Will a Marketing Vision Help Your Nonprofit Organization?
Peggy Dyer is the chief marketing officer of the American Red Cross (ARC). And, based on my brief time with her recently at a meeting, she is a good one! She addressed our group and covered many topics, but one that I found very inspiring was the concept of creating a marketing vision.
In her presentation, Dyer discussed the transformation that the Red Cross is going through and the challenges it has faced as the organization has progressed. Today's blog is not about its transformation and what the Red Cross is trying to accomplish; it is about a unique step Dyer took as a leader and how it has paid off.
I believe many of you have created a marketing vision before. It's just what you do, right? Somewhere it is written in a Marketing 101 guide, "CREATE MARKETING VISION," I'm sure.
But Dyer created a marketing vision and then gave it teeth and legs. The transformation that was ahead of ARC would be hard and test everyone at some point. She wanted to create a vision that the team could get behind, a reminder of what the team members were trying to accomplish and something that could be measured on a regular basis.
Their marketing vision consisted of four simple yet powerful words: consolidated, powerful, breathtaking and marketing. But what made this vision unique is that her team came together on what this vision meant. What did it mean to stay true to the vision and make progress against the vision? For ARC, it boiled down to these specific areas:
- Consolidated … brand, customer experiences and processes
- Powerful … data-driven insights, programs and marketing ROI
- Breathtaking … engagement with inspiring content and recognition
- Marketing … people, partners and mission focus
The ARC's vision is clear, understood and, perhaps more importantly, its work was aligned under the four key areas. The only other thing to do was actually measure it. Dyer and her team created a scorecard, and each week they applied a score (in their case it was a five-star scale) that represented their progress toward reaching the goals associated with the vision.
- Categories:
- Fundraiser Education
- Companies:
- American Red Cross
Vice President, Strategy & Development
Eleventy Marketing Group
Angie is ridiculously passionate about EVERYTHING she’s involved in — including the future and success of our nonprofit industry.
Angie is a senior exec with 25 years of experience in direct and relationship marketing. She is a C-suite consultant with experience over the years at both nonprofits and agencies. She currently leads strategy and development for marketing intelligence agency Eleventy Marketing Group. Previously she has worked at the innovative startup DonorVoice and as general manager of Merkle’s Nonprofit Group, as well as serving as that firm’s CRM officer charged with driving change within the industry. She also spent more 14 years leading the marketing, fundraising and CRM areas for two nationwide charities, The Arthritis Foundation and the American Cancer Society. Angie is a thought leader in the industry and is frequent speaker at events, and author of articles and whitepapers on the nonprofit industry. She also has received recognition for innovation and influence over the years.
