Covista
Education, Healthcare
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SERVICES
Rebranding America's Largest Healthcare Educator
America is in the midst of a healthcare worker crisis. Statistically, the picture is troubling: 1 in 5 healthcare workers is leaving their roles. 47 states are facing primary care physician shortages. Nurses age out and retire by 46. Patient loads are higher than ever, and the age of Americans is increasing, meaning they’ll need more care. Meanwhile, traditional healthcare and medical degree-based routes fall short of closing the gaps. Technology alone can’t solve the problem; medicine needs humanity and community. Adtalem exists to solve this challenge. America’s largest healthcare educator provides access to 97,000 students, 24,000 of whom graduate each year. Suffice it to say, these students are supported by 365,000 healthcare alumni across five institutions. Built through strategic acquisitions, the brand lacked market clarity and limited emotional resonance. Adtalem turned to Starfish for an enterprise-wide brand transformation. Our objectives and goals were to develop a deep, ownable brand idea, elevate its purpose, create a powerful new name, visual identity, and messaging platform, align its institutions, inspire employees, and excite partners and investors.
Categorically, healthcare education is deeply human, aspirational, and rooted in service. That said, there was an underlying and unarticulated enterprise-wide belief that progress in healthcare starts with people. Inclusively and at scale, Adtalem develops skilled, compassionate professionals who strengthen and create a lasting impact across communities and care systems.
In our discovery phase, we identified an irrefutable brand truth: the organization's superpower and differentiator wasn’t rooted in any single institution, credential, or outcome. Its true strength lived at the intersection of access, education, and healthcare, enabling up to 97,000 students a year to answer the call to healthcare. As a singular entity, Adtalem offers a real-world solution to the industry’s worker shortage and delivers an impact that no standalone school could.
First, the name: A critical part of this assignment was to find a name that would demonstrate collective efforts honed by a single vision. We generated hundreds of names, each with an etymology, which are part of a multi-layer categorical construct. Covista: (pronounced co-vis-tuh) blends two “co”, standing for community, collaboration, and partnership, and “vista”, referencing future and vision. Unpacking the brand idea, “The Talent to Transform Healthcare,” Covista provides access, develops talent at scale, and equips individuals to improve lives and communities. In doing so, it transforms the organization from an owner of institutions to a steward of healthcare impact, clarifying its role for employees, partners, policymakers, and investors alike
