What Your CEO (or Board) Really Wants to Know About Branding

Often the biggest hurdle you’ll face in developing or refining the brand strategy for your organization is the reluctance of the CEO to buy into the importance of branding. But it’s critical to get the full support and backing from the CEO or your board before proceeding down the brand path.

Bob Lamons, communications consultant and founder of Robert Lamons and Associates, says, “The CEO needs to be the No. 1 brand champion. No exceptions. No extenuating circumstances. If she resists accepting this responsibility, the company will suffer.”

I’ve heard more than one CEO ask the questions, “But how does the brand fit into the big picture? What will be the impact on member/donor growth? If our priority is growing support for the organization, how will the refocused brand help us achieve that?”

While there’s no one-sentence answer to those questions, a brand is an organizations’ reputation in the minds of its supporters and prospects. It’s the gut feeling that one has for an organization. Just like consumer businesses and products, organizations have a reputation (brand) -- whether they like it or not. Great organizations actively manage their brand, which means having a compelling answer to the question, “Why should I support your organization?”

In a society where people have less time and shorter attention spans, your organization must have a succinct, compelling and unique brand. By having a fanatical focus on reinforcing your brand reputation in everything you do (and eliminating those things that dilute this reputation), you are more likely to engage donors and prospects who are looking for an organization with your unique attributes.

So your brand isn’t just a component of the big picture; rather it is the big picture. There’s a maxim that states: “The brand is the strategy.” It’s important for organizational leadership to understand that the brand will be the touchstone on which everything else you do and say should relate and reflect.

Your logo, tag line or any other tactical approach (fundraising, events, member acquisition, etc.) are simply reflections and reinforcements of the brand. Your organization’s brand will be driven by the experiences you create with staff, vendors, media, government, industry, communities and supporters — and the emotional feelings these groups develop as a result of those positive experiences.

Refocusing of your brand will help to make your organization’s reputation clearer. Your message can be spoken in relevant and authentic tones, making your results more consistent.

When you begin to move forward tactically, on a solid brand-strategy platform, you can speak across multiple channels with one-voice consistency. Over time, this will impress your unique value to the marketplace — those who can and will consider supporting your organization — and you will see growth. It’s about having a strategy that your CEO — and your entire organization — can get behind, believe in, and live through every supporter and prospect touch point.

That’s what the CEO wants to know about branding.

Michael DiFrisco is president of BrandXcellence, which offers brand-strategy workshops to nonprofits. Visit www.brandxcellence.com