Opportunity
For more than a century, the International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR) served as the leading public-sector HR organization in the world. But in 2022—amid workplace upheaval and a profession at an inflection point—the organization recognized that its century-old brand no longer reflected the role HR leaders were being asked to play.
Public-sector HR professionals were no longer simply “personnel people.” In the wake of the Great Resignation, they had become stewards of culture, connection, and purpose—responsible for helping organizations attract, retain, and inspire talent in a rapidly changing world. To remain relevant, IPMA-HR needed to evolve, quickly and decisively.
Solution
As Agency of Record, we led a comprehensive brand evolution grounded in two core ideas: impact and purpose. Together, they became the foundation for a new vision: making public sector work better.
A critical step was simplifying and humanizing the organization’s identity. We recommended replacing the long, opaque acronym IPMA-HR with a clearer, more memorable name: The Public Sector Human Resources Association (PSHRA, pronounced PASH-rah). The new name brought immediate clarity and a stronger emotional connection to the organization’s mission and audience.
To bring the evolved brand to life, we created an anthem video that marked a bold departure. Rather than focusing on the organization itself, the story celebrated public-sector workers—the people who keep communities moving forward every day. By centering the work on impact, not institution, the film captured the heart of the new brand and reintroduced PSHRA as a modern, purpose-driven leader.
THE RESULTS
23K
User increase in first-time website visitors
530
Attendees Sold Out the 2023 Annual Conference
The Awards
