TRUST THROUGH VOICE
Youthline
Brand Strategy/ Creative Direction/ Audience Strategy
For more than 55 years, Youthline’s been there for rangatahi when things get hard. The brand needed to be, too.
There’s a moment before someone reaches out. A pause. A second-guess. Then silence. That’s where Youthline exists.
But the brand didn’t always meet people there. Its comms could feel too structured, too composed for something as messy and uncertain as asking for help. The opportunity wasn’t to sound more caring. It was to make trust tangible.
I led a six-month repositioning of Youthline entire brand positioning - refocussing pillars and messaging to meet this updated focus.
This also involved defining audience segments and personas across all rangatahi the organisation engages with - along with it’s many different supporters - all while building a brand new messaging, voice and visual system around them.
At the centre was a simple idea:
Sincerity under pressure. Not a tone of voice. A condition of trust.
Over a few months, I worked closely with staff and young people to understand where communication felt disconnected. What language and imagery felt real? What created a sense of safety in moments of vulnerability? The ultimate goal; a more consistent and contemporary identity across all touch-points.
I reshaped positioning, messaging, tone of voice, imagery, campaigns, content systems, supporter comms and strategies - all woven within new national brand guidelines.
The system was designed to flex across audiences, without losing emotional clarity or consistency of voice.
Not idealised youth. Lived experience.
Language moved closer to how people actually speak when things are hard -direct, human and unfiltered where it matters.
Visuals followed: real people, unperformed moments, emotional states without staging or polish. Anonymity respected.
The result was a brand that didn’t need to sound louder to be heard. It felt more human to receive. More sincere to believe in. More important to support.
Role: Creative Director & Brand Strategist - leading brand repositioning, audience strategy, positioning, messaging, voice, visual direction and the development of Youthline’s updated brand book and style guide.
