Common Sense Media
Uniting a brand to tell one clear, powerful story.
We live in an age where technology is developing at a rate faster than what any individual can keep up with - and it’s reshaping childhood. Enter Common Sense Media, the unequivocal leader in this space, a nonprofit with 20+ years dedicated to the health and well-being of our kids. Yet despite the public outcry surrounding kids and screens, the organization’s wealth of resources were underutilized and membership support didn’t reflect the national conversation.
The challenge was to simplify the brand story, positioning its three separate arms - media, education and advocacy - in a clear, ownable way that showcased the power of the organization and spoke to various audiences.
Through a series of cross-team worksessions, we developed a brand foundation that served as a springboard for a website redesign as well as several key initiatives.
Because in a world where grown-ups are overwhelmed, uncertain, and struggling to make good decisions, Common Sense Media is needed more than ever.
Strategic Brand Positioning
Creative Strategy
Workshops
Big Ideas
Digital Campaigns
Creative Direction
Art Direction
Copywriting
Tone of Voice
Digital Campaigns
Brand Messaging
Illustration & Animation
Results:
Positioned as the unequivocal leader
Built a brand purpose that resonates
Simplified the messaging and website
“There’s not a single person in our organization who would describe what we do in the same way.”
— Quote from stakeholder
We led a series of workshops with key stakeholders from each of the three departments (media, education and advocacy) who had never before sat down to discuss their brands north star. Together we uncovered a unifying brand narrative that will rally employees, parents, educators, and policymakers under one clear mission.
WHAT WE UNCOVERED
They’re the compass in a fast-moving world.
Common Sense Media was facing a cultural reckoning: technology is outpacing adults’ ability to keep up. Parents and educators feel overwhelmed, like passengers on a rocket ship with no seatbelts.
Recognizing this human truth became our strategic north star. Rather than simplifying the conversation, we set Common Sense Media up to be the compass — helping families and educators navigate a fast-moving digital world with clarity and confidence.
BEFORE
Primarily being seen as an information resource.
AFTER
Becoming the unequivocal leader and “compass” in the age of acceleration — actively shaping the future of childhood.
Their value was being fragmented.
Common Sense Media has three powerful arms: Ratings, Education, Advocacy—but they were communicated separately.
We wove them into one clear promise:
We Rate. We Educate. We Advocate.
This unity made the brand easy to understand and hard to forget.
BEFORE
Siloed departments which were communicated separately.
AFTER
A unified and cohesive promise: We Rate - We Educate - We Advocate, forming a single, easy to understand value chain.
They desperately needed powerful language.
Common Sense Media was lacking the right language to lead a national dialogue. Their mission and vision statements had multiple variations and were leaning heavily into functional values. We helped sharpen their language into a powerful call to action—to protect and prepare kids for a digital future they deserve.
BEFORE
Mission and vision lacked emotion and power.
AFTER
A new mission: We protect and prepare kids in the digital era. And with a focused, inspiring vision: A digital world worthy of the kids who will inherit it.
Clarity is their best friend.
The new positioning became the springboard for a full website redesign — collapsing 52 competing navigation links into 7, and restructuring the site to reflect the three unified pillars. Common Sense Media will now have one of its main owned channels able to communicate what it's uniquely qualified to deliver to the world, showing the brand's power.
BEFORE
Complex structure which buried Common Sense Media’s value.
AFTER
Streamlined architecture with clear navigation links aligned to the new pillars.
The Website
MORE projects
The data privacy startup making AI work for you.
A doorway to tech for girls.
A pioneering brand disrupts its category once again.
Fat Tire shows true cost of beer in a climate-ravaged world.