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“I believe that education is the single-most important civil rights issue that we face today. Because in the end, if we really want to solve issues like mass incarceration, poverty, racial profiling, voting rights, and the kinds of challenges that shocked so many of us over the past year, then we simply cannot afford to lose out on the potential of even one young person. We cannot allow even one more young person to fall through the cracks.”

— First Lady Michelle Obama, February 20, 2015

The Black Sheep Agency Manifesto

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Sample Case Study Detail — New Features (IN DEVELOPMENT)

Over 2.96 billion #BetterMakeRoom impressions later, we've seen thousands of students take the first step toward realizing their higher-ed dreams. Because saying things outloud makes them happen.

In 2015, we teamed up with the Office of Public Engagement to support Mrs. Obama’s Reach Higher initative. We needed to build on the great stakeholder relationships Reach Higher had built, and carve out a place for just Generation-Z. A generation that’s grown up in a post-911/post-recession world, that’s witnessed traditional choices do not always guarantee success and that’s observed the struggles of Millennials and has resolved to do things differently.

We needed to give Gen-Z a creative space, inspire them to build their own community and find ways to amplify their mindset. In hopes of igniting a movement. Better Make Room gives voice to that generation. It celebrates their achievements and acknowledges things are not easy. It elevates their hard work to new heights. It tells their stories through a lens normally reserved for celebrities and give them a space to not only speak their dreams but encourage each other.

Better Make Room says that students reaching toward higher education deserve equal praise and adoration. Through surprising integration of celebrities we lift up and give achievement to students and the spotlight they so greatly deserve. With initiatives like #CollegeSigningDay, we've brought together 100+ celebrities, celebrated thousands of students and consistently reached millions of impressions each year.

Over 2.8 billion #BetterMakeRoom impressions later, we've seen thousands of students take the first step toward realizing their higher-ed dreams. Because saying things outloud makes them happen.

Better Make Room

The HPV vaccine helps prevent cancer, but talking about it is hard. Despite the best efforts from experts in public health, it still lags behind other vaccines in coverage rates. That's why we developed All for Them for a team of incredible women at UTHealth who provide mobile vaccination clinics at HISD middle schools.

Parents do so much for their kids, making sure they have all they need to thrive. The All For Them campaign plays up the idea of complete and holistic health while acknowledging parents' efforts to provide their children with all, not just some, of the things they need on a day-to-day basis.

Our challenge was to change the conversation from one that addresses the challenges associated with HPV too quickly or disregards them entirely, to one that empathizes with parents and empowers them to make the best choices for their families.

UTHealth All for Them

In a field dominated by big names and a perpetual state of charity, Black Sheep needed to differentiate Boys and Girls Harbor in more ways than one. In 2017, we renamed and rebranded the organization and have remained in partnership to develop and rollout an integrated marketing and communications plan to reposition them among their peers.

The Today's Harbor brand employs a simple and geomoetric design. The paper boat is symbolic of childhood, optimism and possibility and the lean yet textural logo speaks to the structure the organization brings to the lives of children. The nautical theme is a nod to the harbor locale of the nonprofit. The combination of youthful, basic shapes, strong type and the romantic, adventure theme make the logo and brand appropriate for the range of ages at Today’s Harbor for Children as well as the adults who support the children and the organization.

To connect with new and existing audiences, we created two digital campaigns that focused on the real stories of the Harbor’s children and alumni. Development of the campaigns included concept, production of assets and videos, fleshing out of content calendars, deployment of social advertising as well as email marketing to support. Following the launch of both campaigns the organization saw a 300% increase in traffic to their volunteer page, a 300% increase in donation traffic and a 100% increase in social media reach and impressions. This is one of many ways we're working with Today's Harbor to broaden their awareness.

Today's Harbor for Children

When the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco wanted to supercharge their team of thousands, we crafted "You Are Here," an employee handbook and campaign that bottled up what motivates their team and helped them stand out as an employer of choice in a competitive San Francisco hiring market. (Google who?) The campaign really struck a cord with Fed employees... or maybe it was just the free dollar.

The idea for "You Are Here" was sparked by something a real Fed employee said during our discovery process, and it's on the first page of the booklet: "The dollar in your pocket has value because of the work done by the Fed." The work of Fed employees in San Francisco impacts the world's economy. You're not just working for the Fed; you're working for people all over the globe. 

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Culture Guide

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

Michelle Obama wants more first-generation college-goers to have the support they need, and that means championing everyone in students' corners—from parents to school counselors to foundations and admissions staff. The Reach Higher brand was a project near and dear to our hearts, and we worked to create a versatile, flexible design system that empowers staff and stakeholders all over the country to craft the materials they need to make an impact in students' journeys to college.

Reach Higher

When the researchers at UTHealth School of Public Health contacted us about a citywide campaign for LARC (long-acting reversible contraception), we jumped in with full hearts. Birth control is only one of many decisions facing women. It’s a very personal decision, and not one you can easily make without help—so we created the Own Every Piece campaign.

Vibrant bursts of color symbolize all of life’s complicated pieces being tossed victoriously into the air. It’s about women taking ownership of their stories, their bodies and their choices.

Birth control is a topic laden with cultural pitfalls. Messaging had to come from women with real experience that our audience trusted while balancing approachability with medical expertise.

Building a robust collection of compelling images and video assets inclusive of all types of women, we developed an integrated communications strategy that started a movement in Houston.

Instagram ads led to a microsite with information, video testimonials and an interactive clinic map.

We worked with a diverse group of influencers to embed the Own Every Piece message even deeper into the community.

Together we've reached over half a million Houston women, engaged leaders all over the community and sparked hundreds of conversations about birth control and reproductive health.

UTHealth Own Every Piece

We work to serve the future of our community and the voices within it. Serving as the community outreach, media and public engagement partner for the City of Houston-Mayor’s Office, we gave everything we had to ensure Houston had a say in its plans for the future. Strategy, democracy and community? Always, more of this please.

City of Houston General Plan

Through the lenses of Texas influencers, Texas Adventure (part of the Reliant Original Series) took audiences on the road from the Gulf Coast to North Texas. ​In just two months, the campaign reached more than one million Texans, rallying positive sentiment and delivering on the brand's mission—to empower Texans to do more!

Through the lenses of Texas influencers, Texas Adventure (part of the Reliant Original Series) took audiences on the road from the Gulf Coast to North Texas.

Reliant Energy Texas Adventure

Four weeks to create one big event. That’s the charge we undertook when we signed on to help Mrs. Obama’s When We All Vote initiative host a voter registration rally in Houston. In partnership with Chris Paul of the Houston Rockets and the League of Women Voters of Houston, we gathered a group of registrars and citizens to encourage voting around our city.

When We All Vote

The Reimagine Long Point campaign for Houston's Spring Branch neighborhood used social media advertising, online surveys and town-hall style events to give residents a voice in the revitalization of their central street Long Point Road. In partnership with SWA Group, Black Sheep supported their strategy to improve local quality of life through community building, information dissemination and feedback collection via online surveys (with over 2,000 responses) and three community events (with attendance totaling over 200 attendees). The community engagement work supported a livable centers study in partnership with SWA Group.

Reimagine Long Point with SWA and Spring Branch Management District

The Reimagine Long Point campaign for Houston's Spring Branch neighborhood used social media advertising, online surveys and town-hall style events to give residents a voice in the revitalization of their central street Long Point Road.

For 100 years, the League of Women Voters of Houston has championed the education and rights of voters of all genders, ages, races and socio-economic backgrounds. Our re-brand of this impactful organization better showcases its diversity and vibrant community involvement. 

League of Women Voters of Houston

Millions of Harris County voters entered into a new era of voting thanks to the Harris County Clerk's Office polling place program. Our #voteYOURway engagement and awareness campaign connected with hard-to-reach-voters to let them know that they can now vote wherever, whenever and with whomever they want.

To support the convenience of this new way of voting, we partnered with the data scientists at January Advisors to launch voter support tools that made it easy to find a nearby polling location via the Harris County Poll Finder, a textbot and Facebook Messenger chatbot. A syndicated polling place map helped media and community partners spread the word, while a 'Your Vote Counts' dashboard educated curious voters on just how their vote matters in every election. 

Smart community outreach was at the heart of this campaign—from connecting community groups with translated toolkits to student engagement campaigns that add clarity and excitement around on-campus voting centers.

Millions of Harris County voters entered into a new era of voting thanks to the Harris County Clerk's Office polling place program.

Harris County Clerk's Office

270,000 veterans call Houston home, and 5,000 more arrive each year. Combined Arms exists to unites veterans and our community to accelerate their impact in Houston. They called on us to develop a brand and identity worthy of their mission. Beginning with a memorable logo that tells a story, our work rallied civilians into service for veterans.

Combined Arms

From Tesla to Google to Pepsi, huge brands are jumping on board to support this national project of nonprofit Invest Outside. Outside I Can is a movement for everyone, and it's all about cultivating love for the great outdoors to improve our national health. We built a logo that works in two ways: as a logo, and as a community engagement piece that calls out for everyone to tell their stories about being outside.

Outside I can

It's up to each and every one of us to make our world an accepting place. With the Holocaust Museum Houston, we took The Butterfly Project—twenty years and 1.5 MILLION handmade butterflies—online with #StandWithHope, so that each of us could choose to come together and fight FOR something instead of against it. Because hope is a commitment to action. A protest. A rally cry: "I will this world to be better."

Holocaust Museum of Houston

Did you know that Houston’s Theater District, second only to NYC, covers 17 blocks, hosts eight performing arts organizations and has more than 12,000 seats? While theater is just one aspect of Houston’s arts scene, we can tell you one thing—we’re serious about the arts and we're ready to have a plan for the future. Serving as the official public engagement agency for the Plan, Black Sheep made sure the diverse voices of our community were not only heard, but the core of our planning.

City of Houston Arts and Cultural Plan

A county of our size, with over 6 million residents, should have seven to eight Level 1 Trauma Centers. We have two. We have a critical need in our region to support The Ginni and Richard Mithoff Trauma Center at Ben Taub. As their partner, we developed the creative to support their second capital campaign to rally the city behind The Hospital with Incredible Outcomes.

Harris Health Ben Taub

Houston’s future is dependent on the quality of education we provide to our students today. A group of Houston's leaders came together to envision a new future for Houston's education. From that Good Reason Houston was born. To ensure that our communities rallied around their work, we built a multi-layered brand and digital strategy that could serve as a storytelling tool for them.

Starting with their logo, the brand provides a framework to demonstrate all the good reasons why this work is so critical. It connect the dots between community needs, data, and research to create strategies to improve our struggling education system.

After celebrating their first year, we supported Good Reason Houston by designing their first Harris County Scorecard, to visualiz data on how our students are performing.

Houston’s future is dependent on the quality of education we provide to our students today. A group of Houston's leaders came together to envision a new future for Houston's education.

Good Reason Houston

With all the obstacles that exist, ensuring at-risk youth get “to and through” college is a big job with a lot of moving pieces—but impact-driven, behavioral science nonprofit ideas42 tackles challenges like these all the time. The digital campaign we designed and launched for their project Nudges, Norms, and New Solutions helped over 1,000 educators and counselors lower the invisible barriers to post-secondary education success for their students. 

Ideas42

Creating cultural connections through the power of global music, we helped re-align Apollo's leadership and board with an updated Vision, Mission and Values, energizing their next steps forward. We workshopped, surveyed and collaborated on messaging that resonated with audiences on and off stage.

Apollo Chamber Players

Well-designed data can change the world—and its water quality. We worked with USAID, the Global Environment and Technology Foundation, Coca-Cola and IPSOS to design materials for World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden on behalf of the Water & Development Alliance (WADA). An illustrated infographic handout and brochure presented research insights on the ripple effect of clean water on women’s economic empowerment.

Water and Development Alliance

At Fay, students aren’t just sharp, they’re emotionally intelligent and they know what it means to be a leader at an early age. At Fay, students are ready to take on the day and whatever comes their way. They share, they tell their stories, they speak their mind and they lead younger students through the journey to become the students they’re meant to be. And if there’s one thing the world needs more of, it’s smart, passionate, articulate young people ready to lead. A place so special deserved a campaign as equally special. We wanted to show the Houston community What Leaders Look Like.

The What Leaders Look Like campaign centers on the stories of the unique, the optimistic and the inspiring things Fay students are doing and saying. It showcases student experiences visually, using GIFs and videos to illustrate the kinetic energy each story brings. This campaign embodies what Fay does best: empowering students to achieve everything they put their mind to—to be leaders in the now, while looking toward the future. The What Leaders Look Like campaign cultivates an environment of showcasing what a true leader looks like. 

In a completely original, unusual, photo-centric campaign, “What Leaders Look Like:” positions student photos and student quotes to function as interactive headlines. We also pitched that The Fay School be the first and only school in the Houston area to install a Smilebooth on campus and use it to capture GIFs, videos and photos of the Fay Family to use for social content and campaign materials. 

The Fay School

Three million students and teachers across the globe use Common App each year to help plan and apply for their higher education experience. To support their rebrand, we helped create video storytelling pieces to showcase their new look and build a strong emotional connection with their audiences.

Common App

ILEAD, a teen leadership program from Interfaith Ministries, combines youth of different religious and cultural backgrounds for discussion, debate, awareness and acts of service. The logo, a series of the letter "i,"  combines the participation of the individual and their viewpoint with the power of the group and its passion for mutual and respectful debate.

Interfaith Ministries ILEAD

People have always protested and marched—for rights, for equality, for things they believe in. One protest sign that has been present for all this strife is the one that reads “I am human.” When we want to remove barriers, we talk about our humanity, our common ground. This campaign for nonprofit BakerRipley is called HUMAN.

In the sixties, activists proclaimed “I am a man.” When love won, activists said, “I feel more human today than I have in a long time.” This was the seed of the idea for HUMAN. When people in many decades keep adopting the same central theme, that’s because the theme has power. Talking about our humanity, our common ground, has power.

That’s because “HUMAN” is a simple statement, but it’s really more than that: It is a universal truth, immediately recognizable, that connects strangers in an instant. It draws the simplest possible line between two people. “You” and “them” becomes “us.”

BakerRipley

In a city with a world-class medical center, Houston is still seeing an underserved working class population with inadequate access to basic health care. Vecino Health Centers has quietly been addressing Houston's healthcare crises by integrating into their communities and working directly with patients to find a solution. And we thought it was time for them to get LOUD. Through the #LetHealthShine campaign, we're changing the way people think and feel about health care—because it affects us all.

Vecino Health Centers

Variety of logos and branding done for clients

Logo Work

Rap legend and philanthropist Trae Tha Truth needed creative solutions to drive a larger, more diverse group of Houstonians to his longstanding event Trae Day Weekend. Touting music and comedy performances by top names, ticket sales and donations helped give back to thousands of families with school-age children. Through targeted digital buys, design and social content, we reached more than 40,000 people.

Rapper Trae Tha Truth

Here at Black Sheep, we all already know what makes Downtown Houston so great. So how do you create an engagement campaign that helps people embrace their love for their hometown? We needed to shift our thinking from Downtown as a place, to Downtown as an entity with BIG personality. All the imperfection, the wildness, the uniqueness and the weirdness. The Meet Downtown campaign builds a personality that reflects these qualities, and asks Houstonians to embrace their affinity for Downtown: more love, more pride, more people who want to be there. We don’t love Downtown Houston because it is perfect. We love it because it is ours. 

Downtown Houston

Our work makes an impact, see some of our nonprofit branding, design, social engagement and strategy project case studies.

Case Studies