BRAND STRATEGY · CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS · NARRATIVE

Change.org

The challenge

In 2020, a Change.org petition related to the murder of George Floyd generated $20 million for the platform. When people learned that the money did not go to the family, the backlash was immediate, creating a credibility crisis for an organization built around empowering people to create change.

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The controversy surfaced a tension that had existed beneath the brand for years: Change.org’s public promise, its role in the movements that used the platform, and the way the business created and captured value were not always easy to reconcile. Any response had to contend with that tension directly.

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Change.org/Reset became the framework for doing so. The public-facing initiative acknowledged what had happened, clarified the organization’s role, and established a path forward. Internally, the work created alignment around what the organization stood for and what needed to change.  Externally, the narrative had to work across petition starters, signers, advocacy organizations, and a broader public questioning the platform’s motives.

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The strategy created a way to move through the immediate brand crisis while addressing the larger question underneath it: what Change.org could credibly promise the people who trusted the platform to help them create change.