It seems that no matter where you turn these days, there are articles, seminars, and general discussions about “branding”. Nonprofit communications, fundraising, and marketing staff, volunteers and board members are all wrestling with what branding means for them.

In its essence, branding is a focused, clear story about who you are. It articulates your personality, resonates with your authentic voice, is compelling in what it promises to deliver, and clearly identifies your uniqueness. Taglines and logos are not your brand; they are only one manifestation of your brand. Your brand is your unique story. Your brand is you.

Branding really took off with the development of mass media and has become an integral aspect of corporate marketing. Essentially, branding tells you a story that so moves you that you want to take the action the story asks you to take. In the land of consumerism, that means buying a product or service. Better yet, refer that product to your friends. And better still, tie your own sense of identity to the acquisition of that product – Gap jeans, a BMW, or Nike shoes. Good stories are great motivators.

Why is this important for NGOs?

Stories have always played a fundamental role in our culture. Stories reflect our culture, our values, our vision of our humanity, and they are always evolving. This is particularly important for organizations working in health, education, environment, human rights and so on, because they are constantly reaching out and attempting to engage their communities in the work that they do. They need the public’s support as volunteers, as donors, as legislators, and as community leaders. Far too often though, NGOs don’t recognized the power of their own brand. They do not strategically integrate their story into their programs, plans, and operations for the purpose of engaging others. Brand management as an organizational tool has yet to become fully integrated into the NGO sector. This is however, changing with the emergence of global NGO brands such as Amnesty International, the Red Cross, CARE, and UNICEF to name a few. In fact, the globalization of world economies and the concurrent rise of Internet technologies presents opportunities for brands to rapidly become global, to rapidly extend their reach, impact and profile.

In their new book, The New Global Brands: Managing Non-Government Organizations in the 21st Century, authors John A. Quelch and Nathalie Laidler-Kylander write:

“To succeed, any brand must have a consistent meaning among those who know about it. The richer the brand meaning, the more those who believe in it will care about it. In the case of an NGO brand the more its supporters care, the more time, money, and positive word of mouth they will commit. In other words, they will develop a relationship with the brand. It will become an important part of their lives.”

The potential to develop these relationships that speak deeply to our constituencies is tremendous online. Internet technologies allow for connection, personalization, discussions, advocacy, and community building around common perspectives.

Here are a few key elements to remember when distilling your story or brand:

• Know who you are – values, personality, and uniqueness.
• Know what you want to say – the solution that you are presenting, your message.
• Know who you want to speak to – your audience.
• Know why people should care – the promise that you are going to deliver on must be compelling.

Today, there is more and more of a move away from corporate identity brands that focus on the corporate mission, and a move towards an emotional identity brand that focus on people-centered dialogues. In this landscape, nonprofits are ideally positioned to build lasting relationships through their brand.

Pattie LaCroix has directed marketing and communications programs for nonprofits for over ten years. As vice president of Communicopia, she is passionate about creating online communications strategies for nonprofits that engage their audience and build support for their work. You can contact Pattie through www.communicopia.net.