WIN House – Marketing Strategy

Background of Client

WIN House has served Edmonton for over 55 years as Alberta’s largest safe haven for women, children, and gender-diverse individuals experiencing gender-based violence. Operating three shelters, including two emergency facilities and one second-stage shelter supporting newcomers with no or precarious immigration status, WIN House’s commitment extends well beyond its walls. Residents are welcomed without exception, including those managing addiction or substance use, and the organization’s programming, support systems, and resources are oriented toward something larger than immediate relief: long-term freedom from gender-based violence for every person it serves.

Despite this depth of impact, the full scope of WIN House’s mission was not yet fully visible to the community, funders, or the broader public. The organization engaged Incite to conduct a rigorous assessment of its brand, impacted party perceptions, and market position, and to develop a strategy that would enable it to grow its reach, diversify its funding, and advocate more powerfully.

Incite-Led Deliverables

Incite led a structured discovery and research phase, engaging internal and external impacted parties through interviews and surveys to assess brand perception, identify awareness gaps, and understand what donors and partners value most. A scan of comparable organizations provided additional context on how peers were positioning themselves across brand and messaging, informing opportunities for differentiation.

This work surfaced a clear finding: WIN House’s credibility and community trust were strong, but under-leveraged. At the time of engagement, thousands of individuals across Alberta were being turned away from shelters due to capacity constraints, underscoring the urgency of the organization’s work and the importance of sustainable funding. Yet WIN House’s brand was anchored in service delivery rather than story, resulting in a voice that felt humble and reactive rather than bold and forward-looking. Its most distinctive qualities, its unconditional, low-barrier model; its commitment to newcomers navigating precarious circumstances; and its focus on long-term, generational stability were not being communicated with the clarity or confidence they warranted.

In response, Incite developed an integrated brand and marketing strategy that repositioned WIN House toward a more progressive, advocacy-forward presence. The strategy introduced three defining pillars: serving without exception, innovating within and beyond its walls, and standing with residents until they are safe. These pillars were grounded in WIN House’s existing strengths and designed to resonate with a broader set of impacted parties.

Incite also refined WIN House’s messaging architecture to better articulate both immediate support and long-term outcomes, reframing key elements such as its low-barrier approach and newcomer support as core expressions of organizational values. To support revenue growth, Incite developed an ideal donor profile, identifying priority segments and industries to guide more targeted engagement. A phased implementation roadmap provided leadership with clear, actionable direction across communications, digital presence, donor engagement, and internal alignment.