case study
empowering an educational movement
client
5th Year by Junior Achievement
5th Year is a program of Junior Achievement of Northwestern Ohio, a nonprofit dedicated to youth work readiness and entrepreneurship. Launched to address the growing workforce and skills gap in the region, 5th Year offers recent high school graduates something the traditional system rarely does: time, intention and support to figure out what they actually want.
Through career exploration, internships, job shadowing, financial literacy and real-world life skills training, 5th Year helps young adults stop drifting and start deciding. It’s not a gap year. It’s a runway.
how we helped
- logo development
- brand identity
- strategy
- public relations
- collateral
- welcome kit
- website
- social media templates
- photography
- videography
award-winning
Telly Award
5th Year Trailblazer Video
IAC Award, Best Education Website
5th Year Website
Web Excellence Award
5th Year Website
Silver Addy
5th Year 2025 Recap Brand Identity Campaign
“From day one, the MadAveGroup has played a critical role in helping us build the voice, identity and visual presence of 5th Year, creating marketing, branding and storytelling that truly captures the heart of our mission and the impact we are making.”
Jim Pollock, Executive Director,
Junior Achievement of Northwestern Ohio
building a brand before the doors opened
Design2influence didn’t come in after 5th Year was built. We were there before it had a brand, a name or a single Trailblazer enrolled. From the very first strategy conversations, our team was at the table helping shape not just how the program looked but what it stood for and how it would speak to the world.
That early investment has grown into something rare: a true creative partnership. We’ve been embedded in 5th Year’s growth every step of the way, from launch collateral and press events to annual impact reports, graduation ceremonies and alumni storytelling. As new classes of Trailblazers come through the program, we continue to follow their journeys and find new ways to share them.
giving the program a voice and a look to match
The challenge wasn’t just to make 5th Year look good. It was to make sure people immediately understood what it was and what it wasn’t. Not a gap year. Not a college prep course. Not a fallback. Something intentional, ambitious and entirely its own.
The name “5th Year” does a lot of heavy lifting. It reframes what might look like a pause as a purposeful next chapter. The full visual system followed: logo, typography, color palette, iconography and brand guidelines built to keep every touchpoint consistent.
The word Trailblazer became the heartbeat of the brand voice. Someone who forges their own path. Who doesn’t follow the map everyone else is using. It was the right word and it became the foundation everything else was built on.
bringing the brand into the real world
A strong brand only works if it shows up everywhere. We designed a full suite of print and collateral materials to make sure 5th Year’s voice was consistent whether a Trailblazer was opening their welcome kit or a donor was reviewing a case for support.
making the first day feel like something
Every Trailblazer’s journey begins with a moment. We designed the welcome kit to make that moment feel real, a tangible branded experience that signals: you’re in something worth being in.
Fully branded to 5th Year’s visual identity, each kit includes a notebook, thermos, stickers and other curated goodies. It’s the kind of first impression that sticks.
an award-winning digital experience
When 5th Year’s inaugural semester approached, the program needed more than a web presence. It needed a destination. A place where Trailblazers could get excited, parents could get informed and business partners could get involved.
We built that from scratch. The result earned recognition well beyond the region. The 5th Year website was named Best Education Website at the IAC Awards and received a Web Excellence Award, a reflection of the care, craft and strategy that went into every page.
telling the story through video and photography
5th Year launched as a brand-new program in a region that had never heard of it. No reputation. No alumni. No built-in audience. Video and photography weren’t optional. They were the story.
Our team got to work producing content that made people feel something. Testimonials from parents and educators built credibility. The videos brought the Trailblazer experience to life, capturing the core truth of 5th Year’s mission: that finding a career true to yourself is hard, it requires overcoming real fear and confusion and 5th Year is what makes it possible.
documenting a year of real impact
At the end of 5th Year’s inaugural year, the program had results worth sharing and a community of donors, partners and families who deserved to see them. Our team produced the 2025 Impact Report: Paving the Way, a comprehensive annual report that translated a year of hard work into something readable, emotional and persuasive. The report earned a Silver ADDY Award, proof that strong storytelling and strong design aren’t mutually exclusive.
real people. real results.
The numbers tell part of the story. The people tell the rest. Our team conceptualized, produced and filmed a series of alumni interviews, giving Trailblazers the chance to reflect on their journey and share where 5th Year took them. These aren’t testimonials we captured on the fly. They’re intentional, crafted stories that put a human face on the mission.
Aubrey landed a full-time legal assistant role straight out of the program.
Logan discovered a passion for nursing and is pursuing a career in healthcare.
Paisley found her footing in game programming and leaves 5th Year with the confidence to own her future.
a partnership that keeps growing
We don’t just build brands for clients. Sometimes we get to build something we genuinely believe in. 5th Year is one of those. Its message, that every young adult deserves a clear path, real tools and the confidence to write their own future, is one our entire team rallies around.
From the first naming session to the most recent graduation video, we’re proud to be the creative force behind a program that is quietly reshaping what’s possible for young people in Northwest Ohio.
Jerry Brown, CEO, MadAveGroup