Outcome-driven design by the people for the people
For over 20 years, Provoc has partnered with visionary leaders on the critical issues of our time. As a firm specializing in outcome-driven design, by the people, for the people, Provoc roots its work in an equity lens. Through this lens, Provoc seeks work with clients and partners who believe in social, economic, and racial justice.
A person of color owned, certified B Corporation, Provoc meets comprehensive, transparent social and environmental standards in an effort to use the power of business as a force for good. As a firm specializing in outcome-driven design, by the people, for the people, Provoc seeks work with clients and partners who believe in social, economic, and racial justice. We view all our work through the lens of equity, including our core values: vulnerability, relationship, and actualization.
Successful collaborations require vulnerability, so we leave our ego at the door. We believe that impact happens in strong, transparent relationships, so we intentionally build partnerships with your team in pursuit of collective growth. And all our work should drive toward actualization — for your team members, for your organizational goals, and for the people and causes you serve. In pursuit of actualization, we set measurable outcome goals at the onset of work and evaluate our progress as we go.
With people of color leading our design and equity departments, as well as the company as a whole, Provoc continues to embark on a journey to live out our values of equity as well internally as externally. We self identify as over 70% Black and People of Color and over 70% women. We humbly acknowledge that this is a constant journey, one we feel urgently called to continue daily.
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FTD Disorders
FTD Disorders Registry
We created a first of its kind registry for FTD Disorders. The goal was to raise broader awareness on virtually unknown yet debilitating brain disorders that affect thousands of people while building support, community, and scientific impact.
We brought together an intersectional team of stakeholders and communities impacted by an FTD Disorder and leveraged key aspects of design thinking to build an engaging platform. Our efforts included Discovery, Research, Brand and Identity Design, Messaging, Marketing Plan, Campaign Planning and implementation, Partner Engagement, Customer Experience Journey, UX and Web Design, Web Development, and Longitudinal Survey Design.
The registry launch greatly exceeded initial expectations by accelerating above 50% of a one-year target within the first month and over 2600 after 2 years. Since launch, the community is newly motivated to advance the science of care and treatment for persons affected by these rare diseases.
Together We Vote
People of color ages 18-24 have typically had lower voter turnout rates, the data show. With the midterm countdown clock ticking away, we needed to work quickly to inspire these young voters to raise their voices at the ballot box. Our work was guided by UnidosUS, a member of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative. This collaborative effort also includes Advancement Project, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Demos, Faith in Action, NAACP, National Congress of American Indians, National Urban League, and Race Forward. Our team had not a moment to spare in applying our creative eye, agility and expert collaboration skills to this critical project.
As the midterm elections were rapidly approaching, we needed to work quickly to inspire young people of color to raise their voices at the ballot box. We achieved successful turnout through Campaign strategy, Messaging, Content development, Concept design, Social media toolkit, and Launch planning
Reviews
the project
Equity Comms Toolkit & Workshops for Regional Foundation
"Provoc worked with us until we got what we wanted."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I'm the VP of equity and research at a regional foundation in Southwest, Pennsylvania. We are a grant-making organization supporting a thriving region and working here in three broad areas of learning, sustainability, and creativity.
What challenge were you trying to address with Provoc?
We were trying to expand our commitment relative to equity in the region.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Provoc helped us develop an in-depth approach to understanding equity communications and have tools and resources that would be useful for grantees. Part of that was developing definitions and distributing those within other members of the foundation. The end product was a digital toolkit.
The team also facilitated workshops with our grantees. Some of our first workshops happened in the spring of 2019.
What is the team composition?
Two people worked with us on this project, including their director of equity.
How did you come to work with Provoc?
Our president heard them at a convening where he participated.
How much have you invested with them?
We spent approximately $50,000–$200,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
They worked on our project from June 2018–June 2020.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
The workshops they conducted received good feedback. Stakeholders said that the workshops had good content and it helped them understand what race equity-focused communications meant.
We didn’t use the tool kit as much as we had hoped, but its content remains relevant and useful. Last month, I was able to share it with two of our capacity-building grantees. Overall, it was a successful engagement.
How did Provoc perform from a project management standpoint?
We did a lot of our communication through emails and calls. We also had a few in-person sessions with Provoc.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Their communication expertise was really good. Above all, their understanding of what effective communications entailed and what it meant relative to building a race equity-focused communication set of practices impressed us. They were also good at helping us think about how to do that in ways that would be useful.
Are there any areas they could improve?
Initially, there was so much information that it was hard to digest the whole package. It was challenging to figure out how to use it with grantees. However, they were able to rise above that by segmenting the information in smaller bites or packaging. Provoc worked with us until we got what we wanted.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Be clear about what you want to do. Give them your goals and if you already have ideas on how to tackle your project, share them.
the project
Messaging Campaign & Collateral for Nonprofit Collaborative
“They understand the power that rests in what we could do together.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the director of a collaborative of nine racial equity organizations.
What challenge were you trying to address with Provoc?
We needed help getting people out to vote and getting them counted in the census.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They helped create our messaging campaign and associated collateral that we used in our social communications. Before COVID-19, we used their collateral to run events on the ground for RSVPs, posters, and event invites. We also used them to create press releases, email blasts, text messages, and social media marketing on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
They also created post-cards with instructions on how to get counted in the census, but we didn’t end up using those because of the pandemic. Provoc helped us switch and reimagine what our campaign could look like in the digital space, once we realized we could not door-knock.
What is the team composition?
We’ve worked with 7–9 people on any given campaign.
How did you come to work with Provoc?
We started working with them through a contact on a 2018 project.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent $250,000–$300,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working with them in May 2019, and our work is ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We’re a unique organization and they understand the power that rests in what we could do together. Although we don’t know the outcome of the census yet, they’re very good at maximizing the limited resources that we had. The team was committed to turning out the communities that we wanted to reach the most.
How did Provoc perform from a project management standpoint?
We used BaseCamp for project management, which was helpful to have everything in one place. They’re very communicative. They have a project manager that keeps the budget on track and they have different leads for different portions of the work. We communicate really regularly.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They do a pretty deep analysis on strategy. They also spent a lot of time on the underpinning pieces of the campaign which helped carry it forward and make it more impactful.
Oftentimes communications firms that don’t deal with communities of color need a lot of explanation and hand-holding. We didn’t need to provide that much explanation with Provoc, since they are POC led. It was really helpful, since we were trying to move things quickly in a high-pressure situation.
Are there any areas they could improve?
Sometimes their eyes are bigger than their stomach. It’s super admirable, but sometimes we don’t have the capacity to do it.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Make sure your mission is aligned. They’re a social impact firm and they do care about being vision aligned and driving towards outcome.
Provoc made the topic of race equity-focused communications easy to understand. They were communicative and helpful. External stakeholders were pleased with the way the workshop was conducted. Most of all, the team worked hard to produce excellent deliverables, which made the partnership successful.