CanadaHelps Educational Webinar Series

Building Brands that Connect with Donors and Stakeholders Presented by: Lori Miller Pike and Sean Howard from The Connected Brand

Building brands that connect with donors

CanadaHelps

March 11, 2015

Today’s Session •Who are we?

•What is a brand, really?

•What is a CONNECTED brand?

•Why being a CONNECTED brand matters.

•How to become a CONNECTED brand.

A Brand Strategy Firm Focused on the For-Benefit Sector

Lori Miller Pike Sean Howard

What is a brand?

By  Marty  Neumeier  

How do your DONORS feel about you?

CONNECTED BRAND ?

WHAT IS A

COMPETITION

YOURBRAND

EMPLOYEES

CUSTOMERS/PATRONS

OTHER BRANDS

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

PRODUCTSTECHNOLOGY

TRENDS

CULTURE

LOCAL COMMUNITY

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

PARTNERS/CHANNELS

ECONOMICS

The health of a brand is defined by the health of its connections within the larger system

CONNECTED BRANDSAre designed to grow and provide increasing economic and social value over time. They thrive by staying connected.

vs

There are cornerstones to a

CONNECTED BRAND

3

Resiliency Connection Relevancy

A connected brand is RESILIENT. • It is an adaptive and vital part of a larger ecosystem.

• It can be flexible because the brand parameters enable the brand to evolve without needing to be changed every few years.

1

It is CONNECTED to its supporters. • This is about thinking holistically about your presence across all constituents and lifestyle touch points.

• And then designing a solution that engages and rewards stakeholders across their journey with your brand.

2

A connected brand is ALWAYS RELEVANT. • THE ART - A brand platform that generates ideas and opportunities for your business and the community.

• THE SCIENCE - Identifying the critical inputs and outputs that define the larger system within which the brand lives and contributes.

3

CONNECTED BRAND

Why being a

Matters

The benefits • Cost Savings – better allocation of marketing dollars & resources for

not for profits

• Relevance – a brand built to resonate emotionally with donors and other stakeholders

• Improved ROI – better understanding of donor needs and expectations

• Revenue – increased financial contributions

Brands make mistakes,just like people. The stronger your brand is, themore leeway you get when something goes wrong

CONNECTED BRAND

How to become a

• Make a clear emotional promise

• Deliver on this promise – every time, everywhere

• Have a strong culture that supports and delivers on this promise

How to build a strong brand

Listen. Define. Implement.

Define Stakeholders Interviews Workshops SurveysListen

Define

Implement

Other Inputs

Donor Journey Brand Structure

Look & Feel Brand Guidelines Operational

Who Needs to be Engaged • Staff & volunteers (people on the ground) • Senior management • Donors and supporters • In some cases beneficiaries • Partners • Board members

Listen

Deep Dive Workshops • 1 to 2 hours • Internal: people that interface with donors,

suppliers, partners, etc.

Top 3 Questions • What are the perceived Strengths,

Weaknesses, Threats and Opportunities • Who are our donors? Who are they not?

Develop profiles. • Who is competing for share of your donors

wallet?

Listen

One-on-one Interviews • 30 min • Internal: people that interface with key stakeholders • External: suppliers, donors, customers, etc.

Top 5 questions • What is it about [Organization XYZ] that you are most proud of? • What promise does [Organization XYZ] currently make to its

supporters? And how well does it deliver on this promise? • Who are [Organization XYZ]’s core supporters or donors?

Describe or characterize them. • Who do you see as a competitor to [Organization XYZ] for

funds? • How has the organization changed over the past 5 years? 10

years?

Listen

Surveys for Wider Reach • Across the organization - wider reach • Outside the organization - select donors and other stakeholders

Listen

Research similar organizations What do they promise?

• What experiences are they offering?

Social Media • Ways to engage fans and supporters • Mini-contests where they answer simple questions

• What do you love most about Organization XYZ? • Why do you support us? • What three things first come to mind when you hear our name?

Listen

Other Tools • Understanding your digital experiences • Beyond funnels and analytics

Listen

What is the Donor Journey? • Where we interact with our stakeholders • The service levels we are providing at each touchpoint

Put on our SAFARI hats • Become a donor or watch

donors at real events • What does it feel like? • How does it flow? • Where do we go next?

Listen

Map out the Donor Journey touchpoints • Can be a simple linear path • Or a complex swim lanes diagram • Be sure to capture the VALUE of each touchpoint

Define

Too many organizations don’t have a journey.

They have a hard stop at funds received.

Every cycle, it’s about only one thing. Get the donor’s money.

This slowly erodes your brand.

Define

Findings Review and Workshop • Present findings from the various inputs • Discover brand disconnects • Identify opportunities and key insights

Begin Drafting Your Brand Structure • Proprietary brand on a page format • Document that defines all tenets of the brand in understandable

and usable language

Define

Brand Essence The single, most powerful & motivating idea you want your brand to own.

Our Purpose Why we are in business – also referred to as “mission”.

Our Values What we believe in – our uncompromising principles.

Our Supporters Who we are focusing our marketing efforts on.

Our Promise Focuses everything on a single, clear and emotional promise to our customer.

DifferentiatingPillars

Ownable & Differentiating Aspect

• Proof points for believing in the promise

Ownable & Differentiating Aspect

• Proof points for believing in the promise

Ownable & Differentiating Aspect

• Proof points for believing in the promise

Brand Personality The brand’s outward facing style – how it would look and sound if it came to life.

Our Brand on a PageMethodology and Tool

Identity and style guides • Look and feel (visual identity) • Language and communication guidelines • Service standards

Implement

BOARDS

Operations and Planning • Donor journey • Stop, Start and Continue • Company-wide workshops

Implement

Once you have your BrandStructure defined, you canstart to operationalize thelessons learned.

The Brand Framework comes with tools to help management identify and initiate new brand building measures

and identify those programs and efforts that are actually hindering your brand

and those programs which should remain in effect.

Lets Begin to Build Your Connected Brand

Service Safari - The Tools • Clipboard • Pen and paper • Point & shoot camera or smartphone

Online Tools (alternate) • iPerceptions 4Q (free)

Mapping the Donor Journey

Service Safari - Mindset • Safari hats on! • Recording the experience in snapshots • Be aware of your filters • You are the observer (not participating)

Service Safari - Capture • First impressions • What confuses donors? • What delights them? • How long are they waiting? and where? • Look for the spaces “in between”. Rate these experiences.

Mapping the Donor Journey

Image credit: Livework Studios - liveworkstudio.com

• Clarifying the essence of your brand for your audience

• Identifying one simple promise • Realigning around that promise and core strengths • Delivering on that promise at every touchpoint

• More connected • More aligned • More valued

Conclusion

Thank You