Our brand story

We’re excited to welcome our brand and website refresh project partners, MP&Co and Pixeled Eggs. A huge thank you to everyone who took part in the initial process, from sending in an expression of interest to meeting with us to share their approach. Read on to find out more about the project, meet the partners and find out how you can be part of the story.   

A refresh with you in mind  

For more than 18 years, our aim has been to create a real home for charity communications professionals to share best practice, insight and innovation and network with their peers.  

That aim has not changed, and our focus now is on providing an even better level of service to our members and developing new ways to engage and support those working in charity communications. Our goal is to revisit our core messaging and refresh our identity and website, with outputs that are fit-for-purpose now and into the future too. 

Meet our partners 

We set out to look for a partner (or two) to help us develop and deliver a refreshed messaging and brand project. A key consideration for us was to think how we could collaborate to deliver an impactful brand and website, as well as engaging and sharing with our members along the way.  

We believe that we’ve found that with marketing consultancy, MP&Co, and digital agency, Pixeled Eggs – not only are they experts in their field, but most importantly, they share our values and put collaboration and positive impact at the heart of everything they do. Both MP&Co and Pixeled Eggs are also B Corp certified, leading with accountability and held to high standards not just in what they produce, but through how they operate and the impact they have on the communities around them.  

“I am delighted to be working with MP&Co and Pixeled Eggs as our brand and website partners. Both agencies bring commitment and expertise to help CharityComms shine even brighter and create outstanding member experiences. We are excited to be starting the discovery stage and look forward to listening and learning from our community. These insights will form the foundations for change and help us move boldly forward.” – Adeela Warley, CEO, CharityComms 

“We’re genuinely excited to be working with CharityComms on this brand refresh. It’s a brilliant opportunity to collaborate with the CharityComms team, and importantly it’s members, to create something with real clarity, purpose and impact, and help the organisation connect even more powerfully with its members and the wider sector. The project speaks directly to our own values of positive change and purposeful growth, and we’re here to listen, challenge, and deliver something that truly reflects the values at the heart of CharityComms.” – Mike Pye, Managing Director, MP&Co 

As a team, we couldn’t be more thrilled to be partnering with CharityComms to redesign and develop their new website. The project is a perfect fit, aligning our core strengths as an agency with our shared values and dedication to creating a real, positive impact. We can’t wait to get started. – Sepas Seraj, Founder & CEO of Pixeled Eggs 

What’s happening now? 

We’ve been busy behind the scenes kicking off the project with real collaboration – including planning for how we intend to involve our amazing community in research and insights to help us shape our brand and website. 

We’ll be sharing project updates, and a look behind the scenes with key learnings and practical tools and resources that you can use in your own organisations along the way.  

We will also be actively reaching out to you, our members, for insights and feedback at various stages. Your views and needs are at the heart of reshaping our brand and website.

We asked our members (and non-members!) to complete a survey in late September and early October, to give us feedback on what they thought about the current CharityComms brand and website and how we might improve. These insights will sit alongside the results of our brand focus group sessions, taking place in October, and help us to move forward with revising our messaging and brand. 

Our freelance project manager, Emily O’Brien, shares her insights into what’s been going on behind the scenes this month…

This first month of discovery and scoping the brand and website project has focused mainly on planning out the timelines, dependencies and objectives. Without doing this work upfront, projects can go off-piste, off-scope, or miss the timings that keep it running efficiently.

Alongside working with the agencies to map out the timelines and scope of the budget (leading to signing off the budgets and statements of work); we also:

• Started planning the content migration – how will content be moved over, what will be kept, archived, updated or merged.
• Created a risk register – a log of any potential hazards that could cause scope creep or mean that the project goes over time or budget. This risk register is reviewed at our ‘core team updates’ every two weeks, so that we can identify any risks that are approaching and mitigate them in advance.
• Defined a RACI matrix – a list of defined roles for every aspect of the project. Who is responsible, who is accountable, who will be consulted and who needs to be informed.
• Created a project action tracker – used as a standing agenda for any project calls, keeping track of all jobs and actions and where they’re at. 
• Planning everything out into the Wrike project management system – so that the whole team knows what’s happening with the project and when. 

Building an external creative council

As part of the research and testing phases, we have recruited a brilliant external creative council of members, freelancers and partners to help us test and build the new brand and website. It’s a cross-representation of our audiences and will involve some small focus groups, email updates and surveys.

We’ve now kicked off the first phase of our brand development with a strong focus on ensuring the CharityComms identity is truly reflective of the needs of members and the wider charity sector. This phase is rooted in collaboration and we’re engaging internal and external audiences and stakeholders to shape the direction ahead. 

We’re delivering a series of research activities, including member surveys, workshops, interviews, to get a full picture of how each audience views the CharityComms brand and their experience when engaging with CharityComms. We’re also working closely with our web designer partners, Pixeled Eggs, to ensure all digital touchpoints are considered from the outset. 

Engaging research 

During our alignment phase, we looked at each potential research activity and considered what would best move us forward. We considered the potential, importance and ease of each of our research methods (such as interviews, polls or focus groups) and together the team scored each one against these three criteria. The goal here is to make sure our research is as accessible, inclusive and engaging for our members – so that we can get as much important information as possible from the people that matter!

Discovery day 

On our discovery day in mid-September, we spent a full day with the wider CharityComms team including trustees and member representatives. This day was all about getting ‘under the hood’ of CharityComms, taking a deep dive into the ‘what how and why’ of the refreshed brand. We mapped out the core elements that define the CharityComms identity and audiences and had some fun getting to know each other. 

Group sessions throughout the workshop delved into: 

• The past, present and future of CharityComms.
• What CharityComms might look, feel and sound like. 
• The challenges and opportunities facing the charity sector at the moment.
• The changing shape of comms. 
• Starting to build a strategy, defining audience, personas and user experience requirements. 

The discovery day insights are just part of the process and will be aligned with all the insights we gather from audiences through surveys, polls and focus groups.

What’s next?

During our next phase, we will be collating the research and opinions we’ve been gathering to develop core positioning, messaging, and strategy – all guided by your input to make sure it is truly reflective of our members. We’re excited to put your ideas into action!

Over the past few weeks, we’ve had our heads stuck in the planning stage of the project, organising calls with MP&Co and CharityComms to agree ways of working and to establish interdependencies and align on timings.

To ensure the project runs smoothly and to maintain transparency and shared understanding along the way, we’ve scheduled all-team weekly status meetings and stand-ups to share updates and flag any blockers or issues each week. 

This month our creative team has been focused on breaking tasks down into clear phases, mapping out our approach to UX and design so we can move efficiently. We’ve also reviewed research received from CharityComms to identify patterns we should carry forward, identified membership types, and started planning upcoming workshops and outlining steps for user testing.

To help us develop a statement of work for the new website, we carried out a requirements workshop to define and prioritise the website requirements with CharityComms, and started some technical planning and investigations into third-party integrations. 

We also ran a content processes meeting, and shared our suggested approach to planning the content development and migration stages, as this will run alongside the brand and website work.

Although our first official user needs workshop isn’t until early October, thorough planning, especially with multiple stakeholders and agencies, is crucial for a smooth and well-aligned brand and website project.

In October, we kicked off the UX discovery phase for the new CharityComms website with a user needs workshop – the first key step in shaping the site’s direction. The session focused on clarifying business goals and priorities, and defining the core audiences and task-based personas that will guide the website’s structure and design.

The workshop gave us the opportunity to share our understanding of the project so far – drawn from the original brief, additional information provided by CharityComms, and early research findings from MP&Co. It was also a great chance for our UX team to meet the CharityComms stakeholders and hear first-hand what mattered most from both a functionality and content point of view.

Equally valuable was the chance to see how our chosen tools and methods performed in a live environment. This insight will help us fine-tune future sessions to make them more inclusive, engaging and effective for all participants.

Following the workshop and a detailed review of the CharityComms content audit, we developed a draft information architecture (IA) for the new site. The structure was built around user needs and task-based personas, designed to make it simple for visitors to find what they’re looking for quickly and intuitively.

To test our early thinking, we ran a series of focus groups with CharityComms members, gathering valuable feedback from real users to help us refine and evolve the structure. We also carried out online quantitative research to validate our IA approach with a wider audience.

The insights gathered from both the focus groups and online research have helped shape an updated version of the IA. We’re now reviewing and refining this collaboratively with CharityComms to ensure it aligns seamlessly with the brand strategy.

We’ve spent November building brand positioning and strategy insights, recommendations and direction.

We were able to get some amazing insights from the research earlier in the project through surveys, focus groups and audience insights. From this, we looked at the current feeling around the brand perception, the key themes and messages, and how the purpose, values, personality and tone are all perceived. 

We’ve broken this down into quite a detailed review. We’ve looked at how the brand is positioned, what the opportunities and challenges are for the brand, where CharityComms have real super strengths, and how we can retain and amplify them and ensure that we don’t lose what makes CharityComms great so far. 

Identifying challenges and opportunities

From this point, we can explore opportunities and challenge some of the existing thinking. In particular, for the brand strategy element of the project, a key focus for us is understanding how the brand is perceived by both members and non-members, which is exactly where the insights have led us. 

We can better understand the opportunities and challenges in the charity sector as a whole, and what that means now and for the future of the brand, the audiences and potential partners. 

Invaluable feedback 

There were some fantastic insights that we’ve pulled from the research through surveys and focus groups. Every comment and discussion has been listened to and has been invaluable in shaping not only how members perceive the brand, but also giving real, tangible, practical and strategic direction to the project. 

We’ve been shaping brand direction based on the research findings and also the strategic objectives of CharityComms. We’re working really closely in collaboration with the CharityComms team to make sure that both agencies are aligned, and that every aspect of the research has been stitched through our recommendations and findings. 

We’ve shaped and scoped brand positioning and strategy, and we’ve started to unpack what that means in terms of brand development, personality and values. The next stage is now really clear for us, because it’s based on strategy-led and research-backed thinking.

In November, we paused to allow time for a full review of the brand strategy. This was to help ensure any strategic updates were fully considered before we moved ahead with the IA development. Now the review is nearing completion, we are realigning our IA thinking with the brand outputs so the website structure continues to reflect the organisation’s vision and needs. 

As we are finalising the website IA in line with the brand work, the team are also starting to think about top-level wireframes – the skeleton structure of a website page – for some initial pages. The team also begins to explore  journeys and flows through the website, to ensure storytelling and goals can be achieved effectively, and with the right brand personality. These will start to define the content hierarchy, based on the research done to date.

Collaboration has been absolutely key to this project, respecting and valuing everyone’s insights and making space for voices and inputs. We’ve been keen to ensure people come on the journey with us. A big part of that has been the trustee presentation and insights at the end of November. It’s really important, they’re on the journey with us, and they have the scope and the shape to inform and comment and share their insights and thoughts on where the project’s up to as of November. 

It’s been fantastic to hear their initial feedback and to get some insights on how they see the brand shaping up. We feel that it’s really reflected the understanding of the brand so far, and now it’s open for us to work collaboratively to change this into something exciting! 

Coming up in December 

In the visual refinement phase, we’ll be getting deep into colour palettes, logos and visual assets that will play a key role in the identity of the brand. Following this, we’ll be presenting this work back to the group, which will inform how the visual identity will develop. Finally, we’ll be working closely with the website team at Pixeled Eggs. They’ll be working their magic to bring everything to life via expert web design. 

We can’t wait to see how all the valuable insights and feedback we’ve been able to collect shape the CharityComms brand for the future!

Planning

• The insight at this stage is thorough planning. Weekly team meetings are going to be crucial for efficiency and shared understanding, keeping us aligned for a successful launch.
• Breaking tasks down into clear phases, mapping things out so we can move ahead efficiently, identifying any dependencies and moving things around if we need to.
• Thinking ahead to the next steps, making sure that we’re thinking about who needs to be involved and getting dates in people’s diaries.

Communciation

• Checking in regularly and asking questions if anything seems unclear – a key part in building trust and creating strong working relationships.
• Thinking about our audiences and how we’re asking them for their insights to make sure they’re prepared and have everything they need in advance. 

Collaborative tools and methods

• With so many workshops now taking place online, choosing the right tools and systems is key to making sure everyone can take part fully.
• What works best can vary from project to project – but identifying the most accessible, user-friendly options early on helps set sessions up for success.
• Often, the simplest tools and approaches prove the most effective.

Real audience testing

• Involving real users throughout the process is invaluable. Their feedback helps ensure the website is built around genuine needs and pain points, leading to a smoother, more rewarding experience for every visitor.

Developing website alongside brand

• Running two streams of Discovery work simultaneously has its challenges. The brand took the lead, and now we’re at a point where it makes good sense to review the work we’ve done to-date against the new brand Discovery and make any strategic changes needed to align to the new brand platform.

(Please note: this stage has now passed.)

We will be asking a select few from the expression of interest stage to pitch to our panel and the information below shows how the process will work, what we’re looking for and what applicants can expect from us.

Results based on insights – not assumptions

We will be onboarding our new partner agencies and working with them on a timeline and activities for delivery to work on over the next few months. We will be keeping members updated on this page of our progress and any invitations to share your views. 

We will launch our updated brand and website in 2026.

Emma Sweeney, Marketing Account Manager	Daniella Russo, Director of Client Services	Mike Pye, Managing Director	Sarah Wilde, Brand Strategist	Sean Booth, Creative Director

“We’re genuinely excited to be working with CharityComms on this brand refresh. It’s a brilliant opportunity to collaborate with the CharityComms team, and importantly it’s members, to create something with real clarity, purpose and impact, and help the organisation connect even more powerfully with its members and the wider sector. The project speaks directly to our own values of positive change and purposeful growth, and we’re here to listen, challenge, and deliver something that truly reflects the values at the heart of CharityComms.”
– Mike Pye, Managing Director, MP&Co

Sepas Seraj, Founder & CEO	Nicola Barnard, Operations Director	Kris Samyui-Adams, Creative Director	Zuzanna Ciesielska, Senior Project Manager	Melisa Mourelle, UX/UI Designer
Ele Persio, Senior Digital Designer	Joe Chiari, Senior Technical Consultant	Raman Kaur, WordPress Developer

“As a team, we couldn’t be more thrilled to be partnering with CharityComms to redesign and develop their new website. The project is a perfect fit, aligning our core strengths as an agency with our shared values and dedication to creating a real, positive impact. We can’t wait to get started.”
– Sepas Seraj, Founder & CEO of Pixeled Eggs