIB, rather than the full name, would have greater visual impact. But there was concern that young people or new Canadians might not know the meaning of “CNIB.”
Many of these insights were used by Pilot PMR and Cossette Communication-Marketing, both in Toronto, to create a new contemporary logo and ad campaign designed to make the CNIB relevant to a whole new demographic. “We were privy to it all and CNIB wanted us very much in the loop,” says Doug Lowe, senior vice-president and general manager of creative production services at Cossette. “It’s not often you get invited in at the ground floor for a brand like that. Our job was to modernize, update, give it a new look from a logo perspective while maintaining the history and heritage of what they had.”
A few variations of the logo were tested on focus groups and staff, clients and volunteers. The new look, featuring a lower-case “cnib” beside a green tree containing Braille lettering, and the tag line “Vision health. Vision hope,” is meant to establish the organization’s mandate. The final logo tested very well internally and externally, says Wilmot.
A PSA campaign includes TV, radio and newspaper ads that build on the insight that the CNIB is not just for the blind. One TV spot shows a businesswoman with a white cane checking out a construction worker. “We felt we had the licence to be irreverent without being over the top,” says Lowe, adding any concerns disappeared when the ads were obviously respectful.
SARAH DOBSON is a freelance writer in Toronto.
