Case Study: Six Points Theater

OPPORTUNITY

The Minnesota Jewish Theatre began in 1994 and has become nationally recognized as the preeminent independent professional theater in the United States rooted in Jewish history and culture. The idea of creating a theater for the community — Jewish and non-Jewish alike — would learn to share and find the richness in each other’s diversity.

Our assignment was to audit the current brand to see if there is a better way to connect the organization’s overall strategy that would better support the future growth of the theater by allowing it to diversify and broaden its reach of theatergoers in our community.

That’s where we came in.

Process

We studied their brand and the organization. We defined the audience. We gained insight and understanding of the audience by pointing out their distinctive differences and perceived responses. We then used the power of imagery and words to define the brand’s personality — its DNA.

WHAT WE LEARNED

After our audit, our gut was telling us the name itself, Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company, was standing in the way of being welcoming to everyone and could be alienating to Non-Jewish theatre-goers and limiting the theater’s ability to grow and your reach to the broader community. So, in partnership with Julie Dalgleish, we took this idea to focus groups for a gut check.

We learned from key stakeholders and influencers of the theater that when they want to introduce someone new to the theater and say the theater’s name, you see the look in their eyes: ‘Why would I want to go there?’ If you don’t know the work, the name Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company can be confusing. We’ve had people say, ‘Is it religious?’

So we sought approval from the board, based on our findings, and made a strategic case of why the name needs to change and recommended the name Six Points Theater.

By changing the name, not only does it strategically align better with the mission of the theater to be more inclusive, but it also removes “Minnesota.” The use of “Minnesota” in the name is limiting, and not having Minnesota in the name will allow the brand to take on a more national/worldly presence.

We found that most theaters in our community are focused on exploring topics based on our differences, which opens up the opportunity for the Minnesota Jewish Theater to focus on the message of unity and the idea of uniting people through stories.

Naming

What does ‘Six Points’ mean? It’s a representation of the Star [of David] and connects to the theater’s six core values integral to their work. The values are Integrity, Artistic Excellence, Trust, Innovation, Stewardship, Tikkun Olam, a concept in Judaism that means “repair the world.”

The Idea Behind the Symbol

Borrowing from the imagery of a pinwheel, we create a sense of playfulness that one can expect from a theater. More importantly, we want to convey the idea of moving forward in a pioneering way. The six-block shapes move in a circular motion that visually represents the organization’s inclusiveness and the six core values creating a negative counter space of what we call the “Hidden Star [of David].” Which represent the seers of the seen and visually connects the single thought of the brand, “Revealing common threads of humanity.”

Foresee The Potential.

The IMAGEHAUS Giving Program.

Since 2000, IMAGEHAUS has been committed to building a better community through a giving program based on core values of compassion, creativity, candor and courage (called the FORESEE giving program). In partnership with worthy non-profit partners, we have donated $4 million in creative services to put the power of design to work. Building brands. Creating impact. Expanding audiences and clarifying the vital messages that compel people to care, to listen and to act. Learn more about our 4C work