NEW YORK, July 21, 2010 - Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA), one of the most iconic nonprofit organizations in the nation, is changing its brand identity to move at the speed of girls.

After extensive research and development, Girl Scouts has debuted a long-term, multi-channel brand campaign that is designed to reacquaint a new generation of girls with the venerable organization and communicate the power girls have to change the world through Girl Scouting. The campaign, known by the tagline What Did You Do Today?, is also keyed to boosting the number of girls and adult volunteers who participate in Girl Scouting annually after a period of declining membership.

“A new brand is absolutely essential for us and our future growth,” said Kathy Cloninger, Chief Executive Officer of GSUSA. “About one of out every 10 girls participates in Girl Scouting and that’s a tremendous number when you think about it.  But that also means that we have a great opportunity to grow even after almost 100 years. We have literally restructured our organization to go after that 90 percent of girls who aren’t gaining the benefits of Girl Scouting, and with our new brand campaign, we think we have the right message at the right time.”

The rebranding, in the works as part of the organization’s overall restructuring and transformation that began in 2004, is comprised of a striking new visual identity, which includes a trefoil mark, revised color palette, and refreshed logo that was originally created by legendary designer Saul Bass in the 1970s, as well as an aggressive radio, television and print advertising campaign that will be consistent nationwide.

As part of the What Did You Do Today? campaign, Girl Scouts also has developed Spanish-language advertising to target the Hispanic market, one of the few girl populations in the country that is growing. GSUSA already has secured more than $10 million in free advertising and exposure on Spanish-language media ranging from Telemundo to People en Español. In its general market campaign, Girl Scouts is working to secure $30 million in pro bono advertising from national media outlets from billboard to cable networks.

“What we’re trying to do with What Did You Do Today? is reposition Girl Scouts with a message that is relevant to girls and the lives they lead today,” said Laurel Richie, Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President at GSUSA. “To some degree, our brand had faded and our research revealed that too many girls had developed certain conceptions of the organization that were inaccurate. We’re going to change that by making clear to girls and parents that girls working together have the power to  change the world—and the place to do that is in Girl Scouting. Our brand promise is that Girl Scouts gives every girl access to life-changing experiences that inspire her to do something big. That’s a promise we keep every day, and you don’t have to look much further than our National Young Women of Distinction and Gold Award winners to see evidence of that.”

Girl Scouts has already implemented major structural changes in recent years as part of its Core Business Strategy, which was developed under Cloninger’s leadership to turn around the organization amid changing demographics and a gradual decline in membership. In just the past few years, the organization has realigned its federated system of 312 councils into 112. Those councils now operate with bigger budgets and are able to draw on economies of scale. And in 2008, the organization rolled out the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, a program that every Girl Scout will engage in from the youngest Girl Scout Daisy to the eldest Girl Scout Ambassador.

The Girl Scout Leadership Experience also features a series of 15 outcomes, or benefits, that for the first time in the organization’s history will allow Girl Scouts to gauge how well its program is working in terms of developing key leadership skills in girls.

Richie said that Girl Scouting is launching its rebranding from a position of strength because it can draw on an alumnae base of millions of women, strong name recognition, and its market is projected to grow as demographic data indicate that the girl population overall in the United States will begin to increase over the next few years. The campaign will also draw on, Richie said, the exposure the organization will gain during its centennial celebration in 2012.   

About Girl Scouts
Founded in 1912, Girl Scouts of the USA is the preeminent leadership development organization for girls with 3.3 million girl and adult members worldwide. Girl Scouts is the leading authority on girls' healthy development, and builds girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place. The organization serves girls from every corner of the United States and its territories. Girl Scouts of the USA also serves American girls living overseas in 90 countries. For more information on how to join, volunteer, reconnect or donate to Girl Scouts, call (800) GSUSA 4 U (800-478-7248) or visit www.girlscouts.org.