Branding Strategies Revealed

If you answer no to any of these questions, DiFrisco recommends a brand-strategy review. A focused brand strategy will help an organization establish a vision of its promise to constituents; differentiate itself from other organizations; develop a supporter-friendly structure in which its brand exists; increase awareness and value of its mission; bring clarity to marketing and fundraising efforts; and motivate employees, board members, volunteers and all stakeholders.

DiFrisco recommends the following steps to establishing a brand strategy:

1. Establish your organization’s vision and mission — vision being a mental image that describes your organization and mission being the “special assignment,” as DiFrisco explains it, that your organization has taken on.

2. Assess where your brand is today. Ask questions: What does your organization specialize in? What do you currently offer? Who is your target audience? What do they think about your current brand? “What would you like them to think about your brand? Who else is competing for their loyalty?

3. Define where you would like it to be. Establish goals for your organization for one year, five years, ten years. Your brand is not what you say it is. It is defined by your constituents. Therefore, in order to create a brand you must understand the needs and wants of those constituents. DiFrisco says the success of your organization is proportional to how well you acknowledge what constituents want and how well you apply your organization’s strengths and values to your brand message.

4. Define your brand essence. To do this, come up with a list of all the services your organization offers. Then list fundamental needs that are met by these services. What is the one thing that ties all of them together? This is your organization’s brand essence, DiFrisco writes, the point that will focus your brand messaging.