Messaging & Writing Style
Telling our story with one voice
Our brand is built on powerful storytelling. Make-A-Wish tells stories that emphasize our personality, vision and impact. These stories make emotional connections that help us forge strong relationships with supporters, volunteers, medical professionals and families of children with critical illnesses.
To consistently achieve this, it’s important that our stories convey the right messages — using a voice and tone that show the anticipation, imagination and hope that are central to our mission.
In this Section:
Messaging Pillars
Four primary pillars provide the framework for our external messages:
IMPACT
NEED
FIT
EMOTION
By anchoring all our messaging with these four pillars, we reinforce our vision of granting the wish of every eligible child. The pillars are embedded in every story we tell. They demonstrate why our mission is critical and clearly show others how they can help achieve that mission.
Use these pillars as conceptual guidelines. While you are empowered to be creative in how you utilize them, these pillars should inform how you frame every story you tell about Make-A-Wish.
PILLAR 1: IMPACT
The Make-A-Wish brand, first and foremost, is focused on the impact of a wish in every phase of the journey.
Wishes have proven physical and emotional benefits that can give children with critical illnesses a higher chance of survival. And wishes not only help these children – they also have far-reaching, positive impacts on their families and communities.
Here is how our brand conveys IMPACT:
| Concept | Why It's Important |
| 1. Research shows children who have wishes granted can build the physical and emotional strength they need to fight a critical illness. This may improve their quality of life and produce better health outcomes.* | • Shows the immediate nature of our mission and the importance of what we do • Emphasizes tangible outcomes • Reinforces the need for wishes and shows each of our key audiences why our work is critical |
| 2. When a wish is granted, a child replaces: • fear with confidence • sadness with joy • anxiety with hope |
• Demonstrates that wishes produce positive changes • Contrasts pre-wish challenges with post-wish outcomes • Shows the urgency of our mission |
| 3. A wish transforms the lives of children, their families, volunteers, supporters, medical professionals and entire communities. | • Shows the transformational nature of the wish journey through the eyes of the key Make-A-Wish audiences • Demonstrates the long-term impact of each wish |
| 4. A wish gives children renewed energy and strength, brings families closer together and unites communities. | • Shows the wide-ranging effects of a wish • Connects with key Make-A-Wish audiences, including potential volunteers and donors, and those who provide referrals |
*Shoshani, A. Mifano, K. Czamanski-Cohen, J. (2015). The effects of the Make a Wish intervention on psychiatric symptoms and health-related quality of life of children with cancer: a randomized controlled trial. Quality of Life Research, 25(5), 1209-1218.
doi 10.1007/s11136-015-1148-7
PILLAR 2: NEED
We have an ambitious vision –to grant the wish of every eligible child – and we have a long way to go in achieving it.
Each wish requires an incredible amount of brainpower, creativity, time and generosity. So, our need is great in two key ways. First, we need resources to provide each wish. Second, there is a tremendous gap between the number of wishes we're granting today and the number of wishes we need to grant in the future to achieve our vision.
Here is how our brand conveys NEED:
| Concept | Why It's Important |
| 1. Children with critical illnesses need your help, today. | • Demonstrates the urgency of the need for support (e.g. donations, volunteers, referrals, etc.) • Shows that granting wishes only occurs with the help of others • Shows the unique value of Make-A-Wish in its ability to immediately put funds into action |
| 2. Every hour of every day, XX children are diagnosed with a critical illness. Every one of these kids needs a wish to give them strength and help them heal. |
• Makes the need quantifiable – and shows how the need is growing • Provides a number that can be easily adapted to fit specific needs by using local data • By keeping the number small, it is easier for the audience to connect with and visualize the challenge |
| 3. Only XX of the children in our community who are diagnosed with a critical illness get to experience a wish. Too many children are not getting everything they need to help them fight their illnesses. | • Shows the gap between the number of children who need wishes and the number who receive them • Expresses the need and urgency of our mission to those who have the power to help |
| 4. Your gift of time and money is crucial for kids battling critical illnesses. | • Shows how consumers can directly impact the lives of children • Illustrates that contributions play a key role in helping kids battle their illnesses • Reinforces the value that donors and volunteers play in helping children |
PILLAR 3: FIT
A wish engages entire communities in life-changing moments.
As we seek to inspire supporters, volunteers, medical professionals and others to join us in helping children with critical illnesses, we strive to create stories that show them how they connect to these moments – and how these moments enrich their lives.
Here is how our brand conveys FIT:
| Concept | Why It's Important |
| 1. Join a caring community of people who improve the lives of children battling critical illnesses. | • Offers an invitation • Connects directly to our universal desire to be a part of something bigger • Appeals to the audience's desire to make a difference |
| 2. Wish families are your friends, neighbors and relatives. | • Addresses the misconception that those who receive wishes aren't a part of the consumer's daily life • Shows that people who need the hope and joy associated with wishes are all around you • Personalizes the need for wishes |
| 3. Your skills, time or money can transform the life of a child with a critical illness. | • Shows that you can help Make-A-Wish in a number of different ways • Shows that you can make a tangible difference through your generosity • Can be easily adapted to fit specific target audiences |
| 4. Even a small contribution can transform the lives of children with critical illnesses. | • Removes the barrier of entry for some consumers • Conveys that help – in any form or amount – has a direct impact in the lives of others • Shows that even small contributions can have a tremendous impact |
PILLAR 4: EMOTION
Life-changing experiences touch hearts and inspire action.
Our work brings joy and healing to those who receive wishes — and to those who help grant them.
Here is how our brand conveys EMOTION:
| Concept | Why It's Important |
| 1. A wish positively impacts the life of a child – and will forever enrich yours. | • Appeals to our proven desire to give to causes that help us feel fulfilled • Focuses on the personal enrichment and positivity that comes with helping grant a wish |
| 2. Experience a wish. It's awe-inspiring. It's uplifting. It's everlasting. | • Uses positive, emotional descriptors • Awe-inspiring speaks to the impressive and magnificent wish journey • Uplifting speaks to the hope that comes from a wish • Everlasting establishes a wish as a life-changing event, rather than just a single moment in time |
| 3. When they smile, you'll smile. See firsthand the power of pure joy when you grant a wish for a child battling a critical illness. | • Presents a familiar, positive, universal expression – a smile – to convey emotion • Creates a tighter sense of belonging to a common cause • Connects the emotion of another person to our own emotions |
| 4. There are few experiences more powerful than making a wish come true. | • Conveys the incredible emotion and impact that comes from a wish • Shows that the experience is just as meaningful for those who are giving as those who are receiving the wish • Offers an invitation to join Make-A-Wish in a powerful experience |
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NOT A LAST WISH
A wish is empowering and life-affirming. It doesn't signal the end. For many, it's the start of feeling normal again; for others, it serves as a launching point into new treatments; for some, it's the beginning of hope.
The majority of our wish kids go on to learn to cope with — or even beat — their illnesses. A misunderstanding of this fact prevents referrals and reduces donor commitment, so it's important that we emphasize this concept. Each and every chance we get, let's focus on the positive, life-affirming nature of a wish-come-true.
Here is some example language:
- For a majority of our wish kids, a wish serves as a catalyst to better health.
- The majority of kids whose wishes we grant go on to beat their illnesses and live typical, healthy lives.
- For additional language, refer to impact messaging (page 23), particularly surrounding medical research and health outcomes for children.
Did you know?
Make-A-Wish stopped granting wishes solely to "terminally ill" children in 1983, and Make-A-Wish completely removed the word "terminal" from our lexicon in 1999.
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CRAFTING YOUR MESSAGE
Identifying Make-A-Wish Audiences
When writing, it's important to identify your target audience – otherwise the message may not be as impactful. Outlined below are some of the audiences that interact with Make-A-Wish and the key questions we aim to answer for them.
Key Questions We Must Answer:
Kids and families
What is the experience of Make-A-Wish?
What do I have to do to experience Make-A-Wish?
Why do we need Make-A-Wish?
Donors and sponsors
Why should I choose you?
What do you do differently?
What "cause" do you serve and how do you serve it?
How will this add value to me or my organization?
Volunteers
Why do you need me?
Why do I need you?
How can I be a part of what you're doing?
What is required of me?
Employees and partners
What do I need to know?
Why do I need to know it?
What are the next steps and how does this impact my participation in the mission of Make-A-Wish?
Medical professionals
What role can Make-A-Wish play in a child's treatment?
How do I refer a child?
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SUPPORTER PERSONAS
What are Personas?
Audience personas enable us to help people see themselves as the hero of our story. When people see a role for themselves in a story they are likely to be motivated to act.
How do I use them?
Personas are meant to guide storytelling and messaging efforts. Personas capture a snapshot of each target audience they represent, but are not intended to describe all members of that group.
For more information, search "personas" on DailyWISH.
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A SHORT WISH STORY EXAMPLE
Persona(s): Margaret, Amy, Elizabeth, Gina
River's struggle for health is on display for every person who encounters her. Every day, she faces the stares, the whispers and the – usually – unspoken questions about her wheelchair and hair loss.
Her mother, Teri, remembers River's first day of second grade. It followed months of chemotherapy and a surgery. She worried what awaited River at school. But River had a source of strength that overcame her frail appearance: Her favorite nurse had referred her for a wish, and she'd just had her first meeting with Make-A-Wish volunteers.
After plenty of thought and consultation with her wish granters, River said her perfect wish would be a playhouse. Teri says River went to school the next day more outgoing than she had been in months. She turned every conversation away from her wheelchair and her bald head to her wish.
Even though her wish is still in the future, River will tell you that it's already made her life better.
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BRAND TERMINOLOGY
wish kid
In the U.S., the preferred term for wish recipients is wish kid (no capitalization); in other parts of the world, other terms which may be more culturally appropriate are fine. Under no circumstances should a wish kid be referred to as an adult or any other phrase containing the term (e.g., young adult).
critical illness vs. critically ill child
In medical terms, a critical illness is a life-threatening multisystem process that can result in significant morbidity or mortality and refers to the condition itself. We do not use "critically ill," as it categorizes and makes an assumption about the child.
use of "Make-A-Wish"
Apart from being used as a proper name to reference our organization, "Make-A-Wish" should only be used as an adjective and not as a verb or noun describing "a wish" or "wish experience."
Correct usage:
"hosted a Make-A-Wish event"
"had their Make-A-Wish experience"
Incorrect usage:
"you can make a wish come true"
"Billy had his Make-A-Wish"
our founders
Make-A-Wish has six founders. Reference to those who started the organization should never indicate otherwise. For example, "Tommy Austin is one of the founders of Make-A-Wish."
Our founders are: Linda Pauling, Tommy Austin, Kathy McMorris, Frank Shankwitz, Alan Schmidt and Scott Stahl.
referring to Chris Greicius
When referring to Chris Greicius, it is important to state that Chris' wish was "the wish that inspired the creation of Make-A-Wish" not "the first wish," as this is incorrect. The first wish (of Bopsy Salazar) did not take place until Make-A-Wish was established as an official charitable organization. Although Chris was not formally in our program, we consider him a wish kid.
magical
We're not opposed to the use of the word "magical" – we understand its appeal. But wishes aren't magic: They take people and time and resources to grant. We prefer terms that more closely align with our brand messaging and tone, such as transformational, life-changing or extraordinary.
dream
We grant wishes. The use of any other term – including "dream" – to describe a wish or the wish-granting process is highly discouraged as it does not reinforce our brand. However, use of the word dream outside of that context (e.g., going to Brazil has always been a dream of his), is appropriate but should be limited in use.
special
Avoid using the word special as an adjective that describes wish kids, wish families, volunteers or any other individuals.
wish granter
Always use the term "wish granter" (not wish grantor) when describing the individuals who directly make wishes possible. Volunteer is an encouraged alternative.
wish categories
There are five formal wish categories (to have, to be, to go, to meet and to give), but in marketing and publicity efforts, use creativity in how a wish is represented. For example, "I wish to watch penguins dance in the snow" instead of "I wish to go to the Antarctic." Wish descriptions should attempt to capture the unique imagination and desires of each individual wish kid. wish journey A wish is not a fleeting gift – it's a carefully planned journey, designed to complement a child's medical treatment, and give them the hope, strength and joy they need to fight their illness. The whole wish journey – from wish capture to building anticipation to lasting memories – aids physical and emotional healing through building strong positive experiences, applying principles of positive psychology. This way the wish journey builds resilience and helps children to better cope with their critical illness.
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BOILERPLATE LANGUAGE
About Make-A-Wish®
U.S. Version
Make-A-Wish® creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. We are on a quest to bring every eligible child's wish to life, because a wish is an integral part of a child's treatment journey. Research shows children who have wishes granted can build the physical and emotional strength they need to fight a critical illness. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Make-A-Wish is the world's leading children's wish-granting organization, serving children in every community in the United States and in 50 countries worldwide. Together, generous donors, supporters, staff and 33,000 volunteers across the U.S., grant a wish every 34 minutes, on average, somewhere in the country. Since 1980, Make-A-Wish has granted more than 285,000 wishes to children in the U.S. and its territories; more than 15,300 in 2016 alone. For more information about Make-A-Wish America, visit wish.org.
Note: For the most up-to-date data, refer to DailyWISH.
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