Dive Into a Non-Profit Rebranding Journey
Focused on Community, Collaboration and Doing Good

Challenge

Cooper Housing Institute is a private non-profit foundation created by the Cooper family, owners of WNC & Associates, which is a national leader in affordable rental housing investment and development. Leveraging their deep understanding of affordable housing dynamics and business strategy, the Cooper family is at the forefront of tackling the growing housing crises in the United States.

The challenge was to create a brand, website, messaging and story that positions Cooper Housing Institute as an authoritative and visionary industry-leading research institution. To develop such a persona, CHI needed a clean and sleek website design aesthetic with excellent user experience that incorporated newly defined styles and branding, logotype, typography, and colors. Identifying the target audience and competitive landscape opportunities was essential to developing a strong messaging and brand strategy that positions CHI as a leader in affordable housing.

Strategy

Firstly, positioning CHI as a thought leader and issue expert was crucial to establishing brand credibility. To do so, the MBC focused on framing CHI as a sophisticated research institution and think tank while demonstrating solutions authority, collaboration, research-based philosophy, and a mission-driven persona. Moreover, confirming the large-scale impact of CHI via grants and partnerships demonstrates an ability to get things done and have an impact on the community through investment expertise. Lastly, it was extremely important to showcase the CHI vision and how CHI is ideally positioned to highlight the value derived from the Cooper family history and WNC affiliation.

results

The new Cooper Housing Institute Website launched in August 2023, featuring a strong, recognizable brand accompanied by a user-friendly UX design and aesthetics. The website easily guides the user through its content while compartmentalizing information in logical, intuitive ways, shedding light on CHI’s dedication to an outcome-oriented personality. The new website also exhibits a list of news and insights, demonstrating the expertise of CHI team and how the firm seeks to establish a strong audience base for the issue of housing affordability. Lastly, the website includes the names of CHI collaborators and the firms core values, that critically drive home the firm’s focus on community, collaboration, and doing good for people throughout the United States.