Case Study: Branding Strategy for LEAD Ohio

Client: LEAD Ohio
Prepared by: Ballr Media, LLC
Services Provided: Brand strategy development, market analysis, brand positioning, messaging framework

Overview

Ballr Media partnered with LEAD Ohio, a progressive political training organization, to refine and formalize its brand strategy. Our goal was to create a cohesive identity and voice that would resonate with aspiring political leaders across Ohio—particularly those interested in running for office or managing advocacy campaigns aligned with progressive values.

Our branding strategy focused on two primary areas:

Target Market Insights – Understanding audience behavior, demographics, and motivators.
Branding Strategy – Establishing a compelling brand voice, visual identity, messaging tone, and unique value proposition.

Target Market Insights

Our analysis of LEAD Ohio’s core audience revealed:

Age Range: 18 to 50
Gender Breakdown: 71% Male, 29% Female
Primary Motivators:

Access to high-quality campaign training
Increased confidence and performance during elections

The target audience seeks practical, easy-to-follow content, often consumed through social media and YouTube. They value a peer-like relationship with training organizations—preferring inclusive, community-led environments over top-down models.

We recommended that LEAD Ohio:

Break down content into bite-sized, solution-driven media
Engage regularly on social media platforms with an informal, confident tone
Invite its audience into deeper relationship-building via events, virtual groups, and mentorship

Branding Strategy

We designed a brand personality and communication style that aligns with LEAD Ohio’s mission, audience, and values. The focus was to humanize the organization while reinforcing expertise and mission-driven purpose.

Brand Voice Pillars:

Trustworthy: Language should be empathetic, inclusive, and use first-person plural (“we”) to foster trust. Personalized engagement is key.
Knowledgeable and Capable: The brand must project authority and reliability. Suggested tactics include producing campaign-related vlogs, policy podcasts, and blog posts that direct traffic to the website.
Friendly and Energetic: A conversational, down-to-earth tone should be used in both written and verbal messaging. Replacing formal calls to action like “Join our session” with “Let’s increase your chances of winning” makes the brand more approachable.

Core Beliefs to Communicate:

Promotion of progressive political, social, and economic values
Sincerity in mentorship and political guidance
Long-term relationship-building over one-off training

Unique Selling Propositions (USPs)

To distinguish LEAD Ohio in the saturated political training space, we developed a unique value framework that focused on authenticity, adaptability, and grassroots connection:

Customized campaign support: Tailored approaches, not templated solutions
Grassroots expertise: Unique insight into local challenges and candidate pain points
Mission-driven mentorship: Deep involvement from trainers who go beyond the call of duty
Real-world impact: A training program built to win races, not just host webinars

We advised integrating these USPs prominently across the homepage, About page, and social content.

Brand Story Development

We recommended the creation of a narrative that humanizes LEAD Ohio and builds emotional connection with candidates and supporters.

Suggested story elements include:

Acknowledging the challenges progressive candidates face in traditional systems
Emphasizing the founders’ vision to democratize access to campaign training
Highlighting the organization’s desire to match candidates with scalable, budget-aware solutions
Showcasing a deep belief in civic empowerment and equitable leadership

Results

The final deliverable positioned LEAD Ohio to:

Increase candidate engagement via a more accessible, humanized voice
Improve clarity and consistency across all communications
Better articulate its mission and training model to new audiences and funders
Drive enrollment and strengthen digital storytelling through social content and video