Branding
In the competitive and fast-paced world of nonprofits, the challenge of being one in thousands trying to make your voice heard is difficult. It’s not enough to simply be good at what you do – you have to find a way to differentiate yourself with a clear identity that supporters can relate to. Branding is a big word and can mean many things but approached thoughtfully with some basic understanding, it can be an important tool in raising funds, building support for programs and boosting public profile.
A nonprofit’s image or brand does matter
The question isn’t whether or not to brand, but is the current brand as good as it can be? Unless the answer is yes, branding and image should be on the strategic agenda of your organization. Every organization has a brand; some are very poorly defined or communicated. Whether or not you have consciously developed it, it exists and can be helpful to you or not. Every charity should be actively managing their image; the right image can make an organization more effective in delivering its goals.
Nonprofits can learn things from the commercial sector but we are unique as the constraints on a nonprofit organization are very different from the commercial sector. The images and brands of many charities are often created more by accident than design. Such images have evolved over time and were not the creation of a particular strategy.
Unfortunately, the importance of and need for charities to have a coherent brand is still disputed by many leaders in the sector. Branding is something that many organizations are still not comfortable with because it’s seen as navel-gazing or self-centered. As nonprofits we are supposed to be focused on our beneficiaries; we’re supposed to be selfless.
But can we be effective if we don’t have a solid brand?
People recognize certain brands – for example, the panda used by WWF is well known and recognizable – but can people really articulate what the organization does or stands for? Should WWF care that they may not be known well?
Having a well-known brand can allow you to change your mission and still keep your supporters. The Red Cross for example, has gone through a number of challenges and changes but people still look to them as the number one relief agency. So those are important things to keep in mind when working on your brand – What do you want? How will you achieve it?
For many people it is the language and terminology of branding that is something they do not want to deal with; it may be better to think of the brand of an organization along the lines of a “personality” of a person. It’s friendlier, understandable and can be more easily articulated. Use ideal words and phrases such as trustworthy, honesty, hard working, and results-oriented.
Organizations are really the product of a desire to change the world: to cure diseases, tackle poverty, stop animal cruelty and so on. This means their personalities are far deeper than those of most commercial brands. To use commercial techniques for such powerful brands may be expensive and unnecessary. We can learn something from the commercial sector but have to make it our own.
The development of the right image is not just for a few rich groups. Every charity, community group or voluntary organization can bring clarity to its key audiences, messages, values, and mission. Doing this can be done for free or next to nothing if you’re pushed to that – though unquestionably it will take up people’s time.
A powerful nonprofit’s brand is based on its values
Most voluntary and community groups are started because of the passionate beliefs of a few individuals. While this original idea or passion can be diluted or distorted over the years, there is probably still something there to discover and uncover – beliefs and values.
The brand is not usually what an advertising agency designs; instead it’s based on what lies at the heart and soul of an organization. You need to learn how to take those beliefs and values and make them shine within your brand.
Nonprofit organizations are rooted in a set of beliefs. You exist because you have a view about how you would like the world to be and how it currently is. These beliefs can be very small scale and local – i.e. Dovercourt Boys’& Girls’ Club – “we provide a safe alternative for the youth in the community” – or very all embracing and global – i.e. Unicef – “the children around the world are entitled to basic education, and basic health care”. Using these beliefs can create an organization and drive it forward. These beliefs should form the basis of your brand or personality.
Beliefs, mission, vision and values are critical. Defining why an organization exists, what it is trying to achieve, what it believes and the way in which it will work is one of the most important tasks any organization has. In a world competitive for funds where services can rarely meet the demand, defining the role that your organization will play is critical.
You cannot or should not go through any kind of marketing or branding without knowing who you are, what your mission and vision are and why you exist. You should determine what you would put in your ‘bell jar’ –what’s untouchable about you – before you start into anything because branding can take you in a number of different ways, and the process needs to be managed and clear.
Do you know who your audience is?
You know who you are, and what you’re about. Now who are you going to appeal to? This idea may not be easily understood – but it’s important.
Do you really know who your audience is? It is hard to be everything to everyone, so why try? How about choosing quality over quantity? We spend a lot of time putting the brand on the messages and the materials, but do we think it through to the audience enough? Agencies, volunteers – they can all drive you to the BHAGS – the Big Hairy Audacious Goals!
All audiences are important, but some audiences may be more important than others. Too many charities have a target audience, which is “the public”. The general public is a hugely important audience, but it’s a hugely BIG audience. The resources needed to create or change the image of an organization in the eyes of the public is really beyond all but the largest of groups.
It might be much more potent to have a limited number of target audiences who are clearly defined and hopefully easily reached. Target key demographic groups rather than the public as a whole.
Perception is reality
You work really hard on your branding, logo, colours and tagline and you’re done. Right?
Wrong! You can work on your brand and try and influence, but at the end of the day, you do not define your brand. Your brand is defined by what your constituents think about you. All you can do is try to influence their perception or be open to receiving their influence and going with it. It’s not a discreet piece of work –it has to live in everything you do.
Brands are influenced by everything you do and say, and what other people say about you. Be aware of this and try to manage it. Brands are influenced by awards or media articles about your organization. However brands are also influenced by things that may not be so rational or obvious– the way you design your materials, what your website says, how much your organization mails out materials and even right down to the way your receptionist answers the phone. Everything you do influences how people perceive your brand and everyone in the organization has a responsibility to drive the branding.
An image of an organization is created in people’s minds in a myriad of different ways. Even more difficult is that two people can have an identical service from an organization but come away with entirely different perceptions. How do you manage that? Every experience a supporter or prospective supporter has with your organization contributes to their image of it. A person will often have a number of specific experiences which are critical in creating a perception in their mind. So brands cannot be one-dimensional, based on name and packaging, but must be multidimensional and cross everything you do.
Ensure that the messages and images you’re communicating are clear, and key messages are developed and shared with everyone. Perception does not just create reality externally about the brand, but internally as well. Few things are a bigger turn-off for staff than seeing a discrepancy between what the organization says its brand stands for and what it does.
You need to be ready for success
You work at your brand, you get it right – and good heavens – it works! People talk all the time about preparing for hard times, disasters, and failure, but it is just as important to get ready for success.
It is necessary not simply to have a strategy, but to have a strategy that addresses the tasks that need to be done and the ability to live up to the brand that you create. Someone needs to be the champion of the brand and work in-house to ensure it happens. You must be prepared to manage a great brand and the success that might go with it. Ideally this is the President or Executive Director because then it permeates into the whole organization.
Maybe the right analogy here would be physical fitness. Being physically fit helps people do their everyday activities with greater ease and more effectiveness. Fit people will have less illness, live longer and recover more quickly when problems strike. Organizations with the right image will be better placed to attract the best staff, win contracts, generate income and overcome setbacks or difficulties that the outside world throws at them. Physically fit organizations will also be ready to accept and change and flow with success.
Successful branding can bring scrutiny, attention, demands, expectations, and stressed out staff. So prepare yourself for success. Look at what successful branding might mean for you and your organization, including the budget, staff, structure and strategic plan. Think about how flexible and adaptable you could be, want to be and are willing to be. And think about all of that before you get into the branding exercise, then work hard, have fun – and be successful!
Remember branding takes time and patience. It is probably only when key messages become thoroughly nauseating and boring to the people who have to say them every day that they are percolating through to the audiences for whom they are intended!
Five Good Resources
- Brand Hijack, Alex Wipperfurth, Penguin Group, 2006
- Purple Cow, Seth Godin, Portfolio, 2003
- Made To Stick, Chip & Dan Heath, Random House Publishing Group,2007
- Moments of Truth, Jan Carlzon, HarperCollins Publishers, 1989.
- Good to Great and the Social Sectors, Jim Collins, HarperCollins Publishers 2005.