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BRANDING MAGAZINE / june 2015

| The Branding Roundtable

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BRANDING MAGAZINEJUNE 2015

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brandingmagazine.com

Nonprofit Branding

http://www.brandingmagazine.com

BRANDING MAGAZINE

Chuck KentWriter & Contributing [email protected]

David BrbaklicCreative [email protected]

We are an independent and global journal, narrating the discussion around branding with insightful sources of news and opinions from the industry. Our dedicated team of writers strives to keep readers informed and intrigued with unique work from brands across the globe, concentrating on fresh brand strategies, executions, identities, development, and overall evolution. And it’s not just us. We’re supported by a beloved group of renowned experts who collaborate and celebrate creativity by bringing their international expertise and experiences to our pages.

Together, we propel a vision in which quality content is the value exchange. Together, we applaud the work of our peers, big and small. Together, we persevere with enthusiasm and curiosity, across both themes and borders.

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The Branding Roundtable

B

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#13

Nonprofit Branding

Brands are often envisioned as

principally belonging to the realm of

business, whether to provide corporate

identities, product line architecture or,

in the broadest strategic sense, to be

assets, as both the repositories and

drivers of value. In short, they are the

stuff of successful – which is to say

profitable – commerce.

But what about the nonprofit realm?

According to World Bank figures, if the

nonprofit sector were a country, it would

have the world’s 17th largest economy.

Given both their significant economic

impact and continual financial need, can

nonprofits also reap the organizational,

marketing and overall value-creation

benefits of an investment in branding?



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More and more organizations, and branding experts, seem to believe the answer

is a resounding “Yes.” So, in this month’s Branding Roundtable, we’ve reached

out to a noted academic and author on the subject, the head of branding for an

international nonprofit, and the CEO of a branding firm that serves both for prof-

it and nonprofit organizations:

Nathalie Laidler-Kylander, Ph.D., is a Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard Uni-

versity, and the co-author of The Brand Idea: Managing Nonprofit Brands with

Integrity, Democracy, and Affinity

John Mayo-Smith is the on the Executive Committee, Marketing & Technology

Chair, and a Board Member of the International Dyslexia Association.

Brian Walker is the Founder & CEO of AE Marketing Group.

I encourage you to read, learn from their different perspectives, and then share

your own observations in the comment section of the article introducing this

Roundtable.

Chuck Kent

Contributing Editor and Moderator of The Branding Roundtable

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/nathalie-laidler-kylander/10/905/8aa

http://www.nonprofitbrandidea.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmayosmith

http://eida.org/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianwalkerchi

http://aemarketinggroup.com/

http://www.brandingmagazine.com/author/chuck-kent/



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What is your definition of a brand, specifically applied to nonprofits?”

“

Chuck Kent: Nathalie Laidler-Kylander, Harvard University

A brand is, first and foremost, a differentiator, allowing audiences to identify one organization (or product) from another. It is therefore connected to the concept of posi-tioning. A brand is a strategic, intangible asset. Indeed for many organizations, it is the most important and valuable asset they have.

For nonprofit organizations, the brand is both the em-bodiment and articulation of the mission and answers the questions: who you are; what you do; and why it’s important. Remember that brand has both an internal, sometimes aspirational dimension, the brand identity, and an external perception, the brand image.

Brian Walker, AE Marketing Group

A nonprofit brand is a balance of internal forces (em-ployees, operations, services) and external forces (cus-tomers, donors, community/government organizations) mixed with design and data to create a good experience.

Often brands, especially nonprofit brands, tend to think of brand as a creative or marketing function, rather than an organizational function. That’s a big mistake.

John Mayo-Smith, International Dyslexia Association (IDA)

[A brand is] an identity with aspirational and distinctive attributes that inspire people to act. With respect to the IDA, it’s finding a balance between the organization’s rich research-based heritage and the extraordinary dig-ital community engagement opportunities.

“For nonprofit organizations, the brand is both the embodiment and articulation of the mission …”

Nathalie Laidler-Kylander,Harvard University



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“The great benefit of nonprofit branding is

that the audience is, by definition, committed

and passionate.”

John Mayo-Smith, IDA

The great benefit of nonprofit branding is that the audi-ence is, by definition, committed and passionate. Aspira-tional attributes are built-in and authentic. In contrast, for profit brands are in a position where the aspiration and passion is carefully (and expensively) contrived.

Nathalie Laidler-Kylander, Harvard University

In both the private and nonprofit sectors, a brand pro-motes trust and attracts resources (both financial and human). This trust can be particularly important for non-profit organizations when the donors and beneficiaries are not one and the same.

In the for profit sector, the main brand audience is the customer who is also the purchaser of the product and service. If the product or service is unsatisfactory, there is an immediate feedback loop to the company (cus-tomers will complain and stop buying the products). In the nonprofit sector the donors are often not the direct beneficiaries of the service or activity the nonprofit or-ganization produces and therefore it is more difficult for them to judge the product. Instead, they (and other stakeholders) need to rely on the trust they have that the organization will indeed deliver what it says it will. The brand is the main vehicle for this trust. –John Mayo-Smith, IDA

What are the main benefits of branding for a nonprofit (and please speak to how that may differ from for profit branding)?

Chuck Kent: Our research also suggests that for nonprofit organiza-tions, brand plays an important internal role, providing cohesion and guidance to staff and volunteers. Some have described the brand as a sort of North Star, helping internal stakeholders align their work and decisions to the mission.


Beyond the obvious benefit that a strong non-profit brand often equals more financial support and resources, two additional benefits come to mind – Culture and Commu-nity.

On the culture front, most people do not work at a non-profit for the money, so building a strong brand from the inside out is critical to engage current employees and attract future staff. From a community perspective, branding helps connect individuals who are emotionally linked to the non-profit’s mission. Bringing those people together fuels learning, support systems and awareness that might not otherwise occur.



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“For profit brands would pay almost anything to have the passionate audience nonprofits attract.”


Do you feel nonprofit branding has risen to the level of a strategic tool, or does it still mostly used for more tactical, transactional functions, like fundraising?

Chuck Kent:


It is rising [as a strategic tool]. Not as fast as it should, however. Some nonprofits are still stuck in the silos of brand (marketing vs. development). What those orga-nizations need to understand is that brand transcends every aspect of who you are and what you do. If you can fuel that strategic mindset, you will be much more suc-cessful and create good experiences.


While there are a handful of sophisticated nonprofits that use branding strategically, most have an opportunity to extend their distinctiveness and centrality in ways that will differentiate their cause. I think most nonprofits (in-cluding the IDA) are leaving a good deal on the table with respect to passion and engagement. For profit brands would pay almost anything to have the passionate audi-ence nonprofits attract.


We believe that we are seeing a paradigm shift in the way nonprofit leaders are both understanding and managing their brands. Rather than using and managing brand as a fundraising tool, divorced to some extent from the mission of the organization, some nonprofit leaders un-derstand that their brands are strategic assets, critical to successful mission implementation. Funders and do-nors therefore become just one of a number of important brand audiences.



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What are the biggest challenges with getting a nonprofit organization – from leadership to employees – to embrace branding?


The biggest challenge to embracing the importance of brand is the skepticism that exists with regards to mar-keting and branding. Often viewed as distasteful, private sector activities, some nonprofit leaders and employees simply believe that their good intent and work will “speak for itself”. Make no mistake; the question is not wheth-er to brand or not to brand ¬– everything and everyone has a brand! The relevant question becomes how to most effectively manage the brand to achieve the goals you have defined. As nonprofit leaders and employees start to think about their brand as a strategic asset that can drive mission implementation, the skepticism can start to be overcome.


The biggest challenge is getting them to recognize that brand is not another expense that comes out of a mar-keting P&L. You can’t afford to not invest in brand, in-cluding your internal and external audiences. Like any organization (for profit or nonprofit), leadership must walk the talk and build a brand culture. Employees are critical to the brand experience as they are the ones de-livering your products or services. Engage and empower them to have shared ownership in the brand.

Also, if and when you decide to spend precious dollars on external marketing, recognize that it doesn’t have to be at expense of your mission. Just like for profits, in-cremental marketing may help you grow and expand to deliver value you hadn’t realized before.


In my experience, we’re in a transitional period; sea-soned nonprofit leaders either have a development sen-sibility or a digital branding sensibility -- rarely both.

“Like any organization (for profit or nonprofit), leadership must walk the talk and build a brand culture.”

– Brian Walker, AE Marketing Group



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Is branding equally important – and is the investment in branding equally valuable – for all sizes of nonprofits?

Chuck Kent:


Branding is important for nonprofits of all sizes, espe-cially smaller organizations. Nonprofits have what for profits want -- a passionate audience. This means all nonprofits should absolutely take full advantage of the brand – they would be silly not to.


We believe that managing your brand effectively is not a question of financial resources but has more to do with a mindset and approach. Building your brand through participative engagement and creating and supporting brand ambassadors is important for organizations of all sizes and at all points in their organizational lifecy-cle. The challenges you might encounter in managing your brand might be different but the ongoing process of aligning identity and image and developing brand am-bassadors remains critical for all organizations.


Absolutely. Investing in brand doesn’t necessarily mean money. Your culture, your people, your experiences are all critical aspects of your brand. No matter how big or small the organization, if the brand is in chaos, spending on marketing tactics won’t matter.



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“…keen organizational self- awareness is what can… be translated into an authentic and relevant brand.”

– Nathalie Laidler-Kylander, Harvard University

Innovation is seen as key to driving brand relevance – does that also apply in nonprofit branding and, if so, what does that look like?


I would say that innovation per se is not critical for brand relevance. What is important is the ability of an organi-zation to have clarity in terms of its mission, theory of change and unique strengths and abilities. This keen or-ganizational self-awareness is what can then be trans-lated into an authentic and relevant brand.


The best innovation any brand (for profit or nonprofit) can apply is to keep it simple. Too often, we overthink and overcomplicate what we do and how we do it for the sake of being “innovative.”


The most successful nonprofits are doing lots of exper-imentation. In digital there’s very little cost to experi-mentation and always lots to learn. At the IDA we are A/B testing memes, posts, articles, and digital channels. Some experiments work, some don’t. Going forward the data we’re collecting will help make informed choices and, in turn, save more lives.



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“Marketing a nonprofit brand is often more competitive since you are not just competing against share of wallet, but also against an emotional range of purpose.”– Brian Walker, AE Marketing Group

Purpose is very much the thing in all of branding these days – how does that play out in an arena that is inherently purpose-driven?

Chuck Kent: John Mayo-Smith, IDA

Many for profit brands act like nonprofits to sell more products and services. This is nothing new. For profit brands mimic contextual, visual and emotional nonprofit brand attributes because it works. It’s a powerful way to engage customers.


Purpose is actually a double-edged sword in world of nonprofit as everyone has a different purpose or cause that motivates them. Marketing a nonprofit brand is of-ten more competitive since you are not just competing against share of wallet, but also against an emotional range of purpose.


Purpose and the ability to connect emotionally and meaningfully to our key stakeholders is an inherent ad-vantage that nonprofit brands have not fully leveraged.

We have a wonderful opportunity to engage our support-ers and partners in many meaningful ways and to use the power of our brands to create deep, purpose-driv-en connections that result in dedicated brand ambassa-dors. Next time you engage with your supporters, think of ways they can participate that go beyond a financial transaction. How can you ask them to “do” something and become your organization’s advocates? How can you support them to take action so that they become an extension of your organization and implementers of the mission?



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“The enemy isn’t the “other” nonprofit, the enemy is duplication of effort.” – John Mayo-Smith, IDA

Do branding concepts like positioning – which can be taken as an inherently competitive tool – apply in nonprofits, which are often seen (or idealized) as more cooperative than competitive?

Chuck Kent:


In the private sector, one of the main roles of the brand is to create competitive advantage through positioning. In the nonprofit sector, brand still plays this role of posi-tioning relative to other actors and players in the same ecosystem or space. However, clear positioning can ac-tually reduce competition for funds since organizations are more focused in terms of what they do and do not do, reducing mission drift and the urge to follow all funding however tangentially related to the mission. In addition, clarity in positioning helps nonprofits identify and attract key partners that are complimentary and can help them in the implementation of their missions.


This is a great question and one our organization is work-ing hard to answer. I think the big question is how all nonprofits can complement each other. The enemy isn’t the “other” nonprofit, the enemy is duplication of effort. Nonprofits need to position themselves in a way where there’s little or no duplication of effort.


As long as an organization understands a brand position must be more than words, it most certainly applies to nonprofit. Positioning can also be a low-cost way to en-gage internal audiences and be efficient, effective and compelling in how a nonprofit communicates its mission, culture, services and vision.



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What are the big opportunities in nonprofit branding today – particularly ones that may still be underutilized?


Two opportunities come to mind:

1. Co-creation to design new experiences and ser-vices together with their community. This strategy is gaining momentum in the for profit space and is equally powerful for nonprofit brands.

2. Asking for help. We are in an era when doing good is good business. Many organizations (and their employ-ees) want to make a difference, so nonprofits need to re-cruit partners to help fuel their growth.


One of the biggest opportunities that nonprofit organiza-tions have today is to use their brands to identify, attract and develop partnerships of all kinds, that will help them drive mission implementation in new collaborative ways, increasing effectiveness, efficiency and overall impact.


I think we’re just scratching the surface of social, mobile, the cloud, and big data. Social because nonprofits are inherently networked entities that drive policy; mobile because the touch points are external; the cloud because of the cost savings; and big data because it’s easier than ever to track and measure the impact of your donation.

Chuck Kent:



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Can you describe a specific nonprofit organization that you believe is making especially good use of branding?


Too many to mention here! The Brand Idea: Managing

Nonprofit Brands with Integrity, Democracy, and Affini-

ty, which I co-authored with Julia Shepherd Stenzel, in-cludes many examples and additional resources.


I am a big fan of Bright Pink. Bright Pink was once a small nonprofit that found a purpose and market niche and, while competing in a world of much larger nonprof-it brands, now has grown to impact millions of women. The growth and community impact at Bright Pink was all made possible by its Founder and CEO Lindsay Avner and her team, building a tremendous brand experience.


MoMa is a great example of an organization with an in-credibly powerful brand rooted in the passions of an exceptionally dedicated community. Autism Speaks is doing an fantastic job delivering a consistent message. Understood.org is doing a great job creating a safe hav-en and cutting through the cacophony of the web. Sierra Club and Environmental Defense Fund also have strong brands online and off. Dana Farber Cancer Institute has a strong brand but could, perhaps, do much more in the digital space.

Chuck Kent:



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NEXT MONTHon The Branding Roundtable:

Luxury Branding

Moderator:Chuck Kent

Independent Brand Strategist, Writer & Contributing Editor, Branding Magazine

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