FSMB

Overview

The Federation of State Medical Boards approached Mekanic with the goal of updating its brand design and event branding. The challenge was updating a nationally respected organization that represented healthcare leaders and state medical boards all across the country, in a diverse set of environments, geographies, and socio-economic settings. The updated brand needed to strike a balance between professional, emotive, and dynamic, while also feeling modern and progressive – able to work with public audiences, healthcare audiences, legislators, researchers, and more.

Strategy

The Mekanic team spent time in discovery, working to understand the broader field of state medical boards FSMB oversees, the various national audiences it interacts with, and how it was currently perceived with those audiences. The result of that discovery work was a strategy positioning FSMB with an updated POV as a leader rather than just an authority – approachable, supportive, and focused on the future of state medical boards and healthcare as a whole.

Tactics

Our initial research was done through a discovery process that involved stakeholder interviews, workshops, surveys, audits, in-person attendance at annual events, and an audit of existing brand, messaging, and marketing materials. From there we began an extensive positioning, messaging, and design/brand update process. We developed new brand identity concepts, from which FSMB down-selected. Once a final direction was approved, we built out the brand and began exploring how the event-design could also be updated. The result was a dynamic, modern, and approachable design aesthetic that allowed FSMB to interact with its many audiences and help to elevate the entire field.

Outcome

The updates to FSMB’s brand, messaging, and event design have all been universally well received and acclaimed, with the event design in particular receiving praise from attendees, staff, and leadership at FSMB. The current brand continues to evolve and expand alongside FSMB and its members, showcasing its versatility and longevity.