Special Thanks To Our Sponsors

Big Brand Impact on a Small Brand Budget

Michele Levy www.brand-strat.com

Use Twitter Hashtag #npweb

A Proud Sponsor of NonprofitWebinars.com

Helping ordinary people raise extraordinary amounts for nonprofits is all we do, and we love it.

Meet today’s speakers

•  Presenter: Michele Levy, brand strategy consultant •  Hosting: Sam Frank, Synthesis Partnership •  Assisting with chat questions: Chris Dumas,

FirstGiving

Let's face it...

You don’t have as much money as they do!

However...

It’s still possible to create a compelling high impact nonprofit brand.

What will you learn?

•  Identify existing brand assets and strengths •  Learn how to maximize those existing assets and

strengths •  Learn about cost-effective tools and techniques to

help boost your brand •  Determine how to track the effectiveness of your

efforts

Strong brands follow some simple rules

•  Know who you are…where you have been, and where you are going

•  Understand your audiences…who they are, and what they want

•  Be aware of your brand space…the other options your audiences can choose

•  Maintain an unwavering focus on the core of your brand

•  Build a consistent brand experience across all touchpoints

•  Create/empower passionate brand champions •  Never stop thinking about your brand

Understand your core

Deliver on your core

What’s at the core of your brand?

Getting to the core

•  What’s your mission? Why do you exist? What are your long term strategic goals?

•  Who are your audiences? What do they want from you?

•  Who else can provide the same, or similar, things? •  What differentiates you? What do you do better than

anyone else? •  What’s your reputation? What do you stand for? Is

that different from what you want to stand for long term?

Master brand messaging

Product/service brand hierarchy

Audience message matrix

Recommended communications

strategies:

• Brand maintenance • Awareness tactics • Lead gen tactics

• Relationship management tactics

• Communications calendar • Budget

• Measurement and evaluation

Visual identity Collateral Web site

Advertising Signage

Direct mail, etc.

Internal Discovery

External Discovery

Brand Strategy

Communications Plan

Creative Development

Brand strategy methodology

Strategy session Individual interviews

Focus groups Communications

audit

PRIMARY Visitor interviews

Member interviews Donor/funder interviews

Partner interviews

SECONDARY Competitive audit

Secondary literature review

Capitol Hill Day School is a community clearly passionate about the process of learning.

It’s a thoughtful group of individuals who are extraordinarily gifted at making the most of all the resources at their disposal.

From a cozy building and nurturing home base, students venture forth into the vast learning environment of the city (and beyond), equipped with the ability to ask questions, solve problems, and interact with a wide range of individuals.

At the end of the day, or the end of the trip, they return to that home base, secure in the knowledge that they are respected and loved as individuals, and as valuable members of the community. And when they exit the building for the last time as graduating 8th graders, it’s with an unparalleled confidence, a deep love of learning, and a genuine concern for those around them.

At the core…

First Night is about participating in art, and through art, community…right in your own backyard, regardless of where that backyard is located.

The selfless, scrappy team at First Night is uniquely skilled at making things happen in an extraordinarily inclusive and collaborative way.

Whether it’s New Year’s Eve, or a community arts event, they fearlessly dive in, combining tradition, innovation and an omnipresent sense of fun to create joyful programs and events that build connections, change lives and forever impact the community.

At the core…

The team at Hull Lifesaving Museum truly epitomizes the lifesaving spirit, consistently demonstrating skills, courage and caring. It’s an eclectic yet close-knit team who share a clarity of purpose and a sense of adventure…with no fear, no questions, and no turf wars.

The overwhelming impression of the people and their places is a gracious one. It’s an organization that draws people in and challenges them to draw the best out of themselves, while setting high expectations for shared values, collaboration and mutual respect.

At the core…

The complete brand platform

“This is what the quintessential American public school should look like.”

From the moment you cross the threshold it’s clear that E.L. Haynes is a place that changes lives…the lives of students, teachers, parents, and anyone else who spends even a moment in its lively environment. The people of E.L. Haynes are both engaged and engaging. Their passion is contagious, as is their commitment to high standards. It’s a team that relentlessly sweats the small stuff…constantly asking…Is this working? Could we do it better? The school is a microcosm of how society should be…an extraordinarily diverse group of individuals brought together by their investment in a shared goal…confident in their own abilities, compassionate towards the needs of each other, and completely driven to deliver on the mission in which they all thoroughly believe.

Desired perception

One of the most diverse schools in Washington DC, E.L. Haynes Public Charter School demonstrates what the American public school could, and should, be. Our students prove every day that every child can succeed.

Elevator pitch

E.L. Haynes will be a model of educational excellence and make a lasting impact on urban education in Washington, DC and across the nation.

Vision

Every E.L. Haynes student — regardless of race, socioeconomic status, or home language — will reach high levels of academic achievement and be prepared to succeed at the college of his or her choice. E.L. Haynes students will be instilled with a deep appreciation for mathematics and science and will develop the lifelong skills needed to be successful individuals, active community members, and responsible citizens.

Mission

Brand personality

The complete brand platform

Brand proof points

• A level of diversity not seen in other public charter schools • An outstanding teacher for every student, every year • A longer school year, and school day, that gives every child access to consistent, comprehensive,

high-quality educational experiences throughout the year • A commitment to measurement and continuous improvement • A comprehensive yet individualized approach that instructs all students well • A strong community with high levels of family involvement, and highly effective parent

communications • An incubator for excellence in teaching, identifying and sharing best practices within the District,

and nationwide

Core values

Be kind. Work hard. Get smart.

Students

Faculty and staff

•  Highly driven, well-rounded individuals

•  The ideal student “customer” is a visitor, and is not necessarily an art major…but they are willing to explore new things and new ways of thinking

•  Passionate, dedicated individuals engaged in the broader college community

•  The ideal faculty/staff “customer” is not limited to the art department

•  Developing their ability to think more broadly

•  Having an impact on their community

•  Developing “real world” experiences

•  Getting it all done •  Occasionally taking a

break from getting it all done!

•  Finding opportunities to expose their students to real works of art and new ways of thinking

•  Keeping their work and teaching relevant/fresh

•  Occasionally taking a break themselves

Audience Description Desired perceptions/behaviors Our messages to them

• ALL • We are a valuable resource. • We offer the unique opportunity to

see real works of art in your own backyard.

• We can help bring new perspectives to your studies, and to your hectic life.

• We are accessible across a variety of channels (don’t be intimidated!)

• We are “safe haven”, extremely supportive of experimentation.

• We support experimentation and risk-taking.

• FACULTY AND LEADERSHIP • Our collections, programs and staff

can help enrich the academic experience, and help create better students.

• We share your high intellectual standards and can be a valuable partner in helping to differentiate the Wellesley College experience.

•  To understand the role and value of DMCC within the context of the College

•  To see DMCC as a valued resource across a variety of dimensions (and to utilize it regularly)

•  To act as ambassadors for DMCC within their own spheres of influence

•  To understand the role and value of DMCC within the context of the College

•  To have greater investment in, and ownership of, DMCC and what it offers

•  To see DMCC as a valued resource and collaborator

Audience key concerns

Really understand your key audiences

Now that you have identified the core

Communicate… concisely and consistently

Build a consistent brand experience across all touchpoints

Historic properties

Traveling exhibitions

Library & archives

Publications

Speaking engagements

HistoricNewEngland.org

BRAND PROMISE Bringing to life the heritage and stories of New England through the homes and possessions of

those who lived here.

Public education programs

Outbound marketing

Development communications

What assets can you leverage across those touchpoints?

•  People…staff, board, volunteers, donors, served population

•  Places…brick & mortar, virtual, print

•  Stories…across a variety of formats

Use your people

•  Uniforms, name tags, swag •  Ambassador training •  Networking calendar (create it, commit to it) •  Business cards •  Social media •  Content creation

"I reckon about 20 percent of a brand is its physical attributes,

like a logo, color, letterheads. The rest is all about behavior.

Employees bring a brand to life; they are its ultimate custodians.”

-Ian Buckingham, Interbrand

For example…

Networking: put it in writing

Use your places

•  Signage…wayfinding and promotional •  A consistent experience •  Get ‘em in the door (physically or virtually)

PAPER SIGNS

How can you “get ‘em in the door”?

•  Virtual tours (or…actual tours!) •  YouTube •  Testimonials •  Video/audio experience

Check it out

•  http://www.nycballet.com/dancers/ •  http://www.cowc.org/worcester-region/worcester-

rocks-video •  http://www.concordacademy.org/

about_concord_academy/meanstome/index.aspx •  http://www.historicnewengland.org/historic-

properties/homes •  http://www.moma.org/

Stories make the brand real

•  Framingham: A welcoming community (“where you start the American dream”)

•  Framingham: The classic American middle-class town/the power of diversity

•  Framingham: A vital crossroads

•  Framingham: A tradition of volunteerism

•  Framingham: An economic engine for the region

•  Framingham’s place in the history of the nation

Inventory, organize and use them!

•  Framingham: A welcoming community (“where you start the American dream”)

•  Framingham: The classic American middle class town/the power of diversity

•  Framingham: A vital crossroads

•  Framingham: A tradition of volunteerism

•  Framingham: An economic engine for the region

•  Framingham’s place in the history of the nation

Campinelli First Catholic church

Immigrants then and now Refugees

Academy Clinton visit

Railways, water, highways

Heart Study, militia, veterans

Mills; corporations then and now “Creative economy” effort

Bonnets

For example…

The basic marketing tool kit

•  Web site •  Business cards •  Note cards •  Leave behind brochure (#10 brochure) •  Limited stationery + electronic templates •  Constant Contact template •  Postcards •  Posters

Your web site: a key place

•  Keep it current with an editorial calendar •  Make sure it’s professional •  Know the norms and best practices for your peer

group •  Layers of information (not all on the home page) •  Know who’s going there, and what they want •  Invest the time/money to establish a basic SEO

program

Sample: Editorial calendar

How do I know it’s working?

Well….what were your goals?

•  Clarify your success metrics (tangible and intangible) •  Tie the metrics to strategic goals •  Think broadly and creatively (e.g. visitor traffic, referral

volume, inbound inquiries, hits to Web site) •  Set reasonable timeframes, based on communications

volume and timing •  Measure against your own baseline, as well as industry

benchmarks •  Keep the dialogue going internally and externally

–  Understanding and acceptance of brand, messaging, communications tactics, etc.

•  Track what works and what doesn’t, then refine as appropriate

Find the listings for our current season of webinars and register at

NonprofitWebinars.com

Chris Dumas Chris@NonprofitWebinars.com

707-812-1234

Special Thanks To Our Sponsors