Challenging Convention: Branding a Nonprofit
While nonprofits strive to spend every dollar they can against delivering their mission, carefully allotted funds must also be distributed to the efforts that keep their work visible. Branding has quickly become one of the necessary investments these organizations embrace, realizing that their dollars go a long way once they begin to capture attention for all the right reasons. After all, convincing individuals, partners, and influencers that your institution is worthy of their support over peer organizations is a daunting task. Here’s what we’ve learned from our engagements with nonprofit organizations from universities, to social service organizations, to foundations.
Define first, visibility will follow
Define first who you are before bemoaning the fact that your organization is not getting as many press hits as your peers. There is a tendency to think that the challenge in achieving more visibility and funding centers on good public relations, when in fact, the first step is to reel back and identify what makes an organization truly distinctive. We experienced this phenomenon with our client, the Berklee College of Music. They were bewildered about why they had less press coverage than Juilliard. There is no shortage of things that make Berklee different. This gave the institution a compelling communications platform. Over the year it was introduced, for the first time, the college acquired corporate supporters, coverage on the Today Show and The New York Times.
CONVINCING INDIVIDUALS, PARTNERS, AND INFLUENCERS THAT YOUR INSTITUTION IS WORTHY OF THEIR SUPPORT OVER PEER ORGANIZATIONS IS A DAUNTING TASK.
Promise “healthchecks” ensure relevancy
Uncovering an organization’s defining promise will provide an enduring communications platform. However, our ever-changing climate requires that an organization’s promise remains relevant. We encountered this with Girl Scouts of the USA. While a revered institution, many individuals regarded their image as “cookies and camping.” Around them, young women were achieving unprecedented achievements in government, sports, medicine, business, etc. We recast their promise to be “Where girls grow strong.” This reasserted the vital contribution they make in the lives of today’s young women. We dimensionalized the promise by identifying the many ways in which the Girl Scouts helped to build strength-strong minds, strong bodies, strong values, etc.
Don’t tell me, show me
Mission-driven organizations make sure that they deliver their promise, day in, day out. In the case of the Girl Scouts, based on their revised brand positioning and the discovery of their unique brand promise, they dramatically altered their supporting behaviors and communications. Recognition badges were updated from “Superior Housecleaning” to “Stellar Community Service;” a Girl Scouts Research Institute was established to field and publish proprietary research; a new advertising campaign invoked the names of renowned former Girl Scouts to inspire the next generation— “Where Madeline Albright Learned to Put Out Fires,” etc. And lastly, those well known cookie boxes had a package-design overhaul to more powerfully tell the vibrant story of instilling values in today’s Girl Scouts.
Using the “B” word
While some organizations are comfortable with the idea of branding, others find the term alien and off-putting. Employing the term’s promise, story, and unique values, are equally effective ways of gaining trust among staff members. They must feel that the promise is organic, an accurate reflection of their mission and what makes them different, not the conceit of some marketing or branding firm.
Distinctive identities count
While nonprofit institutions don’t have the investment muscle a private enterprise like Nike has to establish a “swoosh,” a distinctive mark can contribute toward higher recognition and a deeper connection with its constituencies. Think the Red Cross, AIDS, etc. After creating the Berklee promise of “Nothing Conservatory About It,” we created a brand new, animated logo and visual system to reflect the diversity and vibrancy of the institution. Similarly, for Safe Horizon, the city’s leading provider of services to victims of violence, we recast their mark to reflect a symbol of hope and regeneration, retaining their trademark orange color. While the journey will be longer for both organizations to establish these marks, consistent use on posters, billboards, mail solicitations, etc., will contribute to the recognition of their important societal contributions.
Determining success or failure
Staff of nonprofit organizations are drawn to their work because of the mission. It is critical to involve a representative cross section in any type of branding initiative. Their involvement may be on a task force, through participation in an online survey that allows them to give their input on current perceptions, or in identifying mismatched internal and external views of the organization. Similarly, it is vital to include a member or two from a board of governors or directors. All findings and recommendations should be buttressed with hard facts. If the results reflect a shift to remain relevant in a changing environment, then this must be approached objectively and convincingly, with an intelligent migration plan.
Measure, measure, measure
As nonprofits grapple with attracting more funding and measuring the effectiveness of grants that have been awarded, contributors, partners, and donors all demand hard core evidence that their investments are working. This places an even greater pressure to set up the proper metrics to measure success. These measures address increased awareness (tracking study), visibility (press mentions), and support (increased contributions, corporate donations, sponsorships, etc.).
Uphold a “sacred trust”
When battered women’s lives are at risk, when the world’s living ecosystems are threatened, or when universities must define their unique philosophy, the challenge takes on a deeper significance. In these cases, the commitment to create clear, superior branding is a sacred trust. Every word, every action must be deliberated and weighed, then weighed again. It is a privilege to apply the disciplines of branding to these vital institutions.