Salih Karadeniz
The American Cancer Society (ACS) has debuted a new brand.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. The ACS provides information and support to people with cancer, conducts research to identify the causes of cancer, and works to develop strategies for its prevention and treatment. The organization also advocates for policies to improve the cancer care system and helps to raise awareness about cancer-related issues. Founded in 1913, the ACS is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and has regional offices throughout the United States.
The Atlanta-based nonprofit has replaced its vision statement of “A world without cancer” with “To end cancer as we know it, for everyone.” The rebrand also incorporates a new logo, mission statement and organization-wide focus.
Part of the rebrand stems from the fact that there are more than 200 maladies that fall under the cancer heading, according to American Cancer Society Chief Marketing Officer Kymm Martinez. “The notion of being able to go all the way to a cure felt not as authentic as ending cancer as we know it, for everyone,” Martinez told The NonProfit Times. “You might not be able to be cured, but you can have a very high quality of life and live with it.”
The adjusted mission is the articulation of “how we do what we do,” Martinez said. “We wanted to get everyone on same page. If you asked different people internally you would have gotten different answers. Part of this [rebranding] was clarifying the language we should be using so we are not adding to confusion.”
The rebrand also include a new logo. The ACS’s previous logo, a trapezoid configuration with white lettering against a blue background, is now a white rectangle which featured larger blue letters. The previous logo would often get lost amid the branding for ACS events such as Making Strides Against Breast Cancer or Relay for Life, according to Martinez. The new logo was designed to pop against a variety of backgrounds, and would make sure the parent organization’s branding did not fade into the background.
The initiative for the rebrand started in 2021, when Karen E. Knudsen joined the organization as CEO. Work on the rebrand took off in earnest toward the end of 2021. When Martinez joined in March 2022, organization leaders had just started working on position statements that would support it. The rebranding was done in conjunction with agency Havas New York.