Athletes for Justice is a nonprofit organization founded by professional athletes seeking to amplify the strength and resilience of under-resourced communities across the country. In 2018, five team members (Sam Acho, Trey Burton, Chase Daniel, Akiem Hicks, and Mitch Trubisky) felt inspired to seek lasting change and banded together to create Athletes for Justice. Today, what began as five athletes from the Chicago Bears has since welcomed athletes from the NFL, NBA, WNBA, NHL, and MLB who are all committed to fighting structural inequalities in Chicago and beyond.
Fast-to-Market Website, Brand Building, and Donation Capabilities Increase Exposure for Athletes for Justice
”Adage felt like an extension of the Athletes for Justice Team. The level of service was
Casey BuckCommunications Director, Athletes for Justice
outstanding and we respect their honest, expert opinion.
The Challenge
Athletes for Justice’s Founder, Board Members, and Communication Team recognized the need for a professional website to properly represent the organization. They also required a logo and full brand expression that would accurately reflect the organization and provide a consistent brand experience across multiple channels.
Rounding out their needs was the ability to take donations online. All this was needed with a quick turnaround, as Athletes for Justice had an upcoming opportunity for exposure with the Chicago Sky audience.
Athletes for Justice chose Adage for their web design, development, and branding needs due to Adage’s portfolio of large nonprofit work and credibility in the space.
Building a brand, not just a logo
Yes, Athletes for Justice needed a logo and web design, but they also needed accompanying material for a vast number of brand exposure possibilities. Most importantly: their social channels, video content, promotional items, and podcast, but this could include billboards, event banners, print material, and more. Beginning with a digital strategy workshop, Adage revealed the founders’ true vision and navigated multiple stakeholder perspectives to build the Athletes for Justice brand. The Adage Design Team produced a comprehensive, digital-first brand with holistic brand guidelines and training to set the Athletes for Justice Team up for success.
”Adage thoroughly explained the reasons behind the design, what it conveys, and how the color scheme is incorporated. We were very impressed.
Rich KohngBoard of Directors, Athletes for Justice
Fast-to-market
Athletes for Justice was on a tight timeline. They had a fast-approaching opportunity with the Chicago Sky, who would dedicate their season to Athletes for Justice. The website and donation platform needed to be ready in time for the announcement. Adage chose Umbraco, an open source, .NET, developer-friendly CMS for the Athletes for Justice website. Uskinned templates allowed Adage design and development teams to work fast. Plus, Umbraco is user-friendly and the Athletes for Justice Team could populate content while the site was being built. Adage and Athletes for Justice’s collaboration was a resounding success and the website and brand launched before their expedited timeline.
Digital strategy
A fact-finding Adage-led workshop allowed the Athletes for Justice Team to discuss strategy and organizational direction that resulted in alignment across all stakeholders. The Adage Digital Strategy Team also offered guidance around marketing communications and brand rollout.
Donation capabilities
Athletes for Justice needed to quickly launch a donation platform that their Communications Team could easily manage and that made it easy for people to make donations. Adage vetted platforms for associated fees, user experience, technical capabilities, and the organization’s unique needs. They launched the site with donation capabilities on time and on budget.
