Welcome to the 6th edition of Branding
Bytes.
Branding Bytes is a FREE quarterly
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In this issue:
-
Question: How can we do a better job
of keeping everyone in our
organization on brand message?
- Bits & Bytes
- Latest review of Branding for
Success
- Speaking schedule
Q. How can we do a better
job of keeping everyone in our organization
on brand message?
A. It doesn't matter how good
the choir is. If everyone is singing
from different song sheets--it's just
noise! The same holds true for an
organization's brand. If everyone is
sending out different messages, it confuses
the audiences you are trying to reach. One
of the best ways to keep everyone on message
is to create a "messaging package."
A messaging package is simply
a compilation of the core messages you want
your brand to convey. Its purpose is to
help you stay on message whenever you
communicate information about your
organization. A good messaging package
answers the questions: Who are we? What do
we do? How do we do it? And why should
anyone care enough to support us. (NOTE: In
my book, Branding for Success, I
offer a five-step approach on how to
actually go about creating your messages.
Given limited space, here I will simply
offer a brief description of each component
of the package. For a more expanded view of
message development, click on
About.com)
Your messaging package should
include the following:
Tagline
A tagline is a catchy,
quick-identifying reference, usually no more
than five to seven words. A
good tagline will trigger the
imagination, interest and emotions of your
target audiences. Think of Nike's "Just do
it!" or the American Red Cross's "Together,
we can save a life."
Your tagline should be
incorporated into all your materials,
including signage, stationery, banners,
media materials, website, etc.
Positioning statement
A positioning statement is often
referred to as an "elevator speech",
something that can be delivered quickly
to someone who knows little, if
anything, about your organization. It
is perhaps the most important component
of your messaging package and should be
short, compelling and to the point. For
example:
"XYZ is a leading
community-based nonprofit that helps place
people into homes they can afford. Working
collaboratively with others, last year we
helped more than 200 families purchase their
first homes and were responsible for more
than $6 million worth of local economic
activity."
When developing your
positioning statement, keep in mind that its
purpose is not to educate people
about every program, service or product your
organization offers. Rather it should be
designed to interest them in your overall
mission, to get them to care enough about
what you do--and your importance to the
community--so that they will want to learn
more.
Supporting statements
Think of supporting
statements as talking points to be included
into your speeches, presentations, printed
materials, website and elsewhere.
You can create three
supporting statements; you can create dozens
of supporting statements which can be
selectively used to
target different audiences.
Supporting statements may
address:
-
Your core values (i.e.
caring and responsive to the needs of
customers; reliable, trustworthy
business partner; good stewards of
public/private funding, etc.)
-
The range of programs and
services you offer
-
The impact of your work
on the people you serve, as well as the
community, in general
-
How long your
organization has been in existence
In short, supporting
statements are just that--they bolster the
brand by providing additional facts about
your organization to various targeted
audiences.
Logo
Your logo is the design
cornerstone that should give all of your
materials a consistent look, style and
feel so that people can identify immediately
with your organization. (Think of
McDonald's golden arches, Nike's swoosh, and
the Red Cross's, well, red cross.)
In addition to being
attractive and representative of your brand,
think about the various ways you may use
your logo and how difficult or expensive it
may be to reproduce. Consider proportions,
as well. A detailed logo that looks great
on a large banner may not reproduce well
when it is reduced small enough to fit on a
business card. Also, how will it look in
color, black and white, faxed, enlarged or
reduced?
Your logo should be used
uniformly and consistently on all your
materials, including annual reports,
brochures, flyers, report covers, press
releases, video covers, etc.
Creating an effective
messaging package will take some time,
energy and resources. But if used
consistently, it's a great way to get
everyone singing from the same song sheet, a
way to produce harmony instead of noise when
it comes to explaining who you are, what you
do, how you do it--and why anyone should
care enough to support you.
Bits & Bytes
- In a
second appearance on Global Talk Radio's
"De-Mystifying Nonprofits" I
answered branding-related questions
posed by leaders of four nonprofits
selected from around the country. The
show is archived on the web. To listen,
simply log onto
www.globaltalkradio.com; scroll down
and click on "De-Mystifying Nonprofits";
then scroll down once again and click
on January 16th. The show's
participating nonprofit leaders posed
challenging questions. I think you will
find the discussions interesting and
relevant to the branding challenges your
own organization may face.
- The
Campaign for Affordable Housing
published an article of mine entitled
"Language Matters...Housing that People
Can Afford vs Affordable Housing" in its
January '07 newsletter. It's an opinion
piece on how language can help frame the
issue. To access the article, click on
www.tcah.org/newsletter/2007-01-08.pdf and
scroll down to page 8.
- Many
thanks to the NeighborWorks America
Training Institute for sponsoring an
author's luncheon for me on Tuesday, May
8th, at its upcoming Institute in
Phoenix, AZ. I hope to see many of you
at the Institute, former students and
colleagues, alike.
Branding for
Success
About.com columnist
Joanne Fritz recently reviewed my
book Branding for Success: A
Roadmap for Raising the Visibility
and Value of Your Nonprofit
Organization, and gave it a
five-star rating. She writes:
"Checco goes into detail about...how
to define, promote, and protect your
brand. Get the book...it is the
easiest-to-read and most accessible
one we have seen about branding.
Checco believes every nonprofit can
achieve successful branding and he
lays out a program to achieve it
that anyone can pursue." For the
full review click here:
About.com
My latest Speaking Schedule
- National
Community Reinvestment Coalition's National
Conference, March 15, Washington, DC;
- DC
Fundraisers, April 11, Washington, DC
- USPS/National
Postal Mail Handlers Union's 10th Annual
Quality of Working Life Conference, May 7,
Philadelphia, PA;
-
NeighborWorks Training Institute Author's
Luncheon, May 8, Phoenix, AZ
-
NeighborWorks America Training Institute
(2-day course), May 10-11, Phoenix, AZ;
-
Cooperative Communicators Institute, June 3,
Williamsburg, VA;
- American
Marketing Association's Nonprofit Marketing
Conference, July 9-11, Washington, DC;
-
Assistance League's National Conference,
Oct. 13, Washington, DC.
As always, I look forward to receiving your
feedback, questions, success stories and
challenges. Also, if you are in need of a
motivational 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
