MICROPLACE OUR BRAND
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CONTENTS Our Brand Essence Our Brand Pillars Our Brand Promise Our Brand Personality & Voice Our Mission Statement Visual Communications
WHY THIS GUIDE?
Great brands have the power to inspire. They live in people’s hearts as much as their minds. They represent ideas that are valued and when constructed and managed properly, they can become engaging symbols of our individual identity. Every organization has a brand. But not every organization has a clear, concise strategy to guide it. As an evolving business and growing organization, it’s important that we all connect to the same core set of ideas about who we are, why we exist, what makes us special, and what we need to emphasize at every point of contact.
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Simply stated,
brand strategy is all abou The intent to tell our unique story, to consistently convey to stakeholders what’s unique about our offering and to inspire them through the experiences they have with us.
ut intention. We believe that as we work with common purpose to improve our product, invent new experiences for investors, and effectively communicate the value of our model, we will inspire thousands.
And that one day, not too far off, we will all look back with great pride at what we’ve created. Seeing greatness in our brand, set against the backdrop of a community inspired by and connected to our mission.
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OUR BRAND ESSENCE
Shared Humanity.
People everywhere will be aroused by and connected to their shared humanity. Recognizing that which ties us all together will inspire them to act. This is the idea that drives the MicroPlace brand. As a universal truth, a foundation of many belief systems, the concept of our shared, collective humanity, provides MicroPlace with a broad platform to connect and compel individuals to take action.
Inside we’re all the same. We all share essential needs, desire for security, and the right to self-respect and dignity. What separates us is resources and opportunity.
Betsy Jenkins • Omaha, Nebraska, United States Seliv Cruz • Guadeloupe, Mexico
MicroPlace is the fuel and the connector serving to inspire an army of individuals to create opportunity and hope for others. 7
OUR BRAND PILLARS
MicroPlace is both a heart-centered, inspirational brand – resonant to those who want to make a difference in the world. And MicroPlace is an action brand, all about impact – delivering a highly effective method for achieving results. If you are inspired to act and results-oriented, MicroPlace is for you.
The paired ideas of inspiration + impact are represented by the metaphor of ‘pillars.’
inspiration MicroPlace inspiration is central to our mission – bringing together individuals who want to make a difference with those who deserve an opportunity to improve their lives.
SHARED HUMANITY Our brand essence.
impact MicroPlace impact is tied to the efficacy of microlending as an effective, sustainable way to make a tangible difference in the lives of micro-entrepreneurs and their communities.
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MICROPLACE EXISTS TO:
COMPEL US
to remember our shared humanity – ‘we’re all alike’ philosophy
INSPIRE US
to take action on behalf of others heart
INFORM US
on how investment-based change vs. charity is so effective education
CONNECT US
to an easy-to-use system of philanthropy action
OUR BRAND PROMISE:
MicroPlace inspires individuals to take action and make a difference. MicroPlace is part of a new global movement that fuses the instincts of philanthropy with the logic of investing – a proven method that delivers dividends in multiple dimensions. We create opportunity and ignite the potential of micro entrepreneurs throughout the world. We motivate people from all walks of life, from the everyday citizen to the sophisticated investor, to engage with a highly-effective model for creating social change.
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Investor Paul Smith Professor of Quantum Physics Boston, MA, USA
Our Brand Personality & Voice:
Inspirational. Accessible. Action-oriented. Diverse. INSPIRATIONAL We communicate in ways that express a belief in our shared humanity, in order to activate the heart and higher intentions of our audience.
ACCESSIBLE We use a voice, tone and manner that ordinary people can easily relate to. Our communications make use of simple messages that speak to both the head and the heart.
ACTION-ORIENTED We are a motivated, engaged, results-seeking force of optimism and change in the world.
DIVERSE We represent all of humanity. We possess dimension and variety, just like the individuals we help to inspire and connect.
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Our Mission Statement:
MicroPlace creates opportunity in the world. We exist to connect individuals who want to make a difference with hard-working entrepreneurs that seek to improve their lives. Small business owners, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters like you and I that simply need a chance. Our model breaks the cycle of poverty by supporting a proven system of individual merit and free enterprise. Simply stated, it works.
Gloria Loremipsum
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Visual Communications
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National Context “For as much as government can do and must do, Obama’s Inaugural Speech of 1/20/09 it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies… Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends – hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism – these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility – a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task. This is the price and the promise of citizenship.”
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MicroPlace an eBay company.
Prepared by Incite Partners