AccentCare • Brand Guidelines 08.30.23

Our purpose. Our vision. Our brand.

BRAND GUIDELINES

OUR PURPOSE

Reimagining care, together.

OUR VISION

We imagine a world where: Patients and clients receive the understanding, empathy, and excellence they deserve. Families experience compassionate support from a trusted guide at each step.

Team members grow, thrive, and find inspiration in a supportive work environment.

Communities and strategic partners succeed with the help of a comprehensive and responsive partner.

OUR VALUES

Act with integrity. Be compassionate. Commit to excellence.

Our brand

This guide provides the framework to consistently and effectively express the AccentCare® brand and inform how all our communications are crafted, and how our brand elements should be used to create powerful and consistent messaging.

For any questions, comments, or further assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Communications@AccentCare.com

To submit a Creative Request, please visit: AccentCare Marketing and Communications Creative Request Portal

Brand strategy

Brand story

For hundreds of thousands of Americans, our health care system isn’t really a system at all. When they have limited mobility or are homebound and dealing with serious and complex illness, receiving care and essential support often requires too much of them and their loved ones. Exhausting navigation and advocacy and confusing follow-up are an unfair burden for too many people.

For AccentCare, this is unacceptable.

It is our duty to reimagine and build a care support system that works better for those who need us. A system that is far closer to the holistic and personal approach that patients and families cry out for. They deserve support from a company that sees the whole picture and rallies to help them resolve the most difficult challenges of their lives. That company is AccentCare.

We are called to be the organization that reimagines what care can and should be. We draw upon the talent and experience forged by passionate organizations. We are the catalyst for change our communities need.

Our expertise has shown us how to be the trusted guide for our clients, our patients and their families, and our partners. We bring together innovation, technology, and tender care to rebuild reliable care delivery at scale.

The stakes are simply too high to settle for anything less.

For everyone who counts on us, we will drive the industry forward. Again, and again, and again.

Reimagining care, together.

Positioning statement

For individuals, families, and health care professionals rallying to resolve a difficult health matter, AccentCare is the only full-service home care and hospice partner relentlessly advancing the standard for better outcomes because we:

• Have a bold vision to reimagine care.

• See a life, not an encounter.

• Are a trusted guide.

• Bring passion and purpose to all we do.

We have a bold vision to reimagine care. Our patient-first thinking inspires and drives us to constantly reassess and search for the next way to improve our care delivery. Again and again, we go beyond the accepted standard to add quality to people’s lives and value to partners through innovation and creative solutions.

With a patient-oriented mindset, we constantly listen to and learn from our patients, caregivers, and partners.

We see a life, not an encounter.

Our expertise in home health, hospice, palliative care, and personal care services gives us a full understanding of how to deliver the best possible outcome and experience. This breadth and depth of knowledge makes us an ideal partner because individuals, families, and health care professionals often need a full range of care and services.

We are a trusted guide.

Individuals, families, partners, and referrers count on us.

Our credibility, expertise, and dedicated teams allow us to carry some of the burden inherent to unfamiliar and complex health challenges. We emphasize clear and active communication to give comfort and clarity. As a trusted guide, we provide seamless care coordination for our patients’ changing needs.

We bring passion and purpose to all we do.

From our frontline workers, to our partners, to each employee in between, our passion and call to purpose ensure individuals and families receive the understanding, empathy, and excellence they deserve. We are all united in our relentless drive to reimagine care because we want to provide the type of service we would seek for our own families.

Brand personality

AccentCare is a trusted guide. Our brand personality is the sum of human traits that people — externally and internally — associate with us. Consumers want to see the humanity in an organization. We, in turn, want them to see the right humanity in our organization, the traits that most clearly and correctly embody what AccentCare uniquely is. We want those traits to come through in our look, feel, voice, and deeds.

Most succinctly put, AccentCare is a trusted guide. The key attributes that make us a trusted guide are our compassion and empathy, our independence and nonconformity, our expertise and trustworthiness, our leadership and wisdom, and our courage and self-sacrifice.

Brand audience messages

B2C: Clients, patients, and families

Positioning statement

For individuals, families, and health care professionals rallying to resolve a difficult health matter, AccentCare is the only full-service home care and hospice partner that relentlessly advances the standard for better outcomes because we:

• Have a bold vision to reimagine care.

• See a life, not just an encounter.

• Are a trusted guide.

• Bring passion and purpose to all we do.

Reasons to believe

• The system is complex, confusing, and fragmented; there’s value placed in having one brand coordinate and streamline postacute care services.

• Reliability, consistency, and communication in delivery of care are the most common pain points.

• We have a leading platform that results in faster referral acceptance and timelier patient care, and we are relentlessly improving it.

Trusted Guide

Difficult health matters come with unfamiliar terrain, and the health care system often adds to the complexity and confusion. We believe families and individuals deserve better. AccentCare’s credibility, expertise, and dedicated teams across our home health, hospice, and personal care allows us to carry some of that burden. In moments when people need guidance and support the most, AccentCare is there.

Connected, Consistent Care

With our service lines across the spectrum — home health, hospice, and personal care services — we are dedicated to providing the right care at the right time. Our breadth of expertise and cohesive collaboration allows us to deliver high quality, consistent, and connected care for better outcomes and experiences.

Personalized

It can be overwhelming to manage difficult health situations. AccentCare is here to maximize health, autonomy, and peace of mind. With our community-leading programs, AccentCare prioritizes individual needs and goals to deliver customized care.

Brand audience messages

B2B: Referral community

Positioning statement

For individuals, families, and health care professionals rallying to resolve a difficult health matter, AccentCare is the only full-service home care and hospice partner that relentlessly advances the standard for better outcomes because we:

• Have a bold vision to reimagine care.

• See a life, not just an encounter.

• Are a trusted guide.

• Bring passion and purpose to all we do.

Reasons to believe

• We have a leading platform that results in faster referral acceptance and timelier patient care, saving partners and referrers time and resources.

• Statistics highlighting positive results reduced readmission rates and from partnering organizations.

• Our quality scores in home health and hospice are very close to the best.

• Referrers highly value the ability to provide the full continuum of home care services.

Reimagining Care

Because we understand the whole picture, we can push beyond the accepted standards. As a full-service personal care, home health, and hospice partner, AccentCare knows how to deliver the best possible outcomes across the continuum of care. Through innovation and creative solutions, including a care transitions platform that results in faster referral acceptance and timelier patient care, we create new value for our partners and move the industry forward.

Connected & Comprehensive

We work closely with health systems, skilled nursing facilities, and physician groups to ensure patients receive well-coordinated and holistic care. Our breadth of expertise across home health, hospice, and personal care gives health care providers an accountable partner that can provide the comprehensive services they need.

Relentlessly Reliable

Our referral partners trust us to complete care plans that their dedicated staff started for their patients. AccentCare’s proven credibility, consistency, and connected services results in faster referral acceptance, reduced readmissions, and cost-efficient care.

Brand audience messages

Internal and clinical employees

Positioning statement

For individuals, families, and health care professionals rallying to resolve a difficult health matter, AccentCare is the only full-service home care and hospice partner that relentlessly advances the standard for better outcomes because we:

• Have a bold vision to reimagine care.

• See a life, not just an encounter.

• Are a trusted guide.

• Bring passion and purpose to all we do. Reasons to believe

• Clinical and staff satisfaction is inextricably linked to our ability to deliver effective care.

• Consumers usually don’t remember the brand, they remember the individual people / caregiver(s).

• Our quality scores in home health are very close to the best.

• Lack of professional support, development, and diversity is a major threat.

• We work to be mission-driven.

Building Better Together

We are the product of successful and experienced companies, coming together to build something greater than we were before. As caregivers, experts, and innovators, we know how to ignite and sustain change. AccentCare fosters an environment and opportunities for all employees to contribute ideas for how we can be better, because we know job satisfaction is inextricably linked to our ability to deliver the best care possible.

Trusted Guide

At AccentCare, we see the whole picture and understand what matters most to each stakeholder we serve. We meet individuals and families during some of life’s most difficult moments. Our partners and referrers entrust us with their reputation and patients – they rely on us to navigate complex health matters professionally, effectively, and efficiently. Every team member takes pride in being a trusted and reliable guide, ready to respond quickly, empathetically, and knowledgeably. Managers and leaders know their role is to support staff every step of the way.

Relentlessly Reliable

We have a bold vision to reimagine care. And that’s possible because of every individual team member. AccentCare believes investing in people and their opportunities produces more satisfying careers, personal growth, and better patient outcomes. In addition, we emphasize training and hiring a diverse workforce with the lived experience and skills to deliver culturally competent, inclusive care.

Brand audience messages

B2B: Strategic partners

Positioning statement

For individuals, families, and health care professionals rallying to resolve a difficult health matter, AccentCare is the only full-service home care and hospice partner that relentlessly advances the standard for better outcomes because we:

• Have a bold vision to reimagine care.

• See a life, not just an encounter.

• Are a trusted guide.

• Bring passion and purpose to all we do.

Reasons to believe

• We have a proven track record partnering with nationally-renowned integrated health systems, who could have selected any partner, but partnered AccentCare.

• We have a partner-centric operating platform that results in aligned goals and quality metrics collaboratively established with health system administration and their affiliated medical staffs.

• We can provide statistics highlighting positive results reducing readmission rates, avoidable ER visits, and other valuebased metrics.

• Our quality scores in home health are very close to the best.

Reimagining Care

Because we understand the whole picture and the seismic shift to value-based care, AccentCare continues to build connected solutions for where health care is headed. As a full-service personal care, home health, and hospice partner, AccentCare knows how to deliver the best possible outcomes by linking the continuum of care. Through innovation and creative technology, including a care transitions platform that results in faster referral acceptance and timelier start of care, we create new value for our partners and drive the industry forward.

Connected & Comprehensive

AccentCare’s breadth of expertise across home health, hospice, and personal care gives health care providers one accountable partner that can provide the comprehensive services they need. This allows us to work closely with health systems, skilled nursing facilities and physician groups to ensure patients receive well-coordinated and holistic care.

AccentCare advances the standard of care at each touch point to deliver value-based outcomes. From on-call and centralized intake to telephonic support, we will continue to accelerate and scale these programs to the benefit of our partners and patients.

Relentlessly Reliable

Our strategic partners trust us with their patients, reputation, brand, and financial performance. AccentCare’s proven high-reliability, consistency, and connected services results in coordinated care and better outcomes for the patients we serve together. With an emphasis on pro-active and consistent communication, every strategic partner has a reliable team of experts supporting their business – at the front line and the board room – and a commitment to ongoing performance improvement.

Brand audience messages

Recruitment

Positioning statement

For individuals, families, and health care professionals rallying to resolve a difficult health matter, AccentCare is the only full-service home care and hospice partner that relentlessly advances the standard for better outcomes because we:

• Have a bold vision to reimagine care.

• See a life, not just an encounter.

• Are a trusted guide.

• Bring passion and purpose to all we do.

Reasons to believe

• Our ability to deliver effective care is inextricably linked to our recruitment and retention of qualified, satisfied clinical and support staff.

• The consumer’s experience with our brand is a very interpersonal one — they will remember the their care and individual caregivers long after the name of our brand.

• Our quality scores in home health are very close to the best.

• The more professional support, development and diversity we offer, the stronger our workforce and our work will be.

• We work to be mission-driven, and we’re home to innately mission-driven people

Building Better Together.

AccentCare is the nation’s leader in home health, hospice, and personal care services, and we’re without peer in providing seamless, high-quality care across the continuum. We are the right workplace home and culture for people who passionately desire to solve some of life’s most difficult challenges for patients and families. Because our external mission is to improve the quality of life for our clients, our internal mission is to advance the quality of life for our highly valued team members. We do that with competitive benefit packages, work-life support, professional development, career advancement opportunities, and the best-possible environment to practice clinically; to make a direct, one-on-one, palpable impact on real people’s lives; and to positively transform an industry that is broken for far too many people.

Trusted Guide

At AccentCare, we see the whole picture, understanding what matters most to each stakeholder we serve and working to build and sustain the trust they have in us. That includes our team members. Our work can be difficult and complex. It’s more than a job — it’s an opportunity, and a calling, to be a trusted guide. As such, our team members take great pride in their compassionate, courageous work, and they find deep satisfaction in the difference they make in individual lives. We reciprocate all that our employees do by giving them the support, training, and compensation they need to thrive and succeed.

Relentlessly Reliable

We have a bold vision to reimagine care. And that’s possible because of every individual team member. AccentCare believes investing in people and their opportunities produces more satisfying careers, personal growth, and better patient outcomes. In addition, we emphasize training and hiring a diverse workforce with the lived experience and skills to deliver culturally competent, inclusive care.

PILLAR 1

Recruiting Messaging Brand Pillars

Our messaging to potential employees focuses on our promise to them. When they consider a professional career at AccentCare they can expect an engaging and positive team, a voice in issues that matter to them, and purpose-driven work caring for those who need it most. These three pillars are specifically for recruiting and should only be used when marketing or communicating with potential employees.

PILLAR 2

Your team

• Connect with your team

• Connected to an inspiring team: We can reimagine care, together

Your voice

• Let your voice be heard

• When your voice is heard: You will grow in a supportive work environment

PILLAR 3

Your passion

• Your passion is calling

• Embrace your passion & purpose: Transformative work that changes lives

You will love the team at AccentCare, both because of the commitment to excellence in the care we provide, as well as our support for one another. Even as the company has grown, it has preserved a family-like feel that keeps our foundation strong. Come to work knowing you will engage with amazing colleagues connected by a shared passion and purpose for reimagining what care in the home can be.

The same individualized care and attention given patients is also given to our team members. From clinical and strategic leaders to operational support, the servant leadership style you find at AccentCare creates an environment of trust where you will know your voice matters. AccentCare is building a better work environment together, and that means relentlessly listening to the feedback and suggestions from all employees.

Reignite your purpose as you help patients get the compassionate care they need, while seeing them build cherished memories and even strengthen family bonds - all central elements to the success of connected and consistent care. The purpose at AccentCare and your role in it will have just as much impact on you as it does for your patients and their families.

Brand voice and tone

Voice

How our brand shows up and acts in front of others.

Voice is an essential expression of our brand personality.

Along with visual identity, the other and perhaps most essential expression of our brand personality is our voice: the words we use, the attitude we project, and the values we stand for.

Our voice is consistent because it must be recognizable, trustworthy, and authoritative: always and everywhere, across every touch point. If our brand were to speak in a dark room, we’d want our customers to instantly recognize it, trust it, and move toward it — to have a clear sense of who we are and intuitively know that we’re the personal, home health and hospice care.

A strong, effective voice is:

• Clear, consistent, genuine, and distinct. When we embody our key brand personality traits, we ensure that distinction.

• Accessible and free of jargon that makes it difficult for a non-health care audience to understand.

• Accurate, reliable, and free of inconsistencies and errors in grammar, punctuation usage, and syntax.

The AccentCare voice is uniquely:

Compassionate

Our people all share a passionate belief that the delivery of care can and must improve for millions of patients and their families. Our industry-leading experience across the continuum of care allows us to understand our patients’ challenges and gives us empathy.

Courageous

Our unmatched expertise, combined with a vision born of deep conviction, makes us confident and courageous. Because we’re brave and committed, we lead the way.

Wise

We are a diverse, dynamic company of caregivers, healers, and trusted guides with the foremost expertise in personal, home health, and hospice care, all united in a single purpose. There is incredible wisdom in the joining together of so much talent and experience.

Trustworthy

We’re trustworthy because we’re knowledgeable and we’re patient-first. We are driven to provide empathy, to provide excellence, and to provide comfort — at a level we’d want our own family members to have.

Visionary

We’re leveraging deep competencies, nonconformist problem-solving, and profound compassion to deliver better outcomes to those that desperately need them. No one else can make this claim as credibly as we can, and we are on a mission to revolutionize a broken industry.

Tone

Tone is our brand’s attitude.

Think of our brand voice as what we say to our audience; think of our brand tone as how we say it.

Unlike our brand voice, tone can and should change for different circumstances: depending upon the specific message being conveyed, the specific medium being used and the specific audience being addressed. The same way the sound of a human voice changes when talking about something like cancer or a newborn baby. Typically, however, that tone will be grounded in one or more of our brand personality traits: compassionate, courageous, wise, trustworthy, and visionary.

Make it easy and make it genuine.

We serve people. Whether someone is a patient, a family member, a physician, or an executive, they’re still a person first, and our job is to solve their challenges. We communicate in a caring, accessible way and remember that our audience is broad. Make every interaction as easy, helpful, and appropriate for that specific audience as possible.

We therefore prioritize good information, a straightforward style and honesty over cleverness, jargon, slang, idioms, jokes, sophisticated vocabulary, and corporate-speak. We use active language because it’s direct and energetic; avoid the passive voice. (i.e., “AccentCare will transform our industry” not “our industry will be transformed by AccentCare.”). Make every interaction as easy and helpful as possible for our audience.

Prioritize information; accentuate the benefits. What does our audience need? What is most important to them? How can we help them? Be empathetic and kind, and be specific about the positive impacts we can have on people’s lives. Finally, we get to the point because we’re all busy people.

Communicate compassion.

Caring for people is what we’re all about. In fact, we’re on a mission to revolutionize care for people. Let’s show our audiences that we see our patients’ whole lives and that they matter to us.

The best way for us to show our compassion is by demonstrating our deep understanding of our patients’ challenges and our unique expertise across the continuum of care. We don’t just say we care. We give examples of our awareness and proof points on how we’re delivering on it.

Be hopeful.

Many of the topics we deal with are serious. When they are, we take a professional, straightforward tone as experts who understand, advise, and solve. But we’re an organization that passionately believes in our patients and our people, in the value we give to human lives and in our vision, so we’re also focused, positive, and optimistic. Moreover, research shows that optimism leads to better outcomes and helps us manage difficulty more productively. We will be the better care that we seek, and as such we are hopeful.

Offer solutions.

Always offer a solution and call to action. We inform our audience of the next step they should take.

Consider the audience ...

When choosing the tone we will use in a specific message, we consider the audience’s frame of mind and their situational context when they engage with our brand.

• Are they patients, families, or physicians?

• Do they know AccentCare?

• Have they interacted with AccentCare before?

• Is this a first-time audience looking for some quick information? Or, is this a skeptical physician looking to refer his patient? Or, are we responding to a pointed comment on social media from someone whose past experiences and intentions we simply don’t know?

The tone we take in these varied scenarios can be the difference between a positive AccentCare experience or a negative one.

and put yourself in their shoes.

When we think of our audience, we don’t think of a large group of people. We imagine one real person and write to them as if we’re having a face-to-face conversation. Not only do we communicate to address their needs, but we use the language they use on a daily basis — both of which will vary depending on your audience.

• If we’re speaking to patients or families we remember that the struggles they’re up against are difficult and the system for them is unfamiliar, complex, intimidating, and confusing. Chances are they’re frustrated, scared, or in a hurry for answers — and possibly all three. We lean into empathy and compassion, letting them see how human we are and how committed we are about improving the quality of their lives. Our patients are ethnically, culturally, and educationally diverse, so we use language anyone can understand. While spreading a sense of comfort, we are sure to stay confident. The best hope is always found in the most capable, courageous hands, and we are a trusted guide patients can rely upon to help shoulder the burden.

• When we speak to referring physicians and professionals we emphasize our expertise, breadth of experience, and proven outcomes across the continuum of care. They can rely on us to provide innovative, comprehensive, wellcoordinated services that complete the care plan they’ve begun for their patients. Our quality scores are among the best in the industry, and our proven results reduce readmissions and cost efficiencies. We remember that physicians think clinically and can be highly suspicious of sales and marketing, so our language must be informed but also cooler, crisper, and more precise than that which we use for patients and families.

• Our strategic partners share many of the same concerns as our referral community. But in addition to a clinical mindset, they also have strategic and operational concerns. So when we speak to them, we are outcome-oriented, impressing upon them that we have a successful track record of partnering with nationally renowned health systems and creating value for them. Through innovation, creative technologies, and connected, comprehensive solutions, we help our partners attain quality- and value-based metrics, and we continue to accelerate and scale our programs to benefit patients and partners alike. We speak to them leader-to-leader.

• With our team members, we draw upon our courage and vision — reminding ourselves of our service and patient-first orientation, our problemsolving, our optimism, and our united mission to reimagine care. Our people are dedicated, experienced, and successful. We appreciate them, and we are committed to their growth, training, and diversity in order to deliver culturally competent, inclusive care.

• The hope for prospective employees is that they become team members, of course, so naturally there is some similarity in how we communicate to these two audiences, particularly when we talk about our compassionate care, our courageous commitment to our vision, and our patientfirst, problem-solving attitude. It’s important to remember we’re targeting a wide range of people with varying vocations and education levels — some are clinicians, some are aids, and the language of job responsibilities, etc., will differ accordingly. But it’s even more important to remember the common denominator that all our people — and therefore the candidates we seek — do share: their motivation to make a difference in people’s lives. It draws them to our industry, it is crucial to their success, and therefore we make sure they know AccentCare is the place to pursue that worthwhile cause and find deep personal fulfillment. Our work isn’t easy, and all of it is vitally important, so let’s avoid the terms “unskilled workers” and “unskilled labor” for our lower-wage positions. For clinicians, this motivation to make a difference in people’s lives is often manifested in the desire for more autonomy and 1:1 patient work than a hospital setting can give them. Here at AccentCare, they will have the chance to fully own patient care.

• A final, perhaps obvious, note. Be sure to explain the compensation and benefits of the job, not the least of which is the opportunity to grow with a quality company that is leading the way in our industry.

The rules of our writing

Boilerplate Legal Tagline

The rules of our writing.

Boilerplate

About AccentCare®

AccentCare is a nationwide leader and trusted guide in post-acute health care covering a broad continuum of services from personal, non-medical care to home health, palliative care, hospice, telehealth, and care management. Our innovative care models and strategic relationships with major health systems, physician groups, insurers, and value-based providers give us a full understanding of how to deliver the best possible experience for patients and their families. Because of these distinct advantages, we can relentlessly reimagine and advance the standards of care in our communities. Headquartered in Dallas, our 30,000 compassionate professionals across the nation deliver on the promise of exceptional care in more than 255 locations, collectively serving more than 200,000 individuals across 31 states and the District of Columbia. Visit us at www.accentcare.com

Footer/legal

AccentCare welcomes all persons in need of its services and does not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, gender, gender identity and/ or gender expression, sexual orientation, or source of payment. © 2023 AccentCare, Inc.

• Include on all public-facing printed marketing materials

• Exception: Printed materials with limited space/small sizes

• Include line break/line space after first paragraph

• Not required on internal communications

• Not required on digital marketing pieces

Tagline: “Reimagining care, together.”

• Consumer-facing marketing

• Generally do not use in consumer-facing marketing

• Exceptions may be made in case by case instances, e.g. highlighting/referencing the rebrand, mergers, our teams, etc.

• Talent acquisition/recruiting

• May use when appropriate and when supports messaging

• Partner-facing/B2B marketing:

• May use when appropriate and when supports messaging

Naming conventions Initial capitalization Programs

The rules of our writing.

Our Lines of business

Naming conventions • Initial Capitalization • Programs

Home Health

• Skilled nursing and rehabilitative therapy to help with recovery or managing a chronic condition

• Behavioral health focusing on patients suffering from late life depression and dementia

Hospice and Palliative Care

• Symptom and pain management, emotional and spiritual support, as well as end-of-life planning for comfort, peace of mind, and quality of life in the home or an inpatient setting

Medical Home Care

• Also known as private duty nursing, is daily medical home care for children and adults, including comprehensive care, ranging from skilled nursing to certified home health aide care

Personal Care Services

• Assistance with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, meals, and medication reminders by personal care attendants

Initial Capitalization

• Generally we only use initial caps when referring to our lines of business, our programs, proper nouns, titles, places, etc. Never for generic terms such as “doctor, nurse, physical therapy, behavioral health”

Ex: “Dr. John Smith is Chief Surgeon at Wisconsin General…”

But not “Dr. John Smith is a Surgeon at...”

Ex: “We offer physical therapy and behavioral health services…”

• In general, capitalization will follow in all instances when referencing AccentCare official Line of Business as a proper noun, and in the singular. Initial caps are NOT needed when used in general terms. See examples below:

“AccentCare’s Home Health services…”

“AccentCare’s Hospice services…”

“AccentCare’s Personal Care Services…”

“Our Home Health services…”

“Our Hospice Caregivers provide services...”

“Our Personal Care Services teams include...”

“We provide excellent home health services to the communities..”.

Programs

RightPath®

Program includes:

• Cardiac

• COPD

• Diabetes

• Palliative care

• Late-life depression

• Joint Rehabilitation (physical therapy)

Notes:

• ® first instance only

• Disease/condition names: always lower case unless based on proper noun/name: “diabetes” vs. “Huntington’s Disease” vs. “the RightPath Diabetes Program”. Generally we only use initial caps when referring to our lines of business and/or our programs

• All initial caps when used all together to refer to the official program:

Ex: “AccentCare’s RightPath Diabetes Program has a number of…”

• Generic instances that do NOT reference RightPath specifically, use lower-case:

Ex: “Many diabetes programs focus on diet…”.

• Second/subsequent use referring to a RightPath Program: shortened version should remain capped:

Ex: “As previously discussed, our Diabetes Program…”

AdvancedCare at Home®

• ® first instance only

SAFERPath® Program for Personal Care Services

• ® first instance only

Maternal Child Health Alert Systems

• (Minnesota/Fairview JV specific programs)

• When referring to a generic reference to this type of health care or the actual services, do not capitalize.

Ex: “When searching for personal care services, home health, or hospice…”

Grammar standards

The rules of our writing.

Grammar standards

Health care vs healthcare

• The AccentCare standard is “health care”, written as two words

Initial caps

• Disease/condition names: always lower case unless based on proper noun/ name: “diabetes” vs. “Huntington’s Disease” vs. “the RightPath Diabetes Program”. Generally we only use initial caps when referring to our lines of business and/or our programs

• Generally we only use initial caps for proper nouns, titles, places, etc. Never for generic terms such as “doctor, nurse, physical therapy, behavior health”

Ex: “Dr. John Smith is Chief Surgeon at Wisconsin General…”

But not “Dr. John Smith is a Surgeon at...”

Ex: “We offer physical therapy and behavioral health services…”

• For punctuation with bullet points item: Initial caps for first word of the bulleted item only.

Ex. “· Car parts” not “· Car Parts”

• Do NOT use initial caps in headlines or subheads

Phone/Fax Standards

• Always use 555.555.5555 format (no dashes or parentheses)

• Do not use “1” or “+1” at start of numbers

Registered Trademark (®) Symbol Usage

• “AccentCare®” always used in first instance ONLY in body copy

• After first instance, “AccentCare” should be used throughout in body copy (no “®” after first instance)

URL Usage

• Always include “www”: www.accentcare.com

• Always all lower case

• In digital PDFs, emails, and other online applications, always link URL when possible

Oxford Comma

• Always use the Oxford comma when listing three or more things

• Ex: “We offer design, marketing, and branding expertise.”

Ellipses

• Use sparingly and with discretion; determine if commas or em dashes work better

Em Dashes

• Always used with space before and after

• Ex: “We craft beautiful — and strategically branded — marketing solutions.”

Caregiver vs. care partner

Our attendants will be universally referred to as “Caregivers” except for materials addressing CDPAP (Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program) in NY which requires the term for Caregiver be “personal assistant”.

Payor vs payer

• The AccentCare standard is “payor”

Dietitian vs dietician

• The AccentCare standard is “dietitian”

Preventive vs preventative

• The AccentCare standard is “preventive”

Hyphen and non-hyphen use standard

• Re-hospitalization

• Readmission

• Late-life depression

• 30-day vs. 30 day

Ex. When you are using it as a noun phrase, you say “30 days”. When you are using it as an adjective, you say “30-day”. For example, “The project will last for 30 days”, versus “This is a 30-day project”. Similarly for other number-plus-unit expressions.

• Telehealth and telemonitor (no hyphens)

• High quality vs. high-quality.

Something can have a high quality, but when used as an adjective, it should be hyphenated.

Ex. Our care has a high quality. We provide high-quality care.

• Less vs. fewer.

Fewer is for things you can count individually or that can be pluralized (ex: fewer patients, fewer programs). Less is for things that can’t be pluralized in that use (ex: less time, less money).

Registered trademark

• The symbol ® is a notice of registered trademark ownership. Only use ® designation as strictly identified in the brand guide per program and brand name. Note: Superscript ® is preferred

Punctuation with bullet points

• If the text of your bullet point is a complete sentence (or multiple sentences), use capital letters and punctuation. If your points are not structured as proper sentences, you don’t need to end with punctuation.

pm vs p.m.

• Time: lowercase a.m. and p.m. with periods and always figures proceeding. The exception is at the hour, you do not include “:00.” If it is a time range, use only a.m. or p.m. once within the same time of day (e.g. 8-9 a.m.). Use both a.m. and p.m. if it is not the same time of day (e.g., 9:30 p.m.- 1 a.m.)

Our logo and color palette

The AccentCare logo is our single most important brand element. Great care must be taken to ensure it’s integrity and proper usage — always.

If you require a logo, please submit a Creative Request. The Marketing and Communications team will work with you to provide the appropriate logo file format for all uses — print, digital, internal communications, presentations, swag, etc. Never use a logo pulled off the internet, a PDF, or a screenshot. All logo usage must be approved by the Marketing and Communications department.

AccentCare Marketing and Communications Creative Request Portal

Logo clear space

Clear space is important for proper logo presentation. As a guide, the height and width of the C should be used to define clear space around all sides of our logo.

Logo orientation

Ensure the logo is always scaled proportionately. Do not compress, stretch or otherwise alter the logo’s dimensions. When placing the logo on a colorful background, only use approved color pairs. Our logo should never be placed over an image or pattern that would reduce legibility.

Examples of INCORRECT logo use.

Logo color usage

Logo color use should provide the best legibility and contrast. While all colors can be applied over the deep blue background except Navy, there are specific, approved pairings for all other colors.

Examples of CORRECT logo use.

Deep Teal

Our color palette

The AccentCare color palette is bright, balanced and unique. The primary brand color is Deep Teal, accented by Spring Green, Chartreuse, Sky Blue, and Navy. Together, these colors represent a dynamic sense of passion, vibrancy, and commitment. Context should considered when choosing colors from the palette.

Screens/percentages of our brand colors may be used sparingly and with careful consideration. If in doubt, use colors at 100%.

Generally, do not use screens/ percentages less than 20%.

70% 50% 20%

Spring Green

70% 50% 20%

Sky Blue

70% 50% 20%

CMYK: 96, 67, 50, 41

RGB: 1, 60, 77

HEX: 013c4d

PMS: 548 C

Navy

70% 50% 20%

Chartreuse

70% 50% 20%

CMYK: 60, 2, 100, 0

RGB: 116, 188, 31

HEX: 74bc1f

PMS: 368 C

CMYK: 53, 5, 3, 0

RGB: 105, 195, 232

HEX: 69c3e8

PMS: 297 C

CMYK: 100, 78, 32, 22

RGB: 0, 59, 113

HEX: 003b70

PMS: 541 C

CMYK: 24, 0, 100, 0

RGB: 205, 221, 0

HEX: cddd00

PMS: 389 C

Photography, the circle, typography, and iconography

Photography

Authentic hopefulness and interaction — most often in the home.

Our caregivers bring a higher quality of life to our patients and clients in the place they’re most comfortable and where they most need it — their own homes.

A true, candid connection of respect, camaraderie, and warmth.

Often, a full portrait of patient and caregiver isn’t needed to tell our story. Focus on the moment — a soft touch, an arm around a shoulder, a hand reaching out.

Stay away from unrealistic, twodimensional people grinning for the camera in cold, sterile environments.

Authenticity is key to telling the AccentCare story.

Photography

Dos and Don’ts

Overall, all of our photography should meet the guidelines on the previous page. There are some considerations specific to lines of business that should be taken into consideration when creating marketing materials for specific specialties or procedures. When in doubt, always err on the side of the overall brand photography guidelines on the previous page — authentic candid connection in the home.

Special considerations for lines of business

Note that each line of business has each specific photography guidelines, allowing and disallowing certain uniforms, equipment, and locations. If a particular piece of marketing material requires a depiction of a specific role or procedure, be sure to follow the parameters at right. However, rarely do we need to use photography that is overly geared toward a particular role or procedure. Instead, our brand photography should most importantly convey our brand tone and show authentic, candid connections of respect and camaraderie, accessibility, and warmth — the human connection.

Home Health

• Often nurses in scrubs (a more medical message)

• Often therapists are in polo shirts embroidered with logo/JV lock up

• PT (Physical Therapy): May show with equipment such as walker, stretch bands, weights

• Often patients are recovering from surgery or in rehab following an injury — not all have chronic conditions — so a sense of activity (e.g. light exercise) may be appropriate

• OT (Occupational Therapy): May show with equipment such as grabber; help in daily life; devices

• ST (Speech Therapy) or SLP (Speech Language Pathology): No recognizable equipment

Hospice

• Usually in home setting

• Rare exceptions on case by case basis e.g. piece is promoting inpatient centers, VIPCs, etc.

• Human connection/human touch

• Include family/support network/patient never alone

• Content, comfortable, at peace; never overly happy or overly sad or in distress

• Avoid imagery with hospital medical equipment

• Rare exceptions on case by case basis e.g. piece is promoting inpatient centers, VIPCs, etc.

• When an inpatient setting is required, clinicians should not be standing or talking over a patient. Chose images that show a human connection

• When portraying IDG team members and other front line roles, images should be carefully reviewed for appropriateness and accuracy

Personal Care Services

• PCS caregivers are not medically skilled; no medication administration (they can remind, not administer), no stethoscopes, no blood pressure cuffs, etc.

• Most PCS attendants do not wear scrubs, but rather neat street clothes. Exception: New York is the only location that allows PCS attendants to wear scrubs.

• Daily living activities support (meals, dressing, grooming, companionship, light housekeeping, laundry)

Palliative Care

• Always in clinical setting

Medical Home Care

• Private duty nursing serving all ages

• Usually nurses in navy scrubs (often a more medical message)

Health Alert Systems

• Vendor may often supply appropriate imagery

• Products include emergency buttons/necklaces and medication dispensers with alerts

• Should show client alone

• “Independent living”

RightPath®

• Adhere to overall photography guidelines, but may use more specific program-related visuals

• Programs include: cardiac, COPD, diabetes, palliative care, late life depression, joint rehab

The circle

The circle is unity on a roll.

A period is the end of statement but only the beginning of a story. The circle in our visual elements is taken from the period in our logo. As a period, it literally completes a statement; it is a declaration and a summation that AccentCare is here for our patients and more than equal to the tasks at hand.

As a circle, it does much more. It symbolizes unity and wholeness. It denotes smoothness, fluidity and an absence of points, edges and interruptions. It conveys movement and energy. The circle is both simple and powerful, and in an attractive and understated way, it has a lot to say in our design.

Pattern

Groups of circles should be used intentionally, purposefully, and thoughtfully; never as merely “decoration”. Note bleed of pattern extends beyond the page, implying continuation of movement and fluidity.

As photography frame

Contain thoughtfully chosen, relevant, and brand-approved photography within a circle frame, usually bleeding off the page.

For emphasis

Note the example here; a single circle breaks the pattern to highlight our logo.

When grouping circles into grids or patterns, ensure the edges of the circles meet but do not overlap, creating a clean and fluid flow.

Overlapping circles general placement recommendation. Visual balance and thoughtful, purposeful usage is more important than rigorous adherence to exacting geometry.

Typography

Our primary typeface is Poppins. Poppins is a geometric, sans serif family with a variety of weights and a modern, circular feel. Normally we utilize Poppins in 2 weights — Regular and Bold. Our primary weight is Regular, which is best used in body copy.

Poppins

Regular

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

1234567890

Bold

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

1234567890

Regular Italic

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

1234567890

Bold Italic

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

1234567890

Thin: Generally do not use

Light: Use sparingly and when appropriate e.g. short, very large headlines, etc.

Medium: Use sparingly and when appropriate e.g. when differentiating elements in complex forms or bulleted items, when visual differentiation beyond Regular and Bold is necessary, etc.

SemiBold: Use sparingly and when appropriate e.g. when differentiating elements in complex forms or bulleted lists, when visual differentiation beyond Regular and Bold is necessary, etc.

ExtraBold: Use sparingly and when appropriate e.g. when differentiating elements in complex forms or bulleted items, when visual differentiation beyond Regular and Bold is necessary, etc.

Black: Use sparingly and when appropriate e.g. when differentiating elements in complex forms or bulleted items, when visual differentiation beyond Regular and Bold is necessary, etc.

Typography

Our secondary typeface is Lora, a contemporary serif typeface with roots in calligraphy. Lora is highly legible and wellsuited for text-heavy collateral. As a general rule, Lora should be used sparingly.

Lora may be utilized when a “lighter touch” or more serious tone is appropriate — bereavement/hospice materials, etc.

Poppins and Lora are both available under the Open Font License and can be downloaded via Google Fonts.

Lora

Regular

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

1234567890

Bold

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

1234567890

Regular Italic

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

1234567890

Bold Italic

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

1234567890

Medium: Use sparingly and when appropriate e.g. short, very large headlines, etc.

SemiBold: Use sparingly and when appropriate e.g. short, very large headlines, etc.

Iconography

Icons are visual shorthand for more complex ideas. They should be used in support of our messaging, not as a distraction from it.

Our icons are simple and approachable, just like our brand. The linear, rounded, style allows for some level of detail, but are not overly designed or complex.

Our full icon library is available in the AccentCare Master PPT on Sharepoint

Home Health Hospice

Personal Care Services

Our full icon library is available in the AccentCare Master PPT

Joint ventures

Joint Ventures

When co-branding materials or illustrating a joint venture (JV) between business partners, additional guidance for logo use, naming conventions, and copywriting is necessary.

Each JV has unique guidelines, nuances, and requirements that must be adhered to on all materials. Always try to avoid breaking the full brand name on separate lines.

JV Lock Up

• Only use JV lock up at left. Do not alter or rearrange elements

• JV lock up should be used on all materials, everywhere. Do not use AccentCare logo.

Official Name / In-Copy Usage

• In copy:

• AccentCare® Asante® Home Health

• Use above first instance.

• AccentCare Asante

• Use after first instance.

• Never use “AccentCare” alone

• Use we/us/our after first instance for copywriting clarity and with discretion (may use either JV name above when appropriate/for clarity).

Joint Ventures

When co-branding materials or illustrating a joint venture (JV) between business partners, additional guidance for logo use, naming conventions, and copywriting is necessary.

Each JV has unique guidelines, nuances, and requirements that must be adhered to on all materials. Always try to avoid breaking the full brand name on separate lines.

In affiliation with

JV Lock Up

• Only use JV lock up at left. Do not alter or rearrange elements.

• JV lock up should be used on all materials, everywhere. Do not use AccentCare logo.

Official Name / In-Copy Usage

• In copy:

• AccentCare® Home Health

• Use above first instance.

• AccentCare® Home Health in affiliation with Baylor Scott & White Health

• Never use “AccentCare” alone

• Use we/us/our after first instance for copywriting clarity and with discretion (may use either JV name above when appropriate/for clarity).

Joint Ventures

When co-branding materials or illustrating a joint venture (JV) between business partners, additional guidance for logo use, naming conventions, and copywriting is necessary.

Each JV has unique guidelines, nuances, and requirements that must be adhered to on all materials. Always try to avoid breaking the full brand name on separate lines.

JV Lock Up

• Only use JV lock up at left. Do not alter or rearrange elements.

• JV lock up should be used on all materials, everywhere. Do not use AccentCare logo.

Official Name / In-Copy Usage

• In copy:

• ChristianaCare® - AccentCare® Hospice

• Use above first instance.

• Never use “AccentCare” alone

• Use we/us/our after first instance for copywriting clarity and with discretion (may use either JV name above when appropriate/for clarity).

Joint Ventures

When co-branding materials or illustrating a joint venture (JV) between business partners, additional guidance for logo use, naming conventions, and copywriting is necessary.

Each JV has unique guidelines, nuances, and requirements that must be adhered to on all materials.

Always try to avoid breaking the full brand name on separate lines.

JV Lock Up

• Only use JV lock up at left. Do not alter or rearrange elements

• JV lock up should be used on all materials, everywhere. Do not use AccentCare logo

Official Name / In-Copy Usage

• In copy (aligning with appropriate LOB):

• AccentCare® Fairview (for general brand messaging pieces not specific to a single LOB)

• AccentCare® Fairview Hospice

• AccentCare® Fairview Home Health

• AccentCare® Fairview Home Health and Hospice

• Use above per appropriate LOB first instance.

• Never use “AccentCare” alone

• Use we/us/our after first instance for copywriting clarity and with discretion (may use either JV name above when appropriate/for clarity).

Joint Ventures

When co-branding materials or illustrating a joint venture (JV) between business partners, additional guidance for logo use, naming conventions, and copywriting is necessary.

Each JV has unique guidelines, nuances, and requirements that must be adhered to on all materials. Always try to avoid breaking the full brand name on separate lines.

JV Lock Up

• Only use JV lock up at left. Do not alter or rearrange elements

• JV lock up should be used on all materials, everywhere. Do not use AccentCare logo

Official Name / In-Copy Usage

• In copy (aligning with appropriate LOB):

• AccentCare® Home Health

• AccentCare® Hospice

• Use above per appropriate LOB first instance.

• Never use “AccentCare” alone

• Use we/us/our after first instance for copywriting clarity and with discretion (may use either JV name above when appropriate/for clarity).

Joint Ventures

When co-branding materials or illustrating a joint venture (JV) between business partners, additional guidance for logo use, naming conventions, and copywriting is necessary.

Each JV has unique guidelines, nuances, and requirements that must be adhered to on all materials. Always try to avoid breaking the full brand name on separate lines.

JV Lock Up

• Only use JV lock up at left. Do not alter or rearrange elements

• JV lock up should be used as “sign off”; AccentCare is dominant brand JV lock up should be used only in one instance per piece (ex: back side bottom of flyers; back panel of brochures, etc.)

• AccentCare logo should be used everywhere else.

Official Name / In-Copy Usage

• None. “AccentCare” in copy throughout.

Joint Ventures

When co-branding materials or illustrating a joint venture (JV) between business partners, additional guidance for logo use, naming conventions, and copywriting is necessary. Each JV has unique guidelines, nuances, and requirements that must be adhered to on all materials. Always try to avoid breaking the full brand name on separate lines.

JV Lock Up

• Only use JV lock up at left. Do not alter or rearrange elements.

• JV lock up should be used on all materials, everywhere. Do not use AccentCare logo.

Official Name / In-Copy Usage

• In copy:

• AccentCare® UCLA Health

• Use above first instance.

• Never use “AccentCare” alone

• Use we/us/our after first instance for copywriting clarity and with discretion (may use either JV name above when appropriate/for clarity).

Joint Ventures

When co-branding materials or illustrating a joint venture (JV) between business partners, additional guidance for logo use, naming conventions, and copywriting is necessary. Each JV has unique guidelines, nuances, and requirements that must be adhered to on all materials. Always try to avoid breaking the full brand name on separate lines.

JV Lock Up

• Only use JV lock up at left. Do not alter or rearrange elements.

• JV lock up should be used on all materials, everywhere. Do not use AccentCare logo.

Official Name / In-Copy Usage

• In copy:

• AccentCare® UC San Diego Health at Home

• Use above first instance.

• Never use “AccentCare” alone

• Use we/us/our after first instance for copywriting clarity and with discretion (may use either JV name above when appropriate/for clarity).

Tips and instructions

Email Signature Set up Instructions

AccentCare® Email Signature Instructions

Please take a few minutes to read this guide to easily update your AccentCare® Outlook email signature. A few tips to review before editing and applying your signature:

• For easiest implementation and the most consistent results, simply copy and paste the signature text below and swap out your information.

• When entering your email, make sure to right-click (or hover) the email you’ve copied from this document > hyperlink > edit hyperlink… and make sure to update it with your email address in the dialog box that opens.

• Download the AccentCare logo here.

• Do not include additional images or logos unless approved by the National Communications Department, with the exception of the AccentCare logo shown below.

• Fonts — use only the default font Calibri. Use 13-point size bold for your name and 11-point size font for the body. Non-standard fonts and HTML may not translate well across email clients.

• The approved color for email signatures is black, except for the logo. No other color, backgrounds, special fonts, bold, or graphics should be used.

• Do not use any background patterns or colors in your emails.

• Email signatures should be used for new messages, in addition to replies and forwards.

Email Signature Format and Approved

Signature Content:

• Name (add relevant academic or professional credentials only)

• Preferred pronouns (optional)

• Examples:

• She/Her/Hers

• He/Him/His

• They/Them/Theirs

• Title (if you have a business card, use the title as it appears on your card)

• AccentCare®

• Office: 555.555.5555 | Mobile: 555.555.5555 (optional) | Fax: 555.555.5555 (optional)

• -Note format (periods instead of dashes)

• Your email address | Web address (optional, for those who use LinkedIn for their job)

• www.accentcare.com

• AccentCare logo. Logo should not need to be resized inserting into your Outlook signature.

Outlook (Desktop version):

AccentCare example signature

COPY THE EXAMPLE SIGNATURE BELOW THIS LINE AND REPLACE WITH YOUR NAME, TITLE, EMAIL, ETC.

Erica Smith, BSN (She/Her)

Nurse Manager

AccentCare (NOTE: Please remove any “formerly” etc. language)

Office: 555.555.5555 | Mobile: 555.555.5555

youremailhere@accentcare.com

www.accentcare.com

To insert the AccentCare logo just below the website URL: Download it here, save to your desktop or harddrive, then insert the logo. You should not need to resize. Your signature should look like the example below:

For use on mobile devices:

AccentCare® example signature

COPY EVERYTHING BELOW THIS LINE AND REPLACE WITH YOUR NAME, TITLE, EMAIL, ETC. Do not alter fonts or colors (note that the joint venture logo is not recommended for mobile signatures)

Erica Smith, BSN (She/Her)

Nurse Manager

AccentCare

Office: 555.555.5555 | Mobile: 555.555.5555

youremailhere@accentcare.com

www.accentcare.com