Branding isn’t rocket science
“Branding isn’t rocket science”, Betty McBride, Director of Policy and Communications at the British Heart Foundation, said at a recent CharityComms conference. She continued: “A good brand is achievable if everyone internally understands the core messages of the organisation.”
According to McBride, every charity should aim to ensure that all of its staff and volunteers know they are playing a vital role within their organisation. They should also believe in what their charity stands for and in what it is trying to achieve. To illustrate the point McBride told a powerful anecdote about a janitor washing floors at NASA pre 1969, who when asked what he did, replied: “I’m helping to put a man on the moon.”
If NASA’s strap line was “putting a man on the moon” then BHF’s strap line is “beating heart disease together.” McBride said. Both core messages are simple, clear, effective and honest.
The awareness journey
McBride outlined a simple model of the ‘awareness journey’ that all organisations go on:
1) It starts with ‘awareness’, which means people know your name and recognise your logo.
2) It then moves to ‘understanding’, which is where people know what you do and what your services are.
3) The next step is ‘support’ and by this stage people will have a positive image of your charity, because they understand what you do and realise the relevance of your work.
4) The final stage which all should charities aim for is ‘advocacy’. This is the point where people take action on your organisation’s behalf.
McBride admitted that in many ways, the British Heart Foundation is at the understanding stage. Although it is a very well-known brand, there is still work to do to get people to act on their feelings for the charity she said.
Becoming whole
BHF, like many organisations, has many different components – from shops to research. So what did they do to create one brand that encompassed everything? Firstly they simplified their brand strategy into three steps: “mission, vision and essence”. The clincher was getting everyone internally involved and able to recognise the essence of BHF. This meant making sure that every communication that came out of the organisation reflected the new identity. It was also about getting everyone within the organisation to work together, “Departments can’t work in isolation,” said Betty. Sometimes that means you have to say: “I accept that in order to do my job, I need to help you do yours”.
Need, Awareness and People
From this ‘NAP’ (Need, Awareness, People) was born. NAP is a nifty little acronym used by BHF staff to remember to show the need for BHF in all its communications. All communications must be “napped” and “zapped” before going out, McBride said. The ‘zap’ means reiterating that without donations the British Heart Foundation wouldn’t be able to do what it does. NAP has been a good tool for making BHF staff aware of how important a united voice is.
To read more about Betty McBride’s talk you can download her presentation here.