What does Your Uniform Look Like? Branding Your Team for Success
A couple of years ago, I might have started this article in this way: “There’s a reason there are so many teams that are Giants, and Sharks, and Bears (oh my!).” Strong = successful. Not a bad brand for anyone. “Go forth and solicit,” I might have said. Branding, especially in a post-dotcom world, isn’t about overused icons for strength; it’s about selling your unique strength articulately and as personally as possible – making the emotional connection your donor has for your organization or its mission with your giving priorities. Whether you connect as a shark or a banana slug or an elephant isn’t always obvious. As a development staffer, sometimes you’re too close to know. Don’t blame yourselves. No one internal cohort can step back enough to get real perspective. Out there in the stands, there are donors and prospects wearing your team’s jersey. Do you want to know what your uniform looks like? Start by asking them. Form small limited-term committees to assess institutional messages before the campaign to settle on branded messages that resonate. “The more the merrier” is a fine motto, as long as everyone understands that the amalgamated branded messages might lose some of the focus on anyone’s pet priorities. An outside consultant can manage the politics of such balance, but no institution should forgo this process. The trick to good branding is to achieve balance that reflects a broad emotional connection without ending up with something vanilla enough to define every single one of your competitors (and therefore nothing). You will not sell one single giant foam finger of philanthropy to a savvy donor if you have vanilla branding. One post-dotcom branding shift is the birth of the creative partnership – cross-functional niches and solutions born in the most nimble (aka “successful”) charitable institutions among us. When economist Richard Florida published his book The Rise of the Creative Class (Basic Books 2002), he identified the phenomenon that was/is very quickly bubbling up as the hallmark of today’s most successfully branded for- and non-profit businesses. But, how does one brand for creative strength? Key messages within creative strength branding lay in an organization’s ability to withstand (even embrace) risk and push forward institutional qualities that might have once been considered “quirky.” Think Google, Geek Squad, or environmental biology programs that include strong socio-economic and political overlays. If your organization can speak to that kind of creative message, consider branding that shouts it from the rooftops. Regardless of whether your institution is on the cutting edge of creativity or happily preserving the traditions of the past, involving your audience in a discussion of who you are can be an emotionally vulnerable experience. Unfortunately, without it, your message will only resonate with the other players on the bench. The consulting team at John Brown Limited can help you through this process. Call our offices to find out more about facilitating branding exercises to prepare your organization to campaign.
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June 2008:Archived Newsletters |
