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“Mini”-Workshop

August 29, 2013

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What Your Brand Is NOT

• Logo symbol (brand mark)• Font• Color palette• Printed materials • Advertising• Mission statement

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What Your Brand Is

• How you answer the phone• How you greet and treat

people• Who you associate with• Your writing and communication skills• Your brand message (elevator pitch)• Your value proposition (what makes you different)• The promises that you keep and break• The principals that you and your organization live by

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What is a successful brand?

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“NFP Workshop” is a Successful Brand

Characteristics of a successful brand:

• Relevant• Purposeful• Dependable • Trustworthy• Meets needs• Instills loyalty• Brings people together • Lives by guiding principles• Makes us feel good• Often has a charismatic leader

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Successful or Rising Brands

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Declining or Failed Brands

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So branding is easy, right?

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Not so fast, Kimosabe

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Warning: Branding is not a licensed profession

• There is no certification for branding

• Truth is, very few people do it well

• Average tenure of a Chief Branding Officer in a Fortune 500 company is 18 months

• Approach branding with extreme caution and humility

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The Branding Timeline

• It usually takes a decade to build a strong, lasting brand

• It is NOT a 30-day promotion, 1-year campaign, or a 5-year project…

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• But in this case it only took 3 years!!!

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Your Brand Today

First: It’s what your employees, volunteers and partners say your brand is because they are the ones who know you the best

Second: It’s what your donors, beneficiaries and the general public say your brand is

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The Tactics (i.e. Tools) of Branding• Traditional

− Broadcast− Print− Outdoor− Publicity − Direct Mail − Events− Sponsorships− Telemarketing

• Digital − Direct Email− Profiling (list segmentation)− Websites− Social Media

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Things You Must Do to Achieve Great Branding

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1. Completely rethink the role of branding for your nonprofit

• Strategic use of branding will ensure your organization’s survival

• It needs to be elevated from just being used as a fundraising tool

• Drives your mission and maximizes community engagement

• Strengthens internal identity

• Must be led by your executive team and board of directors

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2. Make sure your brand is aligned with your mission, vision and values

• These are idealized statements about your organization’s purpose, where it is going, and what it stands for

• Great branding narrows the gaps between who you say you are (your brand promise) and who you really are (i.e. the experiences you deliver)

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3. Everyone in your organization must know and love your brand

• Do a survey of your employees to determine how they see or define your brand

• You may find out that there is a huge variation in how your employees see your brand

• Create an official description of your brand in 25 words or less

• Everyone should be able to recite it from memory

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Brand Description Examples

Metropolitan Ministries provides food, clothing, shelter and life changing programs to poor and homeless families giving them hope and leading them to self-sufficiency.

BayCare provides exceptional health care experiences to improve the health of all we serve.

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4. Everyone must also live the brand

• Build a hospitality culture• Answer the phone with a real person • Warmly greet people; make them feel

at home• Your employees must believe in your

brand and evangelize on its behalf • Partner with brands that are stronger

than yours• Keep all of your promises ESPECIALLY the little ones • If you screw up admit it and implement service recovery

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5. Use storytelling to promote your brand

• Since ancient times we have communicated through story-telling

• Promote your brand through real stories

• Use real clients, volunteers and donors

• Select stories that depict the heart and sole of your brand

• Connect emotionally with your target audience

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6. Get digital with your brand

• Assign unique phone numbers and web addresses to track responses

• Upgrade to an intelligent switchboard

• Track Likes, Shares and engagement on Facebook

• Record emails opened and read

• Tally click-throughs to online ads

• Count videos viewed on YouTube

• Use Google analytics for your web campaigns

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“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half”

John WanamakerFounder of Wanamaker Department Store

With digital technology we NOW know which half

is working.

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7. Build a website that is both interactive and optimized for search

• Today’s websites must be interactive versus static to engage visitors and include:

How to get involved Online giving options

Form submissions for more information Event registration Directions/maps

• You must also optimize your websites for search and mobile access

Key word search - SEO (unpaid)/ SEM (paid) Responsive Web Design (RWD)

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Responsive Web Design

Your website’s layout automatically configures to the user’s device.

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Why Responsive Web Design (RWD) Is A Must Strategy For You

*Internet users in millionsData from Morgan Stanley Research

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8. Embrace Social Media But Keep It Simple

• A Facebook page is a MUST

• YouTube is a great way to tell your brand story and emotionally connect using video

• Nonprofits are now using LinkedIn to promote their brands

nonprofit.linkedin.com

• Get Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn right before you do anything else

• Be honest, sincere and personal

• Use it for a two-way dialogue not a one-way sales pitch

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9. Great branding cannot occur in the presence of poor quality – product, service or intangible

• Poor quality is often nothing more than a series of small compromises

− Cereal− Small appliances− Airline luggage and legroom− Phone answering − Valet parking− Directory assistance− Restaurant bussing

• As brand leaders, we must commit ourselves to being obstacles to the small compromises

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10. Understand the Value Equation to maximize the value of your brand

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Brand Wisdom

“We are not in the coffee business serving people, we are in the people business serving coffee.”

Howard Schultz

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Brand Wisdom

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”

Mark Twain

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“No one sells products any more; we’re all selling services.”

Jack Welch

Brand Wisdom

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Brand Wisdom

“Not all those who wander are lost.”

J. R. R. Tolkien

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Open Discussion