BrandEssence - Branding

What is a “brand”? . . . . . . . . . .

Any organization or a individual can be a brand, and every entity that offers its services, promotes its wares or strives to get your attention in the marketplace is a brand. A brand is a promise made and a promise kept, consistently over time.

What is a brand’s essence? . . . . . . . . . .

Behind every brand is a set of fundamental values that are the source of the brand’s identity. Brand essence is the distillation of those values to create a distinct identity… what the brand stands for. Brand essence is the meaning, the personality and the heart of a brand. Successful and powerful brands boil down their narratives to a simple and succinct word or two.

Branding a non-profit . . . . . . . .

Branding a non-profit is particularly crucial in this economically-challenging time. A cacophony of voices is vying for a share of mind and for a share of financial support. Successful branding differentiates a charity, impacting fundraising and recognition of the charity and its mission. Effective branding creates trust and builds recognition, which can, if properly managed, be parlayed into affinity, loyalty, and an ongoing relationship with stakeholders.

A brand at its strongest “owns” the concept of the generic product in many consumers’ minds – e.g., the Red Cross “owns” emergency relief because they have established a consistency in communicating their mission, actually doing what they say they do, consistently employing the use of the same logo, the same colors, and the same message in their communications across all media: TV ads, e-marketing/direct mail, print ads, web pages, emails, and their events. The values of their brand are embodied in their communications, and thus they accrue strong brand equity.

First impressions count. That’s why redefining or altering your brand identity is tricky business. A brand can be “evolved”, but the transition to the new identity must be introduced in the most seamless way possible, reassuring those who know you that your foundation is still solid and that changes made reflect an improvement, enhancement or new possibility. The process offers opportunities to an organization to reap the rewards of greater recognition and impact in the future by focusing the spotlight more clearly on their objectives. The answers to the following questions point to the essence that needs to be identified in order to re-think, refresh and re-create your brand:

Creating Mission, Vision and Core Values Statements

The mission or purpose states what your organization does in relatively concrete terms, while the vision states what you want to do in more idealistic terms. A good vision involves modeling possible future states; it is ambitious and inspiring, setting standards of excellence and reflecting high ideals.

A successful brand image is built from consistently supporting a core message with all consumer touch points. A strong brand is the result of good experiences; consistent messages; and positive, reinforcing images over time. Inherent in this brand strength are factors such as trust and reliability. Neither are created overnight; it takes time and effort to create a brand image, and to make it a bankable asset.

1. What does your organization accomplish?

2. What would be the real loss if your organization ceased to exist today?

3. Why should anyone care?