Marketing Strategy for Integration in Switzerland
About Client
The client is USB (Ukraine Schweiz Bern), a Swiss non-profit association built on transparency, accountability, and active community participation. USB supports migrants—especially Ukrainians with S-status—through educational programs, knowledge exchange, and engagement initiatives. A particular focus is the U-Integration platform, designed for youth aged 16–35, where young people can launch their own projects, participate in events, and build a community.
Goals
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Reformulate USB’s mission, vision, and positioning to reflect the expanded strategic focus, and establish U-Integration as a distinct direction.
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Launch the marketing infrastructure, including website redesign and brand book, while attracting grants and volunteers and scaling the project among youth through targeted communication.
Results
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Developed and implemented a new mission and vision reflecting the strategic shift (integration of diverse migrant groups and acceleration of the integration process).
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Completely redesigned the USB website and visual identity (brand book), creating a style that resonates with the target audience (youth and migrants).
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Successfully secured a grant in Switzerland, enabling the launch and active development of the U-Integration initiative. You became the head of the U-Integration association in Basel and are implementing the strategy on the ground, demonstrating tangible marketing impact: not just brand promotion, but real organizational change, the launch of new initiatives, and active engagement of the target audience.
KEY INSIGHT
When I began collaborating with USB, they were initially focused on supporting Ukrainian migrants with S-status, helping them develop various initiatives. During my work, it was decided to broaden the focus: to consider not only the Ukrainian audience but also people with diverse migration experiences, both forced and voluntary.
I conducted 22 in-depth interviews using the Jobs-to-be-Done methodology with migrants from different countries. The research confirmed that the shared experience of migration becomes a point of connection and mutual understanding. This sense of identification formed the foundation for building the USB communication platform, where people can exchange knowledge and experiences while supporting each other.
Migration itself creates a unique form of identification. Regardless of the reason for relocating, people experience similar emotions and feelings. This allows them to connect, form communities, understand one another, and provide mutual support, even when their individual migration stories differ.
Accelerate Integration - Equal opportunirties
The most important insight, which defines my point of differentiation, is that migrants want to “catch up” and accelerate their integration process. Many initially lacked the psychological readiness or support to integrate quickly when they first arrived, which often led to a sense of lost time. Now, they are motivated and ready to engage in spaces where they can integrate more effectively—driven by the desire to secure equal opportunities in work, education, friendships, and broader social participation. This is not just about adapting; it’s about reclaiming the opportunities they feel they missed and ensuring they can participate on an equal footing in society.
Target Audience
Migrants who do not ask for help and seek opportunities to realize themselves in a new reality.
Position Statement
For those who are resilient, seek opportunities to realize themselves in a new reality. We are USB, a non-profit organization focused on migrant integration, helping people “catch up” and accelerate their integration process by creating conditions for equal opportunities.
New brand identity and website revamp
Given that the target audience has changed significantly — it’s no longer just Ukrainians, but other migrants as well, primarily forced migrants — it was clear that everything needed to be updated. Both the branding and the website content had to be redesigned to reflect the concept embedded in our positioning and marketing strategy, and to resonate with the new target audience.
USB creates meaningful opportunities for the accelerated integration of forced migrants. The logo symbolizes a bridge between cultures—a symmetrical form representing equality, a contour shape reflecting the integration process, and a vibrant multicolor palette that embodies diversity and inclusion. Various shape explorations were developed from the core logo. From practical workshops and networking meetups to cultural festivals, panel talks, and mentorship sessions, every USB event is designed to foster integration, inclusion, and shared growth.
Website Structure
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Home / Mission: Clear slogan emphasizing that migrants seek opportunities, not charity.
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Programs: Integration accelerator, media platform, NGO–state dialogue, international cooperation, youth platform.
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People Stories: Each migrant presented as a hero of their personal victory — symbolizing accelerated integration.
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News & Reports: Show real results and transparency.
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Contacts & Social Media: Connection with community and partners.
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Key Creative Highlights:Personal stories as “personal finish lines” — emotional and visual emphasis on achievement.
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Media platform — integration through amplifying migrant voices.
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Youth Council — development of young leaders and future participants in integration.
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Transparency & Expertise — reports, team, and dialogue with government.
Celebrating Achievements at the Finish Line
Our creative concept captured migrants in motion, running toward the finish line, symbolizing their journey and achievements. At the moment they “cross the line,” we highlighted their key personal success, whether it was finding a job, gaining a skill, or a small emotional triumph.
Every story showcased personal victories as snapshots of growth, emphasizing both the individual’s progress and the organization’s impact.
Of course, I paid special attention to collective stories — projects that sprouted thanks to USB. And what a garden it turned out to be! Suddenly, we were swimming in a sea of creative initiatives: projects that mobilized groups, sparked new ideas in Switzerland, fostered integration, or helped people find work.
Elena Krylova
Managing Director, USB
Anastasia Zaria delivered an impressive performance in just 4 months. She fully developed and implemented a new mission and vision reflecting the organization’s strategic shift toward integrating diverse migrant groups and completely redesigned USB’s visual identity and website. Thanks to her efforts, a Swiss grant was successfully secured, the U-Integration initiative was launched, and the strategy was implemented on the ground. Anastasia’s work demonstrated the real impact of marketing on organizational change and audience engagement.The best part? The number of these projects kept growing — apparently, success is contagious. Every new initiative was like a tiny victory lap, and we couldn’t help but cheer them all across their own finish lines.