Toastmasters International ReBranding... New Website and More

Why did Toastmasters update its brand?

Toastmasters International has long been known as an organization that helps people improve their public speaking skills. Over the years, Toastmasters clubs and districts have increasingly created websites, conference materials, meeting materials and other communications that displayed their individuality. In early 2008, it became clear that this customization had evolved to the point where the Toastmasters brand was suffering from a lack of consistent perception and recognition among members and prospective members. 

In late 2009, World Headquarters and its branding partner conducted research to better understand Toastmasters’ position in the market. The research was comprised of interviews with members and prospective members from around the world, club and district leaders and board members; attendance at conferences, club meetings and club leader trainings; analysis of the competition and a thorough review of our materials. 

Out of this research we learned that our organization faces many challenges, the most significant being perception control. While the mission of Toastmasters International is in part to, “continually expand its worldwide network of member clubs, thereby offering ever-greater numbers of people the opportunity to benefit from its programs,” the varying public's perceptions of the organization impede the clubs’ and districts’ ability to be successful. 

A clear and consistent brand tells one story of an organization. An ineffective brand tells many stories – some of which are accurate and consistent, but the majority of which are inconsistent and inaccurate. In order to realize our mission, we must create consistency in the story we tell. Therefore, the primary objective of the rebrand is to create and deploy one consistent Toastmasters. 

To achieve this objective, we have developed a set of tools to help clubs and districts around the world consistently share this identity. Through the consistent use of the new visual system and positioning, we will successfully:

• Accurately set and maintain the public’s perception of Toastmasters.
• Expand the organization's reach into emerging markets.
• Reduce the volunteer leaders’ workload by providing brand guidelines to use when creating materials.
• Garner more recognition and media coverage.
• Become the consistently recognized world leader in leadership and communication development.
• Create a more consistent member experience, regardless of geography.