Early Autism Diagnosis:
‘Noa case study
Cognoa is a startup dedicated to delivering the reliable and equitable diagnosis of early autism in kids aged 18-60 months. After a successful FDA application, Canvas Dx is available by prescription in 12 states, and growing quickly.
Picking up on the founder Dennis Wall’s idea for creating a personal ambassador, I brought to life a friendly brand mascot, named ‘Noa, who connects the brand with families and clinicians searching for early autism diagnosis.
Challenge
How to increase awareness of the Cognoa brand, as well as increase the understanding (and use!) of Canvas Dx.
Outcome
From the quality of the stuffing to the name ’Noa, I helped navigate overseas production to bring our friend into being. With an authentic communication style, ‘Noa is now opening doors and increasing recognition on social media
Scope of Project
Fabrication
Brand Strategy
Identity System Design
Social content
To begin, I had discovery conversations with the marketing manager to work through the ways that 'Noa could expand brand awareness for Cognoa, and educate families. And as a social creature, we established that 'Noa could jump in to respond to happenings.
'Noa is like a new hire for Cognoa. So what kind of employee are they?
In conversation with the team, we established that 'Noa is a smart, caring, and honest young friend. They are the kind of person you can count on to listen to your issues. And when you have a question, they know the answer—and if they dont, there’s zero ego when it comes to connecting a caregiver’ with someone who has the answers. With these characteristics in mind, we created a branding identity and mission for 'Noa.
Knowing our audience
For our core audience, we focused on parents in need of support and clarity for their child's development. Our goal was to position 'Noa as a consistent go-to: someone who makes sense of the Canvas Dx diagnosis and next steps for their little one.
'Noa now shows up wherever Cognoa needs to be present
‘Noa is perhaps the only one capable of advancing the mission while keeping the child-centered mission front and center. And so far, looking at the faces and responses from inside Cognoa and in the marketplace, 'Noa is performing exactly as intended—on TikTok, Instagram, the PodCast, and for internal stakeholders.
