Mir Pace International
Introduction
Mir Pace (World Peace) International is a nonprofit organization based in Massachusetts whose mission it is "to provide worldwide humanitarian relief and development programs in order to reduce vulnerability, alleviate human suffering, and restore the self-sufficiency and livelihoods of disaster-affected populations while fostering international exchange and volunteerism through International High School Student Mission programs." The organization offers aid in a number of developing countries, including Guatemala, Tanzania, Peru, Bosnia, and El Salvador.
Mir Pace International’s current logo appears as follows:
No official slogan is used, although the home page has a short quote from Ghandi: “ Be the change you wish to see in the world”.
Overview
This case demonstrates the potential of branding strategy and web design to enhance all aspects of a non-profit organization’s operations, from implementing humanitarian programs, to fundraising and attracting volunteers.
Brand/Domain Names
The organization’s name is composed of “Mir”, which means “world” in several Baltic languages, and “Pace” (pronounced pa-chā), which means “peace” in Italian. Although the brand is not composed of common key words, it is short, brandable, appealing, and meaningful for the organization’s global mission. However, the maximization of the effectiveness of this name poses a number of challenges. Since most Americans are not familiar with this phrase, they will likely have trouble remembering and deriving meaning from the name. However, other elements of the branding strategy can be used to compensate for these difficulties. For example, a slogan could be implemented which clarifies the organization’s raison d’etre. This slogan could then be used in conjunction with the organization’s name and logo in all communications with donors, volunteers, and media.
Further, the organization’s domain name, MirPace.org, poses similar problems. These problems, however, can be effectively rectified with the use of an alternate domain name strategy. For example, the organization “Global Impact”, which in itself is a very memorable and recognizable name, uses the even more memorable domain name, Charity.org. This name facilitates all aspects of the organization’s marketing efforts, including generating significant and consistent “type-in” traffic, enhancing the effectiveness of advertising and public relations efforts as constituents will be much more likely to remember and visit the site, increasing the probability of repeat site visits, and strengthening the perceived reputability of the organization.
For Mir Pace, the most appropriate ‘alternate’ domain would be WorldPeace.org. This domain is, however, already occupied, and regardless, would be an incredibly expensive purchase. However, there are many other attractive and less expensive options for Mir Pace. The following domain names are currently unregistered and available:
PeaceVolunteers.org TeenDiplomats.org
TeenAmbassadors.org WorkingForPeace.org
AgentsOfPeace.org PeaceAmbassadors.org
PeaceCouriers.org CouriersofPeace.org
PeaceBearers.org PeaceAssistants.org
PeaceDiplomats.org DiplomatsOfPeace.org
YouthDiplomats.org Peace-Work.org
PeaceMovers.org PeaceRunners.org
PioneersOfPeace.org TeenPeacemakers.org
The following are currently available for sale at various negotiable prices:
PeacefulWorld.org Volunteers.info
Volunteers.us Volunteering.us
BuildingPeace.org BuildPeace.org
Peace.us InternationalVolunteers.org
PeaceEmissary.org GlobalPeace.org
GlobalPeace.us MakePeace.org
YouthVolunteer.org PeaceMission.org
BrandingStrategy.org also owns MakingPeace.org, and would be happy to donate it to Mir Pace.
Of all these options, we feel GlobalPeace.org would be the most effective, although it would also likely be the most expensive. Peace.us is also a very attractive option. These domains are listed on Sedo.com, but without a price expectation, so their purchase would involve some negotiation. Unfortunately, Mir Pace has a very limited budget.
The lowest cost options, however, are extremely appealing. PeaceVolunteers.org in particular would be extremely effective, as would PeaceBearers.org, PeaceDiplomats.org, TeenDiplomats.org, AgentsOfPeace.org, MakingPeace.org, PeaceMovers.org, and even Peace-Work.org.
In implementing this alternate domain strategy with, for example, PeaceVolunteers.org, this domain would be pointed or forwarded to MirPace.org (a service provided at no charge by most domain registrars). So in recruiting activities at high schools, Mir Pace representatives would be able to reference the highly mnemonic PeaceVolunteers.org to students, who would then find it much easier to find Mir Pace’s website. Finally, if Mir Pace opts for PeaceVolunteers.org, we would also recommend the purchase of PeaceVolunteers.com (also available), which would receive any misdirected .org traffic.
Mir Pace is currently continuing to consider and search for the most appropriate domain name for the organization, but has decided on the trial use of MakingPeace.org.
Organization Logo
Mir Pace’s logo is good in concept, but would benefit from a professional redesign to better represent the organization. We thought it important to convey 1) a sense of grace, 2) the benevolence and criticality of the organization’s mission, and 3) the importance of the aid offered by the organization. Further, we wanted to create a logo which would inspire Mir Pace’s student volunteers with the realization that actions toward the alleviation of human suffering are heroic.
The new logo appears below.
We also submitted two possible slogans for the organization to consider and possibly integrate into the logo, including "Volunteer Teens Providing Humanitarian Aid Across the Globe", and "Alleviating Suffering. Spreading Humanity.” The organization selected the former.
Website Design
Much of the content of MirPace.org is excellent as it clearly explains the programs implemented by Mir Pace through stories, student testimonials, and numerous photos. However, we recommended a number of changes to the design of MirPace.org which would work to improve the appearance of the site and the perceived reputability of the organization, in order to increase donation levels and facilitate student recruitment. Their current homepage appears as follows:
The organization could implement some simple and effective modifications to the website which would boost the legitimacy and authority of the site. The elements of this new design strategy are as follows:
- Use the new logos provided above on the site.
- Improve the graphic elements of the site, such as the buttons at the side and top of the site’s pages.
- Improve the quality/resolution of the photographs throughout the site.
- There are a few navigation problems on the site as not all pages can be accessed from every other page on the site. For example the “Management” and “Donation” pages cannot be accessed from the homepage.
- Change font from “Comic Sans” to a more formal font, such as Georgia or Times New Roman.
- Update the color scheme to a brighter shade of blue.
In order to provide Mir Pace with another option, we redesigned their website taking care to remedy to each of the above considerations. The new website appears as follows:
