Branding: A nonprofit perspective

This is the third blog in a three-part series from members of the NFP Council on branding in the NFP space. This piece digs into brand integrations across an NFP organization, sharing some considerations to bring your NFP along in the brand journey. Part 1 addressed branding, and Part 2 focused on steps to follow for a successful NFP rebrand. 

Brand can be a loaded word in the NFP space. NFPs do more with less, because we really want to support our missions and make the world a better place. But brand is not a magical unicorn that will fix or do everything an organization needs.  

Brand plays an important role across all audiences that engage with the NFP, including but not limited to those who the NFP serves, as well as funders and other key stakeholders. But a brand campaign is not a fundraising or recruitment campaign. Those campaigns have very different goals and purposes including specific calls to action and KPIs. A strong brand and a well executed brand campaign lay the foundation, so that your audience knows who you are and can be ready for your ask of them. And yet, the pressure for a brand campaign to do everything for every program is very real. 

If you water down your approach in order to make everyone happy, you risk a strategy that doesn’t break through or have the impact the organization needs it to have.

Another very real challenge is investing in brand. NFPs have limited budgets, and departments are competing for every available dollar. Investments need to drive immediate impact and demonstrate fiscal responsibility to donors. As a result, brand is often not a priority area. It can also feel ambiguous or philosophical for outside teams and stakeholders who are focused on their own deliverables and impacts.

These feelings can be reinforced when teams aren’t engaged.

Considerations for internal alignment

Getting internal buy in and integrating is tricky. Here are some quick considerations when you are embarking on investing in your NFP brand to ensure internal alignment:

• Stable investment: The first challenge is getting funding. Brands are not built overnight. They require steady investment year over year. It is important that both the board and leadership are committed to this approach before you start. Take the time to get that alignment, otherwise you will face pressure to show in year progress that won’t be fast enough for the pressures NFPs face. Is there a board champion or senior volunteer that understand brands that can help you here? 
  
• Break silos: Does your NFP feel siloed? You are not alone. Be mindful of how marketing is structured within the organization. Think about how teams work together.  How could this impact your strategy and execution?  
  
• Engage stakeholders: As mentioned in Part 2 of this blog series, it is important to consult with key stakeholders inside, outside and across the organization. You have to be clear on priorities as well as listen. Teams want meaningful engagement, but it is also equally important that this doesn’t become a democratic process. Just like you wouldn’t design a website by non-digital experts, the strategy shouldn’t be developed that way either. Otherwise, you will spend more time debating a colour or image versus focusing on the strategy.  
  
• Report back: Take your organization on a journey and provide regular updates. I am not talking about sharing creative or brand guidelines. This is an opportunity to educate the organization on the value of brand, the goals of the brand program or a specific brand campaign, as well as help teams connect how it will support their respective areas. Be consistent in the purpose, goals and progress. Reinforce that brand is not measured like direct response or performance marketing campaigns. But don’t get lost in the details. Keep it high level. By reporting back regularly, you can reinforce how brand KPIs impact organizational priorities. 
  
• Live the brand: Help teams across the NFP bring the brand to life. It is more than logos, fonts and colours. And no brand marketer wants their role focused on being the brand police. How are staff becoming brand ambassadors? How does the brand help bring a seamless experience to audiences who interact with your organization, looking at the full funnel and stakeholder journeys? This is the secret sauce. Because when staff are living the brand as ambassadors, it will permeate to all areas. 

Conclusion

NFPs face incredible challenges, stretching budgets to meet the needs of our society. Investing in brand will lift all boats, but cannot grow without careful investment, strategy and execution. Take the extra time to ensure internal alignment and engage across the organization. Help teams see the opportunity to integrate the brand in their respective area. Your NFP will be better for it.

Authors:
Emily Hencz-Thornton, Associate Director, Marketing & Communications, March of Dimes Canada
Mary Stranges, Vice President, Community Giving, UHN Foundation