Joshua Blackburn, published in Charity Times July 2002
So goes the rhetoric anyway. But brand is becoming as crucial a tool in the world of nonprofit making as it is in the land of profit. For all charities, brand is becoming an increasingly powerful resource and it is about a lot more than just a logo or a strapline.
Building an engaging and focused brand can unlock your marketing and communications,
transform the internal workings of your organisation and give you strategic focus. NCVO, Oxfam and NSPCC are a few that have shown the difference a strong brand can make. And yet all charities have brands, whether they realise it or not. The challenge is to understand them and leverage them effectively.
For any organisation that deals with the public, that campaigns and lobbies, seeks a media profile, and has a message to convey, its brand is critical. Investment in your brand is money well spent when your fundraising goes up, your profile is raised and your goals are achieved more effectively.
Brand is one of those terribly misused words – a hostage of marketing and a casualty of hype. So let’s set the record straight. Your brand is, quite simply, who you are.
It is built on your sense of purpose and vision, expressed through your actions and communications and reflected in the loyalty of staff and supporters. Brand thinking combines strategy, management and communications and is in every pore of an organisation.
So what do you do when you decide to take brand seriously? Trendy brand consultancies are breeding like rabbits so look beyond the hip name and invented jargon.
Ideally you want an agency that has a reputation for strategic insight, strong creative skills and a real understanding of the specific needs of the charity sector. Brand projects can take up to a year, so find an agency that you can connect with and shares all the passion you have.
Right from the start, make sure that people from across the organisation are consulted and involved throughout the project. People resist change when they feel it’s imposed, but welcome it when they’ve been a part of it, even if this means just keeping them up-to-date with what’s going on.
The first stage will be to understand what your organisation is about. This means looking at what you stand for, what you do and what makes you unique. Alongside this, you must look at the world around you: Who is your brand talking to? Who is your competition? How is your world changing?
This stage can be one of the most important in the whole project. It should crystallise your thinking and force you to question what you’re trying to achieve and how. In this way, brand thinking is, simply put, a rigorous process in strategic planning.
From this point you can begin to define what your brand is about. Sometimes this means finding a single, compelling idea that lies at your heart of your organisation.
Other times there may be a cluster of interrelated ideas that shape who you are. It is from these seeds that you can grow your vision, values and personality‚ and define what kind of organisation you will be.
It’s one thing to know what your brand is but another thing to bring it to life. Your new brand might mean a new look, but it’s about a lot more besides. It’s about how you communicate and campaign, how you treat your supporters and client groups and how you work as an organisation.
It is here that your brand focuses on your organisational objectives and that you
Can make the difference between a cosmetic change or a strategic overhaul.
Getting the job done right takes time, commitment and money, so if all you want is a new logo, go to a designer. But if you’re thinking about where you want to be in the long term, it’s time to take brand seriously.