When it comes to selling the U.S. on healthier hearts, the American Heart Association has long relied on rational tactics. Heart disease continues to be the No. 1 killer of both men and women in the U.S., and the nonprofit has focused on teaching people about the improved health that comes from eating well, exercising, learning CPR and preventative checkups. But with its $4 million rebranding effort, the nonprofit is finally leading with its, you know, heart.
The group created the new positioning, called “Life is Why,” because “it’s a very scientifically based organization, and for the last 80 years, has always been working with the head, teaching about heart disease,” says Kevyn Faulkenberry, executive creative director of the Dalton Agency, which led the rebranding. “And it stayed away from the emotional side of things. We started by asking why the American Heart Association exists, and it’s because this group believes everyone deserves a longer, healthier life. So we looked at all those little emotional moments in life — the things we are all perhaps guilty of taking for granted sometimes — and distilled them.”
Click here to read the full August 1, 2014 article in Marketing Daily.