Our mantra is ‘don’t be worthy’ i.e. don’t fall into the trap so many good causes do that the undoubted goodness of their cause is enough to demand people’s attention.

And they produce somewhat dull, earnest, ‘worthy’ communications that, frankly, bore people not into submission, but indifference.

We believe even the most sensitive, and justifiably worthy of subjects can be made engaging and interesting. And there are few more sensitive subjects than the Holocaust.

Yet this was a challenge we didn’t duck as brand consultants for one of our clients, the Wiener Library.

The Library holds the National Holocaust Archive and is an unparalleled resource in the UK for research on the Holocaust and other modern-day genocides.

We saw the requirement to produce an Annual Report as an opportunity to tell their story – about the richness of the material they hold, and its importance in preserving and educating about the Holocaust.

Each year, we have created compelling documents which have not only been hailed by their audience, but also received the most sincere compliments of all – in the form of significant funds raised directly from it. (And this was from a fairly soft ask.) Most gratifyingly, the Library has seen some long-dormant donors reactivated.

It shows the power of a compelling story, creatively told.

As specialist brand consultants for the not-for-profit sector, we help organisations on all aspects of their brand – from top-level strategy to implementation. And while that often has a communications dimension, we are not restricted to that. We have as members of our Hope Collective talented people as diverse as Market Researchers, Composers and Property Consultants.

And if you’d like to work with us to identify the important issues with your own brand, we offer a free half-day workshop on our boat in Paddington Basin. If this is of interest, please contact lionel@hope.agency.