CONNECT2Careers Rebranding Effort

The Challenge

In the fall of 2012, the City of San Diego awarded the San Diego Workforce Partnership (SDWP) funding to reinvigorate and re-imagine its summer employment program, formerly known as Hire-A-Youth.

While the Hire-A-Youth program had proven successful when it was first launched, SDWP noted a sharp decrease in participation and concerns about enthusiasm and interest in the program. The development of a skilled workforce is vital for the region’s economy, so in order to ensure future funding and support, the program needed new life. Thus, SDWP tasked Nuffer, Smith, Tucker with rebranding the program.

The Tactics

The goal was to look at the overall marketing program and determine what changes needed to be made to ensure future success, and to re-engage San Diego businesses and organizations to provide meaningful job opportunities for young people.

NST took the San Diego Workforce Partnership through its proprietary Compass planning process. Alongside the partnership, NST explored all current opportunities and challenges with the existing program, and how it could be effectively re-branded. Through the process NST evaluated everything from messaging to design of materials and engagement of local companies and schools. This process resulted in the following changes:

• New program name – CONNECT2Careers
• New logo
• New tagline – Developing Talent for Tomorrow’s Workforce
• New messaging and outreach materials
• New outreach strategy to reach target companies and elected officials

The key difference NST made was to change the focus of the program from a summer job program, to one that aligned career aspirations of young people with like-minded companies.