Ch. 07.doc

CHAPTER SEVEN BRANDING Key Points The purpose of this chapter is to discuss branding in the nonprofit environment. Branding is a concept taken from the corporate sector that can apply to an organization, a campaign, a country, a person or a political candidate. Support for branding within nonprofits is still controversial, many feeling it takes away vital resources while others believe it concentrates efforts resulting in being better able to raise funds, support clients and attract volunteers. The brand can reflect a unique social contribution, compose a promise to the target audiences and reflect the organization’s values and mission. Steps in creating a brand involve understanding the target audience and how they view you versus the competition (the brand’s positioning – chapter six). Once positioned, the organization needs to carefully choose a brand name, logo, spokesperson(s), the brand promise symbols, slogan and brand “look.” Staff support is critical because staff members must “live the brand” and not unconsciously contradict the brand promise, undercutting the major effort required. A high value brand can help in securing funding, volunteers and community support. It is valuable in motivating staff, volunteers and donors, but since it is subject to changing environments, must be consistently and continually protected. Chapter Outline Branding basics Is branding a good thing? Brands and nonprofits Brandings roles Brand dimensions of trust Building a brand Distinguishing traits Steps to create a nonprofit organizational or campaign brand Important concerns Brand details The Brand name The Logo The Slogan The “Look” The brand promise The spokesperson(s) Symbols Living the brand Campaign branding Campaign branding examples Vignette: The Special Olympics Goes Hollywood In order to build its brand, Special Olympics took a risk and participated in a movie by the well-known Farelly brothers (Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary) called “The Ringer.” Although participating in the movie about a non-handicapped athlete participating the Special Olympics carried some risks, it was viewed as an exceptional opportunity to reach a difficult-to-reach target audience with the Special Olympics key messages. The result was that the movie generated $60,000 in direct revenues and more than 1,000 newspaper article mentions. After the movie opened, visits to the Special Olympics Web site increased dramatically and a MySpace site was created where more than 400,000 people discussed the film. Chapter Summary The purpose of this chapter is to create an understanding of the elements of branding and how they are applied in a nonprofit environment. At the beginning of the 21st Century, nonprofits are being more aggressive about branding their organizations and their campaigns, but not everyone is supportive of this trend. Some authors decry the “Nikefication” of nonprofits and that societies are becoming “McDonaldized” to their detriment. Some feel it fosters unhealthy competition and redirects funding at building name recognition rather than supporting the causes the organizations are supposed to exist to support. Others see it as an opportunity to raise profiles to the extent that organizations are able to raise more money, find more volunteers and support their causes even more effectively than if they weren’t branded. Worldwide, nonprofit brands are becoming quite powerful. The Edelman Public Relations “trust barometer”™ found that the top four most trusted brands in Europe were, in fact, nonprofits: Amnesty International, World Wildlife Fund, Greenpeace, and Oxfam. Authors argue that nonprofits do so well on the trust dimension is attributable to five factors: (1) Target audiences are less suspicious of the motivations of nonprofits; (2) The organization’s missions are of high social value; (3) The ranked organizations operate with one brand in all their activities – unlike many for-profits who operate with many sub-brands; (4) The is little ambiguity in the top nonprofit organizations’ objectives and consistency over time; and (5) Because nonprofits often deal with highly emotional or newsworthy issues (global warming, famine, etc. ) nonprofit organizations can command significant media coverage , which compensates for limited promotional budgets. To be successful, brands must have distinctiveness and a “unique selling proposition”. Research on nine nonprofits uncovered several distinguishing traits for a nonprofit: stimulating a variety of emotions in their donors; having a distinctive media voice; offering a different type of service; or evoking a sense of tradition. The authors identify seven steps to create or reposition a brand. They are: (1) Decide on what you want the brand to do and who are the brand’s key audiences; (2) Conduct qualitative research among key audiences to understand the brand competitor positions; (3) Conduct quantitative research to identify competitive positions and the “space” available in the competitive landscape; (4) Based on the research, determine if you are satisfied with your current position, and if not where change is necessary – define the position’s brand and brand promise; (5) Get consensus from staff and board; (6) Develop and pre-test an integrated brand strategy; and (7) Monitor the impact of the branding strategy continually. According to Steven Lane Keller in Strategic Brand Management, there are nine areas of concern. The first is — Does the brand have sufficient salience? Secondly — Does the brand have a fuzzy image? The third concern is that the brand must have a the minimum traits to be considered for support – Keller asks, “Does the brand achieve “points of parity?” Keller goes on to ask nonprofits to determine whether the brand has a reality problem or a perception problem. To address the fifth concern, nonprofits must track both perceptions and feelings with regard to the brand. Next, the nonprofit must find a “brand champion.” One of the more difficult area’s of concern to address (number seven) is to make sure that everyone is “singing the same song” — ensuring both internal and external branding communication. Number eight, according to Keller, is to strengthen and focus the brand by using – when resources permit – a branding specialist to help the organization maximize its investment in the brand. Finally, nonprofits must continuously monitor the branding program and make changes when needed. The authors identify key details needed to establish and maintain a brand. These include: (1) The brand name; (2) The logo; (3) The brand slogan; (4) The brand “look” – or graphic standards; (5) The brand promise — clearly indicating what the brand stands for; (6) The spokesperson or spokespersons who will speak for the brand; (7) Any brand symbols — such as Smokey the bear, or the yellow wristband created by the Lance Armstrong Foundation as part of their “Livestrong™” campaign; and (8) Living the brand — which focuses on how the organization operationalizes the brand promise in its activities and its staff actions. Finally, the chapter identifies numerous examples of Campaign branding citing specifics from Population Services International and its many campaigns, and listing more than a dozen Web sites with references to nonprofit communication branding campaigns. Teaching Suggestions Continue to attempt to vary the lecture environment and style and introduce variance into the reading assignments and reading assessment to reinforce traditional retention. Continue to try to find new ways to incorporate visual and audio elements into the class. Consider watching a movie or movie clip and ask students to create a list of “brands” shown in the movie. Use this as a springboard to discussion. To demonstrate the power of the brand – ask students to create a list of the “brands” they encounter in a day — from the clothes they wear, to the model of the car they drive or ride in, to the brands of restaurants they experience. An alternative is to play a game of “branding.” Identify a brand category (jeans, cars, restaurants, etc.) and have students list as many as they can in 30 seconds or a minute. Have students read their lists, students must eliminate any on their list that is selected by any classmate. The student with the largest number of “original” (non-duplicated) brands at the end of the game wins. Giveaways or incentives may be given to the game winner(s). Challenge the “winners” listings to the characteristics of distinctiveness, brand promise and other elements of a true brand – as opposed to just a name within a category. Use the game as a way to generate discussion. Frequent discussion helps to illustrate key points – discussion of text points can lead to the next text point or key learning. Possible discussion points for this chapter include: Discuss the different pros and cons of the argument on whether nonprofits should “brand” their organization and campaign. Discuss the elements of concern about branding by selecting a local nonprofit and discussing how that nonprofit has addressed each of the areas of concern cited by Keller. Identify an element of a brand that has been copied or diluted to the point of brand confusion (like the number of nonprofits who have adopted a colored wristband in light of the success of the Lance Armstrong “livestrong” campaign) and discuss what the nonprofits could do or should have done to avoid the brand confusion. “Create” a fictitious nonprofit – by identifying a community need and have students “develop the brand” by creating name, logo, graphic symbol, etc. either as a class assignment or homework assignment - discuss the various approaches. Short Answer Questions Explain both sides of the argument — for and against — branding in a nonprofit For: Creates name recognition to aid in fundraising and volunteer recruitment It helps to communicate the nonprofits’ unique contribution to society It helps the nonprofit serve its constituents better by establishing its uniqueness in a very cluttered nonprofit world It reflects the organizations’ mission and values Against De-humanizes human services by making it a “commodity” – creating a “nikefication” of social constructs such as faith, history, culture, etc. and making them analogous to jeans. It costs too much It fosters “unhealthy competition” It promotes hoarding of information It leaves donors and supporters confused about how their support is making a difference, versus just “promoting’ the nonprofit What are the reasons that British researchers believe that nonprofits do so well on the trust dimension? Target audiences are less suspicious of the motives of nonprofits The organization’s missions are of high social value The ranked organizations operate with one brand for all their activities There is little ambiguity in the top organizations’ objectives and consistency over time. Nonprofits can garner more “free media” coverage because they deal with emotional issues. Identify the steps to building a brand. (1) Decide on what you want the brand to do and who are the brand’s key audiences; (2) Conduct qualitative research among key audiences to understand the brand competitor positions; (3) Conduct quantitative research to identify competitive positions and the “space” available in the competitive landscape; (4) Based on the research, determine if you are satisfied with your current position, and if not where change is necessary – define the position’s brand and brand promise; (5) Get consensus from staff and board; (6) Develop and pre-test an integrated brand strategy; and (7) Monitor the impact of the branding strategy continually. What are the nine important brand concerns upon which nonprofits must focus (according to Keller)? Does the brand have sufficient salience? Does the brand have a fuzzy image? Does the brand achieve “points of parity? Does the brand have a reality problem or a perception problem? Nonprofits must track both perceptions and feelings with regard to the brand – are they doing that? Did the nonprofit find a “brand champion” to support the brand internally? Does the nonprofit make sure that everyone is “singing the same song” — ensuring both internal and external branding communication? To strengthen and focus the brand does the nonprofit use – when resources permit – a branding specialist to help the organization maximize its investment in the brand? Does the nonprofit continuously monitor the branding program and make changes when needed? What are the detailed elements of building a brand? The Brand Name The Logo The Slogan The “look” – or graphic standards The brand promise The spokesperson or spokespersons Symbols Living the brand Multiple Choice Questions Branding a nonprofit organization and programs adds value because a. Costs are lower and neglected market segments are reached b. It serves as shorthand for the organization and its various offerings. (Easy; p 171) (AACSB – Reflective Thinking) c. it reduces the risks in communicating information d. it guarantees a certain donor base e. It is easy and inexpensive to do Which of the following is a finding that British researchers identified as a reason why nonprofit brands do so well in the trust dimension? a. Nonprofits are spending lots of money on branding – more than some for profit organizations b. Nonprofits deal with simple, logical value propositions equally apparent to all c. The nonprofit organizations’ missions are of high social value (Moderate; p 172) d. Branding increases budgets of nonprofits, and people trust wealthy organizations e. Nonprofits are inherently differentiated, so branding works easily To be successful, a brand must have – above all - a. A good logo b. A spokesperson who is widely recognized c. Distinctiveness (Moderate; p 172) d. A branding specialist either employed or hired as a consultant e. A basis in quantitative research A good example of a “campaign brand” as opposed to an organization brand is a. The World Wildlife Fund’s Saving Endangered Species campaign b. The American Legacy Foundation’s Truth© Campaign (Moderate; p 181) c. Greenpeace’s Ships at Sea Whale Protection campaign d. Amnesty International’s Make Some Noise — Save Darfur campaign e. Oxfam’s Make Trade Fair campaign The “step” in creating or repositioning a nonprofit brand which seeks to reveal the most important dimensions and where each competitor stands in the minds of various target audience’s perception of the competitive “space” is: a. Conduct quantitative research (Moderate; p 173) (AACSB – Reflective Thinking) b. Decide on the purpose of the brand and who are key audiences c. Conduct qualitative research d. Develop and pre-test an integrated strategy e. Assess brand promise and current positioning A few years ago, which major nonprofit undertook a major organization-wide effort to reposition its brand because research found the agency was viewed as “like a stodgy old man?” a. The United Way b. The American Heart Association c. Office of National Drug Control Policy d. Habitat for Humanity e. The American Cancer Society (Moderate; p 176) The typography for a symphony orchestra’s logo would most logically be: a. Whimsical b. Child-like c. Bold d. Elegant (Easy; p 177) (AACSB – Reflective Thinking) e. Small script A good example of a brand slogan for a local hospital would be a. Leading the way in healthcare b. Caring for the people of Johnson County (Moderate; p 177) (AACSB – Reflective Thinking) c. People helping People d. The country’s leading hospital e. The power to make you better A staff member who gives the impression that he or she is impatient to get to the next call is an indication of a nonprofit’s failure to: a. Live the brand (Easy, p 180) b. Invest in branding c. Advertise the brand d. Establish a symbol for the brand e. Brand a campaign instead of the organization 69