Branding Bytes

Vol. 1 Issue 4

Fall 2006

Branding Bytes is a FREE quarterly e-letter courtesy of Larry Checco of Checco Communications (please refer below to our privacy policy and how to subscribe/unsubscribe).   Past issues are archived on my website (www.checcocomm.net). Simply click Branding Bytes on the website homepage menu to access them.

In this issue:

Question: How can we turn our board members into better Brand Ambassadors for our organization?

Order Branding for Success in time for the Holiday Season

Update on the Nonprofit Congress

Bits & Bytes

Question

Q. Many of our board members often cannot clearly and concisely articulate who we are or what we do. How can we turn them into better Brand Ambassadors for our organization?

A. I get this question a lot in my branding workshops, and my answer is always the same: The best place to start is in the board recruitment process.

People agree to serve on boards for all kinds of reasons, many because they truly believe in the mission and work of the organization. Others, however, go on boards because they feel honored to be asked and don’t want to disappoint the person doing the asking; others because of the prestige of being a board member; still others because they like to see their names on the organization’s letterhead.

Even those who join boards for all the right reasons still need to know what is expected of them once they agree to become board members.

Here are some things to consider when seeking people to serve on your board:

1. Select well. How often have you heard the mantra “We need people of affluence and influence on our board?” Affluence and influence are fine. But if these characteristics are not backed by wisdom, integrity and commitment they don’t amount to much. Therefore, select people to serve on your board who truly believe in who you are, what you do, how you do it, and care enough about your organization to go into the community and actively persuade others to support your good work.

2. Articulate your expectations. Don’t assume that board members, especially new board members, understand your expectations. Before bringing them on board, let them know that, among other things, you expect them to serve as good Brand Ambassadors for your organization, and what that means. Part of what that means is that they need to know what to say about your organization (see #3)

3. Create a “messaging package.” Everyone affiliated with your organization needs to “stay on message” when it comes to explaining to others what your organization is all about. Therefore, create a “messaging package” that, among other things, includes a positioning statement, sometimes referred to as an “elevator speech”, as well as supporting statements that clearly articulate your organization’s key brand messages. And make sure that everyone in your organization knows what those messages are, especially board members!

4. Encourage board members to go into the community to deliver your brand messages.   Once they understand and can articulate your brand messages, encourage board members to speak in front of local civic organizations like the Chamber of Commerce, Lions and Kiwanis clubs, church groups, etc. and to tell their colleagues and families about your organization and the important work it performs in your community. These are all effective—and cost-free—branding opportunities that many organizations overlook.

5. Get your board members to work as a coordinated team. Board members need each other's support and need to know each other as colleagues who share a common mission. If they exchange ideas both at regularly scheduled board meetings, in committees and informally between meetings they are much more likely to promote the organization's brand and support its fund-raising activities.

Branding for Success

In addition to being sold throughout the U.S., I am pleased to report that my book, Branding for Success: A Roadmap for Raising the Visibility and Value of Your Nonprofit Organization, has found its way to Australia, Canada, South Africa and Sweden. Many readers have emailed me to say how it has helped them to implement practical, cost-effective branding strategies for their organizations.

Branding for Success is an inexpensive way to introduce the concept of good branding principles to your board members and staff. Order copies now--in time for the Holiday Season--by logging on to my website (www.checcocomm.net). NOTE: The book is available through many other websites, including www.Amazon.com and the publisher's website (www.trafford.com)

Nonprofit Congress

On October 16 -17, 2006, approximately 500 Nonprofit Congress delegates and 200 at-large participants will gather in Washington, DC to:

Identify the values that all nonprofits share;

Develop a vision and priorities for the nonprofit sector

Exercise a collective voice.

The Nonprofit Congress has launched Voicing Our Values: A Survey of the Guiding Principles of the Nonprofit Sector. The purpose of this survey is to identify and prioritize the guiding principles that best reflect the core values of nonprofits and link all charitable organizations. The results will inform the work of the delegates at the October Nonprofit Congress National Meeting, in Washington, DC.

Here's an opportunity for your voice to be heard. Take part in the survey by ranking the key attributes of all charitable organizations and forward the survey link to your members/constituents. These attributes were derived from information provided by nonprofits in over 100 Town Hall meetings across the country.

Deadline to complete and submit the survey is September 30. Please contact info@nonprofitcongress.org with any questions. Click below to access the survey

Voicing Our Values: A Survey of the Guiding Principles of the Nonprofit Sector

For more information on the Nonprofit Congress or to register for the National Meeting, please visit www.nonprofitcongress.org/nationalmeeting.

Note from Larry: On Oct. 16th, I will be in Washington, DC, to participatie in one of the Nonprofit Congress National Meeting pre-conference panel sessions, entitled "Elevating the Nonprofit Sector: An Opportunity to Speak with One Voice." I hope to see you there!

Bits & Bytes

Listed below are some of the events and activities I will be participating in over the next couple of months:

Enterprise Community Partners

WebEx Audioconference

September 12, 2006 @ 2 pm EST

National Council of Nonprofit Associations

Communications Affinity Group Audioconference

September 21, 2006 @ 3:30 pm EST

Nonprofit Congress National Meeting (see above)

Washington, DC

October 16-17, 2006

Enterprise Network Conference

Los Angeles, CA

October 25, 2006

To listen to my interview on branding, aired in April on the Global Talk Radio show "Demystifying Nonprofits", simply log onto www.checcocomm.net and click on the hyperlink in the Global Talk Radio box on the right side of the homepage. I think you'll find the interview interesting.

As always, I look forward to receiving your feedback, questions, success stories and challenges. Also, if you are in need of an excellent speaker, trainer or branding consultant/coach, I invite you to contact me or log onto my website for more information.

In the meantime, good luck with your branding!

Larry

                                             "Branding For Success"

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