Situation

As the leading association for the state’s biomedical and biotech companies, the Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association (WBBA) was facing its first year of declining membership. A perfect storm of changing leadership, the struggling economy and sagging support for the biotech industry in Olympia conspired to rattle the trust and confidence among key sponsors—who, as a result, had decided against renewing memberships. Faced with these challenges, the WBBA sought HL2’s help in repositioning its brand, establishing the new president’s vision and reigniting member confidence through its primary communications vehicle, Washbio.org.

Approach

HL2 created a new brand position around the WBBA’s core brand tenet: “WBBA serves as a catalyst to help turn its members’ research into commercial products; in short, innovation to realization.” Next, we developed an emotionally compelling brand vocabulary while eschewing the cliché academic tone and medical imagery typical of most biotech brand communications. Only after revamping the UX and IA of Washbio.org could we properly release the refreshed WBBA brand to the Internet—and thus write a new chapter in the association’s story.

Outcome

The site was unveiled in November 2009 at the WBBA’s annual meeting to 500 member organizations. Preliminary reports show an increase in renewal rates for the majority of members and sponsors, and new companies are submitting applications for membership.