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Case Study:
An established brand ready to communicate with more purpose.
For more than 30 years, the Fire Equipment Manufacturers’ Association has brought leading fire equipment manufacturers together to advocate for early-stage fire protection. fishbat developed and launched a modern brand and communication strategy that more clearly expresses the organization’s expertise, purpose and impact, while preparing it for a planned name change in 2027.
fishbat transformed how FEMA communicates its leadership in fire safety. The new brand strategy moves the conversation beyond who makes up the association and brings greater attention to why its work matters: preserving the codes, standards and regulations that keep early-stage fire protection equipment required, accessible and ready when it is needed.
The work established a unified foundation for FEMA’s positioning, messaging, marketing and visual communication. A redesigned website, comprehensive visual identity system and integrated brand and marketing strategy now bring that positioning to life through deeper content, audience-specific messaging and a more consistent, engaging experience across channels.
FEMA’s audiences are now organized into three priority groups and nine distinct segments, each with messaging tailored to its role, priorities and relationship to early-stage fire protection.
One comprehensive strategy now aligns FEMA’s positioning, messaging, advertising and content marketing across eight channels, creating a consistent foundation for how the organization communicates.
FEMA’s new visual system includes a redesigned website, more than 20 custom illustrations, original iconography, over a dozen updated infographics, an expanded color palette informed by color psychology and clear photography guidelines.
Guided by interviews with 18 member stakeholders who brought deep industry expertise, fishbat developed a research-driven rebrand that delivered measurable and visible improvements across FEMA’s website, digital content, and educational resources:
Took website performance from 59% to 100%
Designed 20+ custom illustrations
Rebranded more than
12 infographics and 8 educational videos
fishbat was selected through a competitive RFP process to lead FEMA’s rebrand and ongoing marketing services because of our research-driven approach to brand strategy, grounded in audience insights, industry research, and data. The association brought decades of industry expertise that we wanted to learn from, along with an opportunity to more fully communicate its leadership in early-stage fire protection. Its existing communications focused largely on the equipment its members manufacture and how it is used, leaving room to say much more about the safety mission behind its advocacy and the value it brings to the industry.
The organization also faced a distinct naming and discoverability challenge. Its FEMA acronym was easily confused with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, making it difficult to establish a clear, ownable presence in search and other digital channels. Audience groups had not been defined in detail, messaging varied across divisions, members, channels, and marketing efforts often operated independently.
FEMA needed a connected brand and marketing approach that could strengthen visibility, support membership recruitment and retention, create more opportunities for industry partnerships, and prepare the organization for a future name change.
FEMA needed a connected brand and marketing approach that could strengthen visibility, sharpen its messaging and audience targeting, support membership recruitment and retention, create more opportunities for industry partnerships, and prepare the organization for a future name change.
Without these improvements, FEMA risked continued confusion in search, reduced visibility, less impact from its advocacy, and no consistent way for members to communicate the organization’s role and value.
Our objective was to build a modern, unified brand that made FEMA’s purpose, expertise and leadership immediately clear while preserving the credibility it had earned over more than 30 years.
Our strategy began with extensive discovery to understand the organization’s role, audiences, challenges, and existing brand equity. We interviewed 18 stakeholders and led workshops with representatives from more than 20 member companies to identify what FEMA needed to preserve, clarify, and communicate more effectively.
The naming process evaluated how potential names would perform in search, distinguish the organization from other entities, and establish credibility in code, standards, and regulatory settings. Each direction was assessed for clarity, relevance, memorability, acronym usability, and legal viability. The new name is currently undergoing legal review ahead of a planned 2027 launch.
We then rebuilt FEMA’s brand and communication strategy around the safety purpose behind its work. This included refining its positioning, mission, brand promise and values; defining three priority audience groups and nine distinct segments; and creating four positioning statements to guide audience-specific messaging.
The strategy was brought to life through a comprehensive visual identity system, redesigned website, and integrated marketing approach. An expanded color palette, original iconography, more than 20 custom illustrations, updated infographics, and clear photography guidelines make complex safety information easier to understand without relying on fear-based imagery. The completed system now guides FEMA’s content and advertising across eight marketing channels.
For more than 30 years, the Fire Equipment Manufacturers’ Association has brought industry leaders together to advocate for early-stage fire protection in fire codes and standards. Its members manufacture portable fire extinguishers, fire hose, cabinets and valves, and pre-engineered fire suppression systems that help protect people, property and business continuity.