The term “branding” has been around the marketing world for a while now. Many companies large and small are trying to apply the concept. Some are using it correctly, but most are incorrectly or only partially applying it. While researching for this article, I found an excellent explanation of the purpose, or objectives, of branding. According to Laura Lake, at About.com, “The objectives that a good brand will achieve include:
I could write a book on the first bullet point – delivering the message clearly. The message may start out crystal-clear with the copywriter but it’s usually garbled in translation. I’m skipping number one, however, and moving straight to number two.
Branding helps to confirm your credibility – in other words, whether or not people find you believable or worthy of trust. This aspect is important regardless of the product of service. If a laundry detergent says it can get your whites white, you may or may not believe this promise but a lower price or coupon may convince you to give it a shot. For other organizations, trust is more important than low prices. Trust and believability are critical for the continued success of nonprofits and healthcare providers. Having worked in the nonprofit realm for the last 15 years, I know how hard my companies worked at building credibility. When faced with a life-threatening illness or injury, trust helps to build hope and sometimes hope is all there is.
So how did we drop the “branding” ball? We failed to integrate our branding at every point of public contact. Here are a few examples.
1. Always look at what’s hanging on the wall. I was working on a branding campaign for a rehabilitation department in a two-hospital healthcare system when I happened to notice the fire escape map hanging on the wall. In front of me was a hand-drawn, 8.5 by 11 fire escape plan in a $3 frame. I had just spent the better part of a month developing a new look for the department. I had redesigned brochures, business cards and newsletters. I thought I had given them the complete package. I need to point out something special about rehab patients – rehab patients are usually seen by their therapist 2-3 times a week, especially in the beginning of their treatment. Why is this important? Imagine being in the same room over and over – pretty soon you look at everything, including fire escape plans. What kind of message does this send? If the organization is willing to cut costs on something as important as a fire escape plan, what else will they sacrifice? I spent the next hour laying out a fire escape plan in Illustrator that incorporated the same look as the department’s new branding. Now they can change their look or layout with a mouse-click.
2. Employees and volunteers are part of the public contact. For some reason, a lot of companies think that employee and volunteer newsletters don’t have a marketing impact. I worked for a nonprofit that relied heavily on volunteers and one of their key ways of communicating to their volunteers was their quarterly newsletter. In the past, the nonprofit’s marketing department did not see the need for a professionally designed newsletter. The volunteer director had assembled the newsletter to the best of her ability using Publisher. Her strengths, however, revolved around the recruitment, retention and management of volunteers, not publication design. I quickly assumed the responsibility for the publication’s design, even though my boss thought it was a waste of my time. Why did I add to my already full plate? Because I know that every aspect of a company’s message gets scrutinized sooner or later. In this case, a professional newsletter helps to convey the message that the nonprofit’s volunteers were professional as well. Raising the standard helped to raise how our volunteers were viewed by others and themselves.
3. The vehicle is just as important as the message. One of my all-time favorite brochure designs was for a church I used to attend. I kept it simple, but elegant. The strength of this brochure was in the photos. Since I attended the church, I was able to be in the right place at the right time. I worked with a local printer to get a great deal on good paper. Imagine my heartbreak when I learned the brochure was being copied on the church’s copier instead of them handing out the professionally printed ones. The head of the outreach committee had decided that it was too expensive to distribute the “good” ones. Instead, he had decided to copy a 9” by 14” inch brochure on a 8.5” by 11” piece of cheap copy paper. What kind of message do you think is being sent to the visitors who receive this awkward publication?
4. Forms are important, too. We’ve all seen it – forms that are copies of a copy of a copy. This occurs everywhere at some time or another. By the time it gets to you, it’s almost illegible. Even worse is a form that’s so poorly designed that you’re not sure how to fill it out. Have you ever been given a form to fill out and you’re not sure if you write above or below the line? Or worse, you try to fit your address in a space barely large enough for your ZIP code? In most cases, we’re being asked to share personal, private and/or financial information on a form that looks like it was designed by a sixth grader (no offense intended for any sixth graders reading this article). Your customer may never see your marketing brochure, but it’s almost guaranteed they will be asked to fill out your forms.
Nonprofits especially have to walk a fine line in regard to their marketing materials. If it looks too good, we assume they are more concerned with their image than fulfilling their mission. If it looks crappy, we wonder if they have the business acumen to stay viable. Most people cannot put into words why a sign or brochure bothers them. It’s on a deeper, subconscious level where people respond positively or negatively to the message being conveyed. Companies in general and marketing professionals need to remember that everything sends a message As a marketing professional, it’s my responsibility to look at every possible way my company’s brand message is being delivered and to make sure it’s the correct message every single time. Remember the old adage - if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right.
- Delivers the message clearly
- Confirms your credibility
- Connects your target prospects emotionally
- Motivates the buyer
- Concretes User Loyalty
I could write a book on the first bullet point – delivering the message clearly. The message may start out crystal-clear with the copywriter but it’s usually garbled in translation. I’m skipping number one, however, and moving straight to number two.
Branding helps to confirm your credibility – in other words, whether or not people find you believable or worthy of trust. This aspect is important regardless of the product of service. If a laundry detergent says it can get your whites white, you may or may not believe this promise but a lower price or coupon may convince you to give it a shot. For other organizations, trust is more important than low prices. Trust and believability are critical for the continued success of nonprofits and healthcare providers. Having worked in the nonprofit realm for the last 15 years, I know how hard my companies worked at building credibility. When faced with a life-threatening illness or injury, trust helps to build hope and sometimes hope is all there is.
So how did we drop the “branding” ball? We failed to integrate our branding at every point of public contact. Here are a few examples.
1. Always look at what’s hanging on the wall. I was working on a branding campaign for a rehabilitation department in a two-hospital healthcare system when I happened to notice the fire escape map hanging on the wall. In front of me was a hand-drawn, 8.5 by 11 fire escape plan in a $3 frame. I had just spent the better part of a month developing a new look for the department. I had redesigned brochures, business cards and newsletters. I thought I had given them the complete package. I need to point out something special about rehab patients – rehab patients are usually seen by their therapist 2-3 times a week, especially in the beginning of their treatment. Why is this important? Imagine being in the same room over and over – pretty soon you look at everything, including fire escape plans. What kind of message does this send? If the organization is willing to cut costs on something as important as a fire escape plan, what else will they sacrifice? I spent the next hour laying out a fire escape plan in Illustrator that incorporated the same look as the department’s new branding. Now they can change their look or layout with a mouse-click.
2. Employees and volunteers are part of the public contact. For some reason, a lot of companies think that employee and volunteer newsletters don’t have a marketing impact. I worked for a nonprofit that relied heavily on volunteers and one of their key ways of communicating to their volunteers was their quarterly newsletter. In the past, the nonprofit’s marketing department did not see the need for a professionally designed newsletter. The volunteer director had assembled the newsletter to the best of her ability using Publisher. Her strengths, however, revolved around the recruitment, retention and management of volunteers, not publication design. I quickly assumed the responsibility for the publication’s design, even though my boss thought it was a waste of my time. Why did I add to my already full plate? Because I know that every aspect of a company’s message gets scrutinized sooner or later. In this case, a professional newsletter helps to convey the message that the nonprofit’s volunteers were professional as well. Raising the standard helped to raise how our volunteers were viewed by others and themselves.
3. The vehicle is just as important as the message. One of my all-time favorite brochure designs was for a church I used to attend. I kept it simple, but elegant. The strength of this brochure was in the photos. Since I attended the church, I was able to be in the right place at the right time. I worked with a local printer to get a great deal on good paper. Imagine my heartbreak when I learned the brochure was being copied on the church’s copier instead of them handing out the professionally printed ones. The head of the outreach committee had decided that it was too expensive to distribute the “good” ones. Instead, he had decided to copy a 9” by 14” inch brochure on a 8.5” by 11” piece of cheap copy paper. What kind of message do you think is being sent to the visitors who receive this awkward publication?
4. Forms are important, too. We’ve all seen it – forms that are copies of a copy of a copy. This occurs everywhere at some time or another. By the time it gets to you, it’s almost illegible. Even worse is a form that’s so poorly designed that you’re not sure how to fill it out. Have you ever been given a form to fill out and you’re not sure if you write above or below the line? Or worse, you try to fit your address in a space barely large enough for your ZIP code? In most cases, we’re being asked to share personal, private and/or financial information on a form that looks like it was designed by a sixth grader (no offense intended for any sixth graders reading this article). Your customer may never see your marketing brochure, but it’s almost guaranteed they will be asked to fill out your forms.
Nonprofits especially have to walk a fine line in regard to their marketing materials. If it looks too good, we assume they are more concerned with their image than fulfilling their mission. If it looks crappy, we wonder if they have the business acumen to stay viable. Most people cannot put into words why a sign or brochure bothers them. It’s on a deeper, subconscious level where people respond positively or negatively to the message being conveyed. Companies in general and marketing professionals need to remember that everything sends a message As a marketing professional, it’s my responsibility to look at every possible way my company’s brand message is being delivered and to make sure it’s the correct message every single time. Remember the old adage - if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right.