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Developing and Building a Great Nonprofit Brand
Agenda
• The case for branding• What makes a strong brand• Elements of a brand• Assessing your brand• Expressing your brand
Why should nonprofits care about branding?
• Branding is not just for profit• You have a brand, choose to manage it:
o Mission drives the brando Stakeholders have expectations of the brando Strategies can strengthen the brando Employees, board and volunteers deliver on the brando Materials express the brand
• A strong brand drives internal alignment• A strong brand builds external trust and credibility
There is a practical approach to branding nonprofits
What are some great nonprofit brands?
And what makes them great?
2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend® Rankings for Nonprofit Brands
Animal Welfare
Disability
Environmental
Social Services
Youth
Health
Great Brands…
• Clear sense of who they are• Are disciplined and focused• Tell good stories• Internally and externally aligned• Stakeholders have tools, room to deliver• Consistently meet or exceed expectations
Defining Brand
A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.
- Seth Godin
Everything Communicates the Brand
1. Core Purpose Why you exist
2. Programs and Services Support the core purpose
3. Staff, Board, Volunteers Deliver the experience
4. Online Presence Website, social media – look and voice
5. Physical Space Physical representation of the brand
6. Name, Logo, Collateral, Look and Feel Creative expression of the brand
Awareness: Have they heard of us? Baseline.
Perception: What do they know, what do they think about us?
Understanding.
Relevance: Do they need us? Can they live without us?Rational connection.
Resonance: How do wemake them feel?
Alignment of values. Emotional connection.
Engagement:What will they do?
Action and loyalty.
Levels of Audience Interaction With a Brand
Understand Your Brand
1. Purpose and message
2. Audiences and stakeholders
3. Programs and offerings
4. Service and communication
5. Look and feel
Performing a Brand Audit
1. Interviews and focus groups tell you what and why
Employees Board members Donors Volunteers
2. Surveys tell you how much and how many
Donors Partners Stakeholders
3. Review materials for the three “C's”:
Clarity Creativity Consistency
Expressing a Nonprofit Brand
1. Core purpose
2. Name, logo and brand guidelines
Expressing a Nonprofit Brand
1. Core purpose
2. Name, logo and brand guidelines
3. Message platform
Message Platform
• Elevator pitcho One or two sentences in lengtho 40,000 foot view of who you are and why you’re here
• Build key messages from elevator pitcho Limit key messages to no more than fiveo Present messages in bullet list formo Messages support elevator speecho Each message must be concise and to the point
• Ensure all stakeholders internalize key messages
Expressing a Nonprofit Brand
1. Core purpose
2. Name, logo and brand guidelines
3. Message platform
4. Images and stories
www.stocklayouts.com
Expressing a Nonprofit Brand
1. Core purpose
2. Name, logo and brand guidelines
3. Message platform
4. Images and stories
5. Audience experience
6. Training for staff, board, volunteers
Protecting Your Brand
• Establish brand look and feel• Library of approved, royalty-free stock images• Copyrights and trademarks• URLs, in all their variations
Common branding mistakes
• Four-color logos• Logo is my brand• Mission is my brand• Not training the front line • Mission creep• Inconsistent experiences• Employees, volunteers, board members not empowered
to deliver on the brand
Do’s of a Strong Brand
• Promises made and kept... over time• Consistency in messaging, visuals• Experiences that delight audiences• Clear sense of what the brand stands for• Staff, board members know how to deliver on the brand• Not just a logo or a tagline
