Hello Alice

Hello Alice is an AI platform that guides ambitious yet underserved women, people of color, LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, military-affiliated, and entrepreneurs with disabilities to funding, mentorship, and success. In partnership with Verizon, Hello Alice launched #BusinessForAll, a nationwide movement led by entrepreneurs and celebrities like Gwenyth Paltrow.

Founders Carolyn Rodz and Elizabeth Gore approached Motto to rebrand Hello Alice from the ground up. We then embarked on a 1 year journey to position Hello Alice as a catalyst for “New Majority” business success.

Motto completed an expansive rebranding effort over many months to drive ambitious growth goals and capture the true spirit of the brand. The rebrand included repositioning, brand strategy, brand messaging, verbal identity, visual identity system, and brand activation across video, social, and motion to take the pioneering women-led company into the future.

The Essence of the Name
The name “Hello Alice” is inspired by the Alice in Wonderland story — a tale that, from the moment it was published in 1865, riveted the world’s attention and forever changed the canon of English literature. Today, 155 years after the book’s first pressing, the original Alice story is still in print. It’s been translated into 97 languages and reimagined countless times. New interpretations and extensions of the tale have unfolded across every conceivable stage and media. Alice and her strange adventure are globally recognized and revered. 

At the core of Hello Alice’s brand strategy is the name. The “Hello Alice” concept is the most powerful force in the business. The name is anchored to a story that’s already deeply embedded into global folk memory.

The Brand Strategy
The brand strategy was inspired by the name, which takes its inspiration from the Alice in Wonderland story. When Alice takes control of her own dream, her journey changes. The adventure and the discovery are now hers to own and direct. She is free to define her path and pursue it. The Motto team defined Hello Alice’s customers (the entrepreneurs) as the Alices of the world, the explorers and adventurers, the daring believers who want to take control of their dreams. Starting a business is a grand adventure, but there are obstacles around every turn. Because of systemic inequality, these obstacles are far greater for those in the New Majority. The hardships and rollercoaster of emotion they create prevent too many great businesses from ever reaching the light of day, and too many aspiring entrepreneurs from ever realizing their dreams. Hello Alice provides connections, capital, and confidence new entrepreneurs need to start a business, grow it, and thrive.

Big Idea Worth Rallying Around™
‘Own Your Adventure’ is Hello Alice’s rally cry– the key message that encapsulates the essence of the brand. It’s the most valuable promise it makes to their community: connect ambitious yet underserved entrepreneurs with the connections, capital, and confidence they need to launch, grow, and thrive.

Verbal Identity
By infusing the essence of the “Alice in Wonderland” journey into everything we do, we create products that become experiences that deepen how people think and feel about themselves, their businesses, and their potential. We create an adventurous, self-actualizing identity our tribe can live into. 

Leading with Alice
Hello Alice’s customers are Alice. Hello Alice exists to serve their discovery and actualization by providing them with the support, guidance, and data-driven ideas they need to succeed.

And yet — inside Hello Alice, they too are Alices. As are their partners. Together with their customers, they are all stepping off the well-trod path of gatekept capitalism to discover the most effective, efficient way to launch and grow promising businesses, wherever they can be found.

So when we say Hello Alice, what we mean is Hello, Fellow Explorer.

✳︎ Hello, Fellow Pioneer dissatisfied with the status quo of systemic inequality.
✳︎ Hello, Fellow Adventurer who knows that “business for all” isn’t a nice idea, but a new reality to build.

The only difference between Hello Alice’s clients and partners is a matter of perspective. We hooked into the grand adventure of entrepreneurship from a different angle. But everyone involved understands one important thing — the survival of the human spirit and species depends on our ability to explore the unknown and in the process, discover our true potential.

Alices are:
● Adventurous. We thrive on exploring and mapping the unknown.
● Ambitious. Challenges that seem insurmountable to others are, to us, simply a chance to show what we’re made of.
● Self-directed. Others wait on directions. We direct ourselves.
● Daring. If you’re not stretching, you’re not growing.
● Resourceful. Venturing into the unknown requires two things in equal measure: self-reliance and the ability to secure the right help when you need it.
● Curious. We view problems and the status quo the same. Both are open invitations to discover a better way.
● Genuine. We believe the road less traveled is a place for good, honest, hard-working people to make a positive difference in the world.

Visual Identity
The brand symbol is Alice’s guide, the rabbit, used as a tool to bring the strategy to life. This led to a whole new way of looking at Hello Alice’s community of curious, resourceful, and experienced wayfinders. The illustration style is fun and whimsical to reflect the many adventures in business.

Scope of Work
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Brand Strategy
● 1:1 stakeholder interviews
● Competitive audit
● Strategic workshops
● Corporate purpose, mission, vision definition
● Idea Worth Rallying Around™
● Value proposition
● Positioning statement
● Audience persona development
● Internal brand training for leaders and staff

Verbal Identity
● Voice persona
● Voice pillars
● Brand manifesto
● Messaging strategy
● Signature phrases and hero copy
● Grammar Guidelines
● Inclusive Language Guidelines

Visual Identity
● Brand look & feel
● New logo and identity system
● Color palette specifications
● Typography specifications
● Photography treatment
● Iconography system
● Brand guidelines
● Collateral materials

Brand Activation
● Social Strategy
● Social Guidelines
● Social Templates
● Motion
● Video
● Mastercard
● Website Art Direction