Selflessly Brand Standards (v1.0.0/r. 12/2020)

Edition Standard: v1.0.0

Last Revision: 12 February 2021

Selflessly's Brand Standards are the final authority on any use of the brand, its logos, wordmarks, and other such elements as defined by the Marketing team. This document is a consistently changing document and relevant updates will be provided in order to accommodate changes in the business atmosphere, as well as globally. 

The purpose of this document is to provide information to the company and its partners to ensure that the Selflessly brand is being represented appropriately across all media. Improper use of the brand can result in brand fragmentation, issues with corporate identity, and a failure for consumers to understand the purpose of the brand and its messaging. 

The Marketing team invites commentary, suggestions, and ideas on how to improve the brand image at all times. You may email Andy Markle, Chief Marketing Officer, at [email protected] for any questions, comments, concerns, or ideas that you may have.

This Edition of the Brand Standards was devised on 9 December 2020 to reflect changes to the brand, wordmarks, and other elements used as part of the brand. Sections of this standard may not apply to all regions, but all regions are expected to follow the standards. 

Any derivation of the standards are expressly prohibited without the express and explicit consent of the Chief Marketing Officer, Andy Markle or Chief Executive Officer, Joshua Driver. Further, if there are questions that need answered or a derivation outside of the standards herein, please send an email to [email protected] for more information. 

These standards are for the worldwide brand are in effect for all countries, jurisdictions, or organizations that utilize the Selflessly name, brandmark, or wordmark. 

© 2020 Selflessly, Inc. All rights reserved.

Latest Revision: 9 December 2020

Changelog (9 December 2020):

• Initial Edition

Section 1: Introduction to Selflessly Brand Standards

• Section 1.1: Edition Information 
• Section 1.2: Revision Changelog
• Section 1.3: Table of Contents

Section 2: Brand Standards

• Section 2.1: Brand Identity
• Section 2.2: Brand Positioning
• Section 2.3: Brand Emotions
• Section 2.4: Logo Standards
• Section 2.5: Color Palettes

Section 3: Editorial Standards

• Section 3.1: Brand Typography
• Section 3.2: Brand Language & Editorial Standards
• Section 3.3: Brand Visual Identity Systems
• Section 3.4: Boilerplate
• Section 3.5: Email Signatures

Introduction to Brand Standards

Brand standards are important for any brand to maintain and drive uniformity across the organization. At Selflessly, we use brand standards to ensure that our global brand stays the same and we do not confuse our customers. As part of the brand standards, we include things like: brand identity, positioning statements, emotions, logos and color palettes. 

Table of Contents

• §2.1 — Brand Identity
• §2.2 — Brand Positioning
• §2.3 — Brand Emotions
• §2.4 — Logo Standards
• §2.5 — Color Palettes

Our Mission

Our mission is to make our communities a better place by reshaping corporate culture though technology and corporate social responsibility.

Our Vision

Selflessly's vision is to become the top platform for organizations to contribute their time, talent, and philanthropic giving while simultaneously building corporate cultures to make their communities a better place.

Our Values

Selflessly's values are the guiding principles that drive how we strive to conduct our business every day. These values establish our view of the world as we shape our future. They determine how we treat each other.

• Create wildly successful corporate cultures by doing whatever it takes to enable our champions to be transformational leaders and their staff to be superstars.
• Pursue diversity by creating spaces for differing views and experiences. We view these as inherent advantages that gives us perspective and helps drive better business.
• Deliver outstanding results by establishing a culture of exceptional execution and rewarding those who create great outcomes.
• Continuously improve by viewing the business from a "Glass Half Empty" perspective to intensely focus on how we can operate more effectively.
• Develop our people by providing an environment that fosters personal development and professional growth.
• Operate with transparency by communicating internally and externally with unwavering candor, honesty, and respect.
• Are accountable by measuring ourselves against the highest standards of integrity and fiscal responsibility.

Our Target Audience

Selflessly’s primary customers are organizations that are seeking to make change in their corporate culture by making their communities a better place. Organizations that feature fragmented cultural ownership, a lack of human resources and learning and development resources, and a lack of internal cultural development will likely not see success from implementation of our platform.

Specific targeted roles include:

• Directors of Human Resources
• Directors of Learning & Development
• Chief People Officers
• Human Resources Managers
• Chief Culture Officers
• Chief Diversity Officers

However, employees of all types are beneficiaries of the use of the Selflessly platform. Internally, cultural committees or engagement committee directors/chairs may be an alternative persona to target. 

Selflessly’s Brand Archetype: The Hero

Brand Desire - To provide worth through empowerment and being courageous.

Brand Goal - To improve the world.

Brand Strategy - To do things for others that empower them for success.

Brand Motto - Where there's a will, there's a way.

Brand Fear - Weakness, vulnerability, being scared.

Brand Weak Points - Arrogance and challenging others.

Why the Hero Identity is Right for Selflessly

The Hero archetype is right for Selflessly because:

• Selflessly's leaders possess indomitable will and personal humility
• Selflessly seeks to improve the world through empowering it to manage its community giving with relative ease
• Selflessly believes that nothing is impossible and will continue to drive success always
• Selflessly pushes for success in all things that it does
• Selflessly continues to provide extraordinary success for the customers it reaches

More comprehensive information about this Jungian archetype is located here.

Brand Culture, Voice, Experience, & Focus

Selflessly's brand culture is based on empowering others to do more at the local community level and do it efficiently. 

Selflessly's voice uses whimsical language and a relatable vocabulary allowing everyone to connect to its internal voice.

Selflessly's experience allows it to hold robust conversations, solve problems, and create innovative solutions for corporate culture transformation.

Selflessly's focus is all about empowerment, finding solutions, being the first to solve problems, embracing technology, and adapting its thinking for the greater good of the worldwide community around us and our partners.

Unique Selling Position

Selflessly's unique selling position is that our platform will help transform their clients' corporate culture through philanthropic efforts to give back to their community in any way. This includes  donating time and/or monetary contributions (in-kind donations and tangible cash). 

The Tagline

Live purposely. Give selflessly.

Success Messaging

A successful Selflessly client relationship should evoke empowerment, strength, simplicity, and the ability to overcome their fears and challenges.

It's important to remember that clients want to:

• Feel as if their work and business strategies are important to Selflessly.
• Be happy and relieved that Selflessly provides a solution to alleviate the needs of their organizations.
• Strike up conversations without being uptight.
• Empower our customers to overcome their fears and challenges of creating a selfless corporate culture by enabling transformation with ease.
• Industry-leading support.

Empowering

Motivating, Encouraging, Enabling

Selflessly helps organizations transform their corporate cultures to be more selfless in their time, talent, and giving. 

Purposeful

Passionate, Intentional, Effective

Selflessly exists to help organizations thrive. Our mission is audaciously large and motivates us with each step we take. Instead of acting impulsively, we take steps with deliberate planning, craftsmanship, and focus to hit the target and meet expectations in every engagement.

Authoritative

Truthful, Scholarly, Dependable, Authentic

Selflessly always strives to be truthful in its intentions, scholarly in its work, dependable in its deliveries, and authentic in its speech. Every member of the team embodies this message and should always be a guide to the Selflessly ethos - no matter the project. We count on our authority to gain respect and demand authenticity and trust.

Approachable

Genuine, Unpretentious, Caring

Selflessly keeps it real. It's open and honest, avoids aloof corporate language, and phony marketing spins. Selflessly sees itself less as a company and more as a team of humans helping other humans - being friendly and sincere should come naturally.

Logo Overview

Logos are a cornerstone of the Selflessly brand. They are the most outward facing element of brand recognition. Therefore, the integrity of our logos should be considered the utmost importance. Keeping them within brand standard is vital to the survival of our brand and its mission.

It’s important you use only the approved use marks and you follow the directions in this section when replicating, designing, or using any mark/logo for any material.

Primary Logo

Selflessly’s primary logo is accentuated by a dark purple circle with a white "s", symbolizing both the strength of the brand through color theory, evoking power, strength, and boldness. The "selflessly" wordmark is used as a pillar to support the shield as the driving force behind how the company empowers others to do great things. The logo is a strong, steadfast brand image with accents striking airs of authority, such as:

• The Selflessly Shield: The shield is the foremost brandmark and is identified as the primary striking force behind the brand presence. It is designed to evoke feelings of strength and empowerment.
• Emboldened wordmark: The wordmark is a dark purple wordmark that shows empowerment accentuated by the shield. This strength identifies and signifies a "steady hand" in helping customers navigate their way through the transformation of the future of their corporate culture.

For primary logo standard size and resolution, please refer to Figure 1 below.

Primary Logo Integrity

A logo is the brand simply summed up into one tiny, neat little package. Therefore, the logo must always be perfectly legible and without obstructions. For this reason, we ask that the brand maintain a minimum area of breathing room around the logo that allows it to breathe and shine. The Selflessly logo and all its variations must have the clear space that is specified on this page at all times.

You may notice there will be specific hanglines, both vertical and horizontal, on which both logo variations sit. This rule must be maintained, as it best suits the design of these logos. Also, be sure to notice the minimum sizes outlined on this page. We ask that these sizes be strictly adhered to and only used when absolutely necessary.

Unacceptable Brand Use

Our logo is very important to us, and we have spent time and effort carefully crafting it to be a perfect embodiment of our brand. We ask that designers and users respect the thought and craftsmanship put into the logo by keeping it in its purest form and within the rules specified in this guide.

Be wary when using the logo not to alter, tweak, mutilate, or take any personal creative freedom that breaks the specific rules outlined in this guide. The following are a few examples of practices that would violate the logo and ultimate the Selflessly brand.

Acceptable Brand Use

Our logo is very important to us, and we have spent time and effort carefully crafting it to be a perfect embodiment of our brand. We ask that designers and users respect the thought and craftsmanship put into the logo by keeping it in its purest form and within the rules specified in this guide.

Here are some examples of ways that you may use the Selflessly logo.

Monochromatic Use - There may be times where a monochromatic use is acceptable for the Selflessly logo. 

Using Our Colors

Colors play an integral role in communicating the brand and keep a consistent visual presence across all channels. As a result, Selflessly requires all of the following colors to be used in two formats: primary and secondary. All materials produced must utilize these colors to the exact specification. 

Selflessly Reflex Blue or Pantone® Reflex Blue C should be the primary color utilized in all Selflessly communications. 

Selflessly Periwinkle or Pantone® 2178 C should be the secondary primary color utilized in all Selflessly communications. 

Both are available for your use at any time as it results in communicating the brand's image. You may consistently use these colors as it directly corresponds to materials created and used for the standardization of the brand and its assets.

Using Selflessly Reflex Blue

Reflex Blue is the most important color in our palette; it’s critical that we get it right. The official Selflessly Reflex Blue is PMS Reflex Blue C. That is the color you should specify with any vendors if you are producing merchandise, promotional, or specialty items.

However, almost all communications from Selflessly are printed using the four-color (CMYK) process, which cannot accurately produce PMS Reflex Blue C. Therefore, you should use the C-100, M-100, Y-26, K-24 CMYK breakdown when printing. If a printer requests a PMS color to guarantee a match for a four-color print job, you should specify PMS Reflex Blue not the CMYK, RGB, or Hexadecimal code.

For RGB palettes, use R-27, G-20, B-100. 

For the web, use the hexadecimal code #1B1464.

Using Selflessly Periwinkle

Reflex Blue is the second most important color in our palette; it’s critical that we get it right. The official Periwinkle is PMS 2178-C. That is the color you should specify with any vendors if you are producing merchandise, promotional, or specialty items.

However, almost all communications from Selflessly are printed using the four-color (CMYK) process, which cannot accurately produce PMS 2178-C. Therefore, you should use the C-64, M-55, Y-0, K-0 CMYK breakdown when printing. If a printer requests a PMS color to guarantee a match for a four-color print job, you should specify PMS 2178-C not the CMYK, RGB, or Hexadecimal code.

For RGB palettes, use R-108, G-123, B-255. 

For the web, use the hexadecimal code #6C7BFF.

Secondary Palette

Because Selflessly’s branding appears in thousands of different places, one color palette simply isn’t enough to work in all circumstances. As our brand marketing needs grow more complex with numerous projects, we’ll inevitably need to use more than just our primary colors.

Selflessly Dark Red or Pantone® 187C is an acceptable color use for secondary accents only but should never replace it in the primary brandmark. You may utilize this in CMYK format as: C-24 M-100 Y-87 K-15. Alternatively, you may use the hexadecimal code for web as #AA1E2E. 

Selflessly Goldenrod or Pantone® 157-C is an acceptable color use for secondary accents only. You should never replace it in the primary brandmark. You may utilize this in CMYK format as: C-5 M-41 Y-83 K-0. Alternatively, you may use the hexadecimal code for web as #EEA146. 

Selflessly Yellow or Pantone® 155-C is an acceptable color use for secondary accents only. You should never replace it in the primary brandmark. You may utilize this in CMYK format as: C-4, M-21, Y-53, K-0. Alternatively, you may use the hexadecimal code for web as #F3CA87. 

Selflessly Aquamarine or Pantone® 7465-C is an acceptable color use for secondary accents only. You should never replace it in the primary brandmark. You may utilize this in CMYK format as: C-66, M-0, Y-41, K-0. Alternatively, you may use the hexadecimal code for web as #468FAB. 

Selflessly Blue or Pantone® 634-C  is an acceptable color use for secondary accents only. You should never replace it in the primary brandmark. You may utilize this in CMYK  format as C-66, M-0, Y-41, K-0. Alternatively, you may use the hexadecimal code for web as #00558B. 

To view our secondary color palettes, please refer to Figure 2 below.

Selflessly uses personas to determine the proper audience for our products and services. Our adherence to using these personas helps define marketing and sales practices across the board.

SMB Targeted Profiles

For Selflessly, an SMB is a pre-seed, seed, series A, B, or C funded entity with more than 200 employees. The targeted funding amount is > $10m USD. An SMB can additionally be an existing company with a revenue of over $3m.

Types of SMB verticals Selflessly would appeal to are: 

• Construction (Residential & Commercial)
• Retail
• Property Management
• Field Services Organizations
• Hospitality
• Healthcare
• Government
  • Government Services and Administration
• Pharmaceuticals
• Startups

The targeted personas are as follows: 

• Directors of Human Resources
• Directors of Learning & Development
• Chief People Officers
• Human Resources Managers
• Chief Culture Officers
• Chief Diversity Officers
• Chief Marketing Officers
• Directors of Marketing

Introduction to Editorial Standards

Editorial standards are important for any brand to maintain and drive uniformity across the organization. At Selflessly, we use editorial standards to ensure that our global brand stays the same and we do not confuse our customers. As part of the editorial standards, we include things like: typography use, language, dictionaries and preferred style and tone, visual identity systems, and press boilerplates.

Table of Contents

• §3.1 — Brand Typography
• §3.2 — Brand Language & Editorial Standards
• §3.3 — Brand Visual Identity Systems
• §3.4 — Boilerplate
• §3.5 — Email Signatures

Typefaces

Communications from Selflessly are most effective when the words are consistent in both content and appearance. The font families below were carefully chosen to reflect Selflessly's brand identity.

Standard External Type

For all marketing materials and customer-facing Selflessly branded content, our official standard font is Tondo. There are no acceptable substitutes. You may alternatively use Verdana for email communications on Windows-based computers, or San Francisco on macOS-based computers.

Standard Internal Type

For all internal process documentation, procedures, internal documents, statements of work, discussion documents, etc., our official standard font is Tondo. Both of these typefaces come standard on all computers within the company. An acceptable substitute is Lato or Verdana. 

Standard Email Type

For all marketing and customer-facing emails, our official standard font is Verdana. Both of these typefaces come standard on all computers within the company. An acceptable substitute is Lato.

Our language represents the company across all platforms and audiences at all hours. So, it’s important it accurately reflect Selflessly's personality and values. Being consistent with our language strengthens brand identity and breeds industry credibility. It also allows readers to identify our brand even without logos, colors, or other visual elements.

Editorial Standards

As important as our words are for telling our stories, it is critical that we get them right.

The purpose of these standards is to advise writers and editors on good editorial judgment and decision-making to ensure consistency in our words across Selflessly's communications. They're not intended to apply to any other type of writing, including but not limited to research papers, analyst perspectives, market reports, etc.

As issues arise in your copy editing, check this guide first for Selflessly-approved styling, including information on how to refer to Selflessly. If the issue isn't covered here, consult the following guides based on the type of communication.

Associated Press Stylebook

For Selflessly publications and websites, refer to the most recent edition of the Associated Press Stylebook. This standard applies to news releases, media advisories, and other communications sent directly to domestic news media professionals.

Organization Names/Titles

For organization-specific naming and title conventions that aren't included in the guidelines mentioned above, please defer to the organization's preferred spelling and capitalization of choice. For example:

Acceptable: Selfless.ly or Selflessly

Unacceptable: SelfLess.LY, Self Leslie, and Selfless LY

Visual Identity System for Selflessly Corporate

Selflessly is the communicative name for Selflessly. All communications originating from Selflessly should use the communicative name. At no point should any explanation of Selflessly be provided that is contrary to simply using the Selflessly name as displayed.

Selflessly should never be referred to as selflessly, selfless.ly, SelfLessly, or selfLessly. It should always be stylized, across all material as Selflessly.

The company's full name (Selflessly, Inc.) should never be used and is exclusively reserved for formal documents, legal contracts, some mailing addresses, and form entries. The full name is used in company policies and other documents which are not governed by the Visual Identity System. 

In text, the name Selflessly is holistic and should be capitalized using the proper case at all time. If you have questions about how the name Selflessly should be written, please refer your request to the Marketing Team at [email protected]. 

There is one authorized boilerplate for use by Selflessly. Boilerplates should only be used in press releases, reports and other media that is necessary to provide an “about” section to a document.

Selflessly provides a virtual foundation platform for companies of all sizes to demonstrate their social responsibility through channels of volunteering, monetary donations, and contributed in-kind products/services. Selflessly is a certified LGBT Business Enterprise and Indiana’s first dual-certified domestic benefit corporation and B Corp. Our mission is to reshape corporate culture through technology that helps companies contribute to making their communities a better place. Learn more at selfless.ly.

All Selflessly employees should be using the standard email signature as prescribed by this guide. This email signature is meant to standardize our presence via not only email, but also to help expand our brand awareness through every contact we make.

Signatures are an integral part of the internal and external marketing process. They help our internal and external clients learn about other elements of our brand, and the necessity for keeping the brand standardized across the world.

Using standardized signatures is a key component of making sure that the external appearance of the brand matches across the board. This includes websites, business cards, and so much more. Below are the examples of acceptable signatures.

Selflessly Email Signatures

Email signatures should be standardized across the company. All persons who work for Selflessly, should, at minimum, be using the template in Figure 1. This template will allow us to remain focused on the identity of the brand and consistency across the board.

When utilizing an email signature, the following information must be clearly identified: 

1. Your Name
2. Your Title
3. Your pronouns
4. Selflessly's Corporate Name (stylized appropriately, please see Brand Visual Identity Systems for more information on regional specifics)
5. Your Phone Number
6. Your Email Address
7. Selflessly's Primary Web Address
8. Selflessly social profiles