Our Board of Directors hired an experienced outside branding and communications agency to lead the project. The process began with a substantial survey of our staff, volunteers, clients, donors, sponsors, organizations, and churches to gauge what CCCC meant to them and how a potential rebranding might affect their relationship with our organization.
Based on these findings, the agency and Board reviewed quite a few rounds of name ideas, ultimately narrowing the selections to a dozen. This list was provided to 20 marketing and branding executives across the US to determine what resonated best with experts unassociated with CCCC.
Ultimately the list was narrowed to three, and a variety of potential logos and color palette treatments were explored, leading the Board to vote unanimously in favor of AZCEND.
Before committing to the name, the Board engaged a local law firm to conduct a thorough search and ensure that no other entities in Arizona or across the US might have any legal claim to our name in the future.
The CCCC staff then helped to finalize the colors and heart logo. The entire process took approximately nine months.
We have been working with these same branding experts to ensure a seamless transition to AZCEND after our launch celebration on May 16. During the balance of 2017, you can expect to see references to CCCC in many of our communication efforts to ensure that all donors, partners, volunteers, community leaders, and those in need understand that CCCC is now AZCEND.