October 3, 2018
New Media Ventures invests in entrepreneurs and activists wrestling with the biggest challenges facing the country’s democracy. It believes that by changing where capital is invested, it can shift the structures of power to benefit more people. Thanks to support from Voqal, it expanded its reach and effectiveness through increased thought leadership, and more focused branding and communications efforts, ensuring that it continues to be best positioned to meet this moment of emerging progressive activism.
In order to clarify and highlight its story, role and unique value proposition, New Media Ventures worked with the digital design agency Wild Shore. Through interviews with New Media Ventures and its key stakeholders (including New Media Ventures board member and Voqal President, John Schwartz) Wild Shore helped create a new strategic framework for New Media Ventures’ work. The new brand identity and language that came out of this process better reflected New Media Ventures’ role as a modern and committed funder dedicated to shifting the structures of power to benefit more people.
New Media Ventures also strengthened its relationships with key media outlets in order to better publicize the groups it supports and position itself as the premier funder of progressive innovation. The results of this approach speak for themselves. New Media Ventures was featured in an exclusive by POLITICO aimed at political donors and newly politicized high net worth individuals, an analysis in Civicist to reach civic tech entrepreneurs, advisors and funders and a profile of New Media Ventures in Inside Philanthropy, directed at philanthropists and investors. The success of this effort shows the importance of a deliberate and concentrated media strategy for organizations working in the progressive change space.
The success of New Media Ventures’ branding and communications initiative is perhaps best summed up by notable civic tech journalist, Micah Sifry. “NMV has grown substantially and now plays a very important role in the civic tech and political tech ecosystem.” Recognition from journalists like Sifry and others in the progressive funding world has enabled New Media Ventures to better amplify its reach as they take the next step towards disrupting power through innovative funding of progressive civic organizations. We are proud to have supported this forward-looking effort by New Media Ventures and look forward to their continued efforts to disrupt the status quo.