Investing in our brand

Ali Sanders

Head of Brand, Macmillan Cancer Support

22 October 2014

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020

Nu

mb

er

New cancer cases

Cancer deaths

Cancer was changing

~0% annual

rate of change

~ -1% annual

rate of change

Sources: Office for National Statistics; Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland; Welsh Cancer Intelligence & Surveillance Unit; Northern Ireland

Cancer Registry; Cancer Research UK - Common cancers - UK mortality statistics; GLOBOCAN 2008 (IARC) (Accessed December 2010); Mistry et

al (2011) and Olsen et al (2008)

source: OLR Research

I’ve no idea where they

are, what they do. I’ve no

idea about them.

All I’ve heard

of is Macmillan

nurses.

…there was this very nice lady

who just had a badge on – the

usual clinic nurse. Then the

penny dropped – Macmillan –

and my blood froze.

Luckily, touch

wood, I’ve not had

to have dealings

with them.

5

Our ambition and what we do

Our ambition

Macmillan’s ambition is to reach and improve the lives of

everyone living with cancer. And inspire millions of other to

do the same.

What we do

We are a source of support: providing practical, medical,

emotional and financial support.

We are a force for change: listening to people affected

by cancer and working together for better cancer care.

terminally ill

Marie Curie

living

Macmillan

The space we want to occupy

cure

Cancer

Research UK

Our brand idea: Life force

Wolff Olins

Learn – our online brand identity

guidelines

Make – for people to create their

own materials

Order information –

pre-printed materials,

booklets, reports, audio titles

Order merchandise –

from t-shirts to

collection tins, signage to wigs

How we made the case for the rebrand

• We used evidence to make the case for change and

to support our new direction

• We dramatised the need (no sugar coating)

• We created a compelling vision for people to buy into

• We made sure trustees and directors weren’t just on

board but were leading the change

• We tried to pre-empt potential criticisms

• We set up a Brand Steering Group

• We held our nerve

Investing in brand advertising

Our current Not Alone campaign

Charity Awareness Monitor results

NSPCC, 23%British Heart Foundation, 23%

British Red Cross/ Red Cross, 26%

RSPCA, 33%

Cancer Research UK/unspec, 38%

Oxfam, 46%

Marie Curie, 12%Save The Children, 14%

Barnardo's, 18%

Macmillan (All mentions), 22%

Mar 11 May 11 Jul 11 Sep 11 Nov 11 Jan 12 Mar 12 May 12 Sep 12 Jan 13 May 13 Sep 13 Jan 14 Apr 14 Jul 14

%

Base: 1,000 adults 16+, Britain

Source: Charity Awareness Monitor, July 14, nfpSynergy

Income: 2004-20132014 target: £200 million

£ in

millio

ns

How we made the case for advertising (repeatedly)

• Working closely with our agencies to create a compelling

case for investment

• Demonstrating impact across a wide range of measures

• Always setting the context of competitor activity

• Quantifying the impact of our brand advertising on our

income (via econometric modelling)

• Reinforcing the need for long-term investment

Cancer information publications

Working harder on digital

Infographics

How we made the case for a refresh

• We worked closely with colleagues in Fundraising and

Services to help make the case

• We clearly demonstrated the need for the stretching the

identity: infographics (a passion of the CEO), digital etc.

• We kept costs down by having our creative team work

with our brand consultants

• We rolled out gradually to avoid wastage

Our latest refresh and new proposition

We’re evolving for the following reasons:

• To reflect the changing cancer story – more people

being diagnosed with cancer, and living longer, with the

issues ‘survivorship’ brings

• To reflect the shift in the more open and frank way

people talk about cancer

• To respond to competitors and ensure our brand is

dynamic and sector-leading

• To become more engaging to even more people

Creative spectrum

How we made the case for another refresh

• We worked closely with colleagues in Fundraising

to help make the case

• We backed it up with really robust evidence to

demonstrate the potential for positive impact

• Our creative team again worked with our brand

consultants so they could really own it and roll it out

effectively

• We reminded people of how successful a dynamic

approach to brand management has been for us.

So post-rebrand is it too early to reinvest?

• Is there a clear case – either a need or opportunity?

• Do you have the evidence to back it up?

• Have you done enough to embed the brand before

making any changes?

• Have you got colleagues on your side?

• Are you building understanding that your brand is a

dynamic, evolving thing and you management of it

should be too?

What are your

challenges?

Visit the CharityComms website to

view slides from our past events, see

what events we have coming up

and to check out what else we do.

www.charitycomms.org.uk

Workshop

22 October 2014

London

#CaseForComms

Making the case for

comms: unlocking the

purse strings