It’s rare to find a charity that doesn’t have at least one department or service that has developed some kind of sub-brand and consistently circulates off-brand content. (And that’s despite the best efforts of brand teams across the sector.)
When challenged, teams often cite their own strategy and objectives to legitimise their alternative or adapted branding. They may argue that a particular visual style is more appropriate to their needs and better serves their goals.
The problem is that, over time, this prioritises tactical wins over organisational strategic growth and begins to undermine your brand-building efforts as a whole.
Why does brand-building matter?
At its core, brand building is about giving meaning to our brand assets – our logo, colour palette, tone of voice, photography and more – so that they become instantly recognisable and evoke the thoughts, feelings and associations we want people to have. It’s about making it easier for people to remember us and trust us.
This matters because we’re not able to command much time or attention from our target audiences. Instead, we have to create shortcuts – or ‘hacks’.
What images come to mind when you see the golden arches?
Perhaps you picture the interior of a McDonald’s. Or imagine a Big Mac, or a member of uniformed staff. One thing is certain – you’re not scrabbling around for references. A whole neural network is activated the moment you see that logo, allowing you to jump effortlessly from one association to the next. Over time, it has become a shortcut for multiple meanings.
Brand symbols often inspire a cluster of emotions too – and emotion is a powerful driver of connection and, consequently, trust. It also plays a critical role in the decision to donate.
But this doesn’t happen by accident. It requires repeated, consistent exposure to encode a desired set of associations and emotions in the minds of your audience. In a cluttered communications environment, we have to make the most of every interaction we get, reinforcing the same signals again and again until they stick.
If your brand looks and sounds different across touchpoints – and audiences aren’t having a consistent experience – recognition weakens and trust erodes. Remember, no-one is giving your brand the same amount of thought and attention as you are!
People aren’t carefully distinguishing between your different services and appreciating the nuance. Much more likely, they’ll simply dismiss your brand as muddled and confusing.
Three brand management systems
So how do you manage a brand with multiple services or branches? There are a number of systems out there, but I’m going to focus on three in particular: the branded house, the house of brands and the endorsed brand.
To bring these models to life, I’ll use commercial examples that many of us will recognise, rather than charities whose structures may be less familiar to all of us.
1. A branded house
In a branded house, the parent brand is dominant and used consistently across services, products and sub-brands, reinforcing its core attributes. This creates multiple opportunities for visibility while avoiding confusion for audiences. All brand equity accumulates in one place.
It’s also far more cost-efficient. Resources aren’t stretched thinly across multiple brands. Instead, marketing efforts can be centralised, and the trust earned by the parent brand is automatically extended to new services or products.
Virgin is a strong example of a branded house – Virgin Active, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Media, Virgin Experience Days, Virgin Money, Virgin Mobile and so on.
It’s worth noting that entirely pure examples of these brand architectures are rare. For instance, Google is often cited as a branded house but is actually a subsidiary of Alphabet, as is YouTube.
2. A house of brands
This model works in a fundamentally different way.
In a house of brands, an organisation manages a portfolio of distinct brands, each with its own identity and positioning. There is no visible overlap, and consumers may be completely unaware of any connection to a parent organisation.
For example, did you know that L’Oreal’s portfolio includes CeraVe, Prada, Urban Decay, Maybelline, Garnier and Ralph Lauren among many other brands?
This approach is useful when targeting different audiences within the same product category. Selling shampoo to a budget-conscious consumer and to someone looking to splurge requires very different propositions. Here, separation becomes a strategic advantage.
Procter & Gamble is another classic example of a house of brands, with Oral-B, Herbal Essence and Olay just a few of their brands.
3. Endorsed brands
Sitting somewhere between these two models are endorsed brands.
Endorsed brands operate as distinct entities in their own right but are supported by a master brand. They have their own identities and personalities, while subtly leveraging the trust of the parent.
Nestle is often cited as an example of this system, with products such as Nesquik, Nescafe, KitKat and Shreddies. Notice the parent endorsement on the packaging.
For most charities, a branded house is not just the simplest architecture, it’s also the most effective. Especially when you factor in limited budgets, constrained marketing capacity and a crowded marketplace – where many charities struggle to build even basic brand metrics.
Building brand equity takes time, consistency and sustained investment. Spreading limited resources across multiple brands makes that task significantly harder. For most charities, it is far more effective to focus on strengthening the parent brand, allowing every campaign, service and supporter interaction to reinforce the same distinctive identity. In a sector where many organisations are competing for attention and support, concentrating brand equity in one recognisable brand is usually the wisest investment.
How do I ensure brand compliance?
Consistent brand application can be hard to achieve. But there are a couple of steps you can take that will help:
Boost brand education
Most colleagues don’t have in-depth knowledge of brand or marketing, so take every opportunity you can to evangelise the benefits of good branding. This approach might include internal blogs, lunchtime masterclasses or open Q&A sessions.
You could invite speakers from commercial organisations or other charities with mature brand systems to share their expertise. You could encourage your colleagues to attend a CharityComms Brand Breakfast to learn about the brand practices and experiences of other organisations.
You might establish a small group of brand champions or host weekly brand surgeries. You could also create a quarterly newsletter showcasing great examples of your brand in the wild – bringing to life just how powerful it can be when applied consistently.
Once people truly understand the value and power of branding, they’re usually more willing to be brand compliant.
Introduce a content approval panel
A sign-off system is one of the simplest ways to ensure your outputs remain on-brand. That said, approval by committee can quickly become problematic if panel members aren’t following the same guidelines and working to the same criteria. So, when establishing your sign-off process, keep these principles in mind:
- Keep panel numbers to a minimum.
- Define ‘on‑brand’ and ‘creative excellence’.
- Be clear on what constitutes good feedback. It’s less about personal taste and more about whether the asset meets its objectives.
It’s useful to ask questions like:
- Is the brand applied consistently?
- Is the core message clear and easy to grasp?
- How well does this meet the brief and project objectives?
- Based on what we know about the target audience, is this likely to resonate?
It’s also important to establish your risk appetite. Most bold brand assets never see the light of day because of fear of backlash. This aversion often results in communications that feel safe, forgettable and bland. Decide in advance what level of risk you’re comfortable with, so you’re not derailed later.
Finally, commit to continuous learning. As a panel, you’re collectively setting the creative and brand bar for the organisation. To stay competitive and relevant, you must keep pace with developments in your sector – and beyond.
Most of all, don’t give up. Many people are only just starting to wake up to the brilliance of brand, so give them time and encouragement.
Best of luck with your branding journey!
All logos and trademarks displayed in this blog belong to their respective owners. They are used strictly for educational and informational purposes. This content is independent, and no endorsement by or affiliation with the trademark owners is implied.
Image credits: Canva and McDonalds image by Aneesh Prodduturu on Pexels.
