Brand development extends far beyond providing organisations with a logo, colour palette or eye-catching visual identity. Executed correctly, an in-depth brand-building process empowers businesses to connect with their audience and firmly position themselves for long-term success.
Strong brands put the customer at the heart of the brand-building process and start by answering the question, why should you choose to work with or support us?
For corporate-led companies…
This typically involves identifying their purpose or their ‘why’ and building their brand pillars around that.
For charitable and third sector organisations…
The brand-building exercise involves developing a clear proposition around their purpose that will support them to boost volunteer numbers, increase donations or raise awareness of an issue, and share it in a way that inspires others to get behind and champion the cause.
The end result can be wide-reaching, powerful and inspiring for everybody – from those involved in shaping the brand to those who are touched by it.
It’s something our brand team and Creative Director, Scott, have made happen countless times and have witnessed on a much wider scale over the years.
Brand identity shift
Scott has delivered countless third sector rebranding programmes over the last 30+ years. During this time, he’s seen an increase in the number of charities and not for profit companies who recognise the value in developing a strong brand identity, one that aligns with their aspirations and organisational goals and makes it easy for their audience to understand what they do.
But how does this new outlook translate in reality? And what does brand ‘success’ look like?
As more-and-more third sector organisations revisit their brands, they are looking at them through a positioning lens; one that involves taking the following three key considerations into account:
Key consideration #1: Clarity
Competition for awareness, volunteers and donations within the third sector has always been sky-high, with public engagement playing a pivotal role in enabling charities to achieve their strategic goals. It is the brand’s imperative to help the charity to reach, connect and invoke action among their community in order to survive.
But real connection can only be achieved by having a clear brand proposition in place. By ‘clear’, we mean a single, unifying reason that inspires people to take action and is underpinned by proof points that demonstrate authority, credibility and a commitment to delivering on a particular promise. A lack of clarity in a brand proposition or positioning statement will lead to a correlating lack of engagement.
Key consideration #2: Extensive engagement
Charities hold a special place in the hearts of the people who invest in them, support them, volunteer for them and receive their support, and it’s not uncommon for emotions to run high at times. It can make people resistant to change and fearful of the impact change may have on the service(s) or support they receive and the model through which it is delivered.
Organisation-wide engagement is essential for making sure staff, volunteers and supporters collectively help create the case for change and are given the chance to shape the brand repositioning journey. This can be as simple as holding listening and engagement sessions and launching new brands internally before they are unveiled externally.
Key consideration #3: Urgent action
More often than not, people tend to support certain charities and not for profit organisations because of a personal and/or emotional connection. And when you overlay the charity’s objectives with a wider sense of urgency, the end result can be incredibly powerful.
‘Brandraising’ in action
A couple of years ago, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) underwent a major rebrand, which our Creative Director played an instrumental role in delivering. The charity wanted to go from being known as ‘the bird charity’ to one of the largest conservation charities in Europe.
The RSPB’s role in building and developing some of the largest conservation programmes in Europe and tackling the depletion of biodiversity was being overshadowed by more traditional perceptions of the charity. Creating a sense of urgency around the issue was paramount to bringing the brand proposition to life.
Today, ‘Nature is in crisis, together we can save it’ is the call to action used by the charity to galvanise its members and multiple audiences, ranging from supporters, business and educators to the media and government.
This is a fantastic example of ‘brandraising’: the idea that third sector organisations need to balance the need to fundraise with the need to invest in the development and growth of their brand. Both endeavours must be given equal consideration for a non-profit to truly flourish, otherwise they’ll always remain on the fringes of awareness.
Like all industries, the third sector is rapidly evolving and the need to stay relevant and visible remains crucial for all charities and not for profit organisations, regardless of their mission, size and scale.
Are you managing a charity that could benefit from a refined brand position?
Reach out to our team for an in-depth conversation by contacting us at:
new.business@hamilton-brown.com or 020 8148 4141.