Branding an NPO is a key part of its success. While a business can lose money an NPO can lose much more – a chance to make the lives of other people better. It does not matter if you are paying more attention to people or animals, to sustainability or global warming – everything you are doing does really matter to this planet and its inhabitants. This is why it is important to pay extra attention to branding and promotion of your non-profit organization to get a chance to make all your great plans come true.
Now almost each non-profit marketing expert you ask about the most important part of an organization’s promotion would mention branding. But what’s the secret of making branding successful? It’s the leader of that organization.
Who’s there behind the brand?
Whenever you are talking about a strong brand, whether profit or non-profit, there’s always a strong person behind it. A person that gives it character, and values, unites people around it, forms a real community, and bravely broadcasts clear & important messages of this brand. When you see an interesting project you never doubt that there are real people who work on it hard and with passion. Some projects are light and smooth, some are shocking and huge, and some are really scientifically profound. This is the thing – real people create real things that affect real lives.
Why delegating all branding to another person is a bad idea?
Many NPO leaders simply do not have time to pay enough attention to the promotion of their organization, project, or initiative. It’s only natural so usually another person, be it an in-house expert, a devoted supporter, or an independent agency, becomes responsible for those things, taking care of various promo campaigns, planning, and even branding.
It is not really possible to find a twin – a person who will be exactly like you when it comes to emotions, values, energy, thoughts & ideas. If you decide to delegate everything to other people without mentoring & participating in delegated activities at all your NPO might lose its face and its image might get confused by those who could be your supporters.
And what if an agency tells it can cover the branding of an NPO with no need to involve its leader?
This message may sound quite appealing to those who are extremely overloaded with work but only if they do not fully realize the importance of quality branding. As well as when the agency does not generally have a very high level of that quality. There exist certain techniques on creating a branded voice for content, for example, but what makes it branded is the previously formed and well-described brand. Which, in turn, is based on the completed image developed in close collaboration with its authors – an NPO leader & his team.
The leader’s participation in this very first stage when the brand is defined is a must-have. Only this way the image created will reflect all the values the NPO leader & his team find organization-defining & crucial.
Even if you find the best experts ever they will still be not you. So pay some attention to explaining your NPO, its mission, and values, as well as to guiding your supporters & partners when completing various promo activities for your organization, including branding. Your NPO is worth it!
