Ries' Pieces

Non-Profit Rebrand: On the House 2010

            As part of my ongoing partnership with Matchstic’s On The House project, I have helped transform another non-profit brand this year.

 

            Last year it was the Swift School. And On the House transformed the branding strategy and identity for a relatively new school that works with children with dyslexia. The success of that On The House project has far exceeded expectations. It shows that it isn’t just about doing good work, success also depends on building a powerful brand in the mind. Enrollment at the Swift School is way up this year. But more importantly, the students at Swift feel a new sense of pride about the themselves and their school.

 

 

On The House 2010

 
            This year we worked with the Atlanta Union Mission. The Atlanta Union Mission is a non-profit that was established in 1938 for individuals in crisis that were displaced by the Great Depression.

              Seventy-two years later, the Great Depression of 1932 is ancient  history but the Atlanta Union Mission is still going strong. The Mission provides emergency food and shelter, residential recovery programs and transitional housing to as many as 1,200 homeless, addicted or disenfranchised men and women and their children.

            The Challenge: Help a 72-year-old brand founded during the Great Depression update its image, clarify its mission and focus its message.

            The Name: Atlanta Union Mission.

            In the early part of the 20^th century, long, generic names were all the rage. General Electric. International Business Machines. American Telephone & Telegraph. Standard Oil. When most businesses were small and local there was an advantage to sounding big and scopy.

            Today, it is different. Today, generic names make poor brand names. The ear hears the name and doesn’t distinguish between uppercase and lowercase. A generic name is a description, not a brand. Almost all the best-known, most valuable brands in the world are proper names not generic ones. Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Apple, Disney, Ford, Susan G. Komen.

            The one stand out is General Electric. But G.E. is No 1 or No 2 in the categories it competes in and more importantly it only competes against other conglomerates with equally poor brand names. G.E. hasn’t succeed in new technologies like computers and got out of the consumer appliance business. Remember, just because G.E. can violate a law of branding it doesn’t mean you can too.

            Atlanta Union Mission is a very long and very generic name. So long that most people inside the organization and in the community call it by its acronym AUM. AUM is even worse than Atlanta Union Mission. AUM? They need to have a name people will use and that stands for something.

            The most focused word they have is Atlanta, because that is the market they serve. Atlanta differentiates them from their competitors which are the large international charities.

             “Union,” what does that mean? Today it has a much different meaning than it did. Back then it was used to show that the organization was “non-denominational.” Today it means “labor unions” and voting for Obama. This isn’t a political action committee, so using the word is confusing and worse polarizing.

            Mission is a nice word, it conveys action and purpose but gets lost.

            The suggestion was to drop Union. And to shorten the name to “Mission Atlanta” my choice. Or alternatively “Atlanta Mission” the clients choice.

            Starting over from scratch isn’t always an option for a brand. The Atlanta Union Mission has a lot of support in the community and without a huge budget a totally new name would not have been the best decision. Here we have simplified and shorten the name to its core elements. And most importantly will help get people to use the name and not an acronym.

 

            The verbal nail

            The current tagline for the Atlanta Union Mission is “Saving Lives with Your Help.”

            Like most taglines it is not specific enough. Is this a school for lifeguards?

            No, the Atlanta Mission is a charity that helps people who are homeless get back on their feet. They help them with emergency assistance and with on-going educational and transitional programs.

            Therefore, the word that Atlanta Mission needs to own is “homelessness.”

            The verbal nail that drives that word in the mind is “Ending homelessness.” That is a tagline that is specific, memorable and emotional.

 

            The visual hammer.

            The current visual is an old-fashion lamp post. The new visual is a lantern.

            The concept of "Shining The Light" has been a core element of the Atlanta Mission brand. This idea is retained while modernizing it with a new spin on its meaning. Instead of waiting for people to come to it, the Atlanta Mission will strive to bring the "light" to those who need it. The lantern is also a visual that can be incorporated in many creative ways. Giving people lanterns as they walk the streets. Using lanterns at fundraising events etc.

            The mark also now includes a simple cross at the heart of the lantern representing Christ as the central force of the Atlanta Mission. If you are a Christian group than it is best to disclose this in an open, honest and friendly way.

  

            The official launch of the new Atlanta Mission brand will be in Jan 2011. So this is a sneak peek. I feel very proud to have participated in this project. And look forward to the next On the House experience.

Non-Profit Marketing: Lessons from Kate's Club

            For many non-profits, spending money or time on branding is a hard pill to swallow. Too many non-profit leaders think it is either shallow or useless to spend either time or money on improving their brand image, tagline or logo.

            Nothing could be further from the truth. Branding is the key to success no matter if you are selling sneakers or helping the homeless.

            Here in the Atlanta area I have had the pleasure of working with several non-profits including Kate’s Club which was founded by Kate Atwood to help kids deal with the death of a parent. I have known Kate since the beginning of her journey in starting the non-profit.
            There are important lessons to learn from watching a brand emerge. If you are building a new brand, remember to keep these lessons in mind:

 

1. Start Slow.

            Kate’s Club was founded in 2003 with six children, their families and an outing to a bowling alley. In the beginning, Kate kept her day job and worked on Kate’s Club on the side. If she had expected to the club to take off rapidly, she probably would have quit her job right away. That likely would have been a disaster.

            Start slow. Don’t expect donations, volunteers or even people in need to break down your door right way. Just because you are doing good work doesn’t mean you can defy the rules of branding. And the more revolutionary, the more remarkable your work, the more time it is likely to take to build the brand.

 

2. Have Patience.

            Brand building takes time. You need to show great patience. Getting into the human mind isn’t easy. You need to wait it out as word of mouth delivers the message about your brand. That won’t be easy, especially when you feel strongly about your work and your non-profit mission.

            But is the key to success. Without it patience you are likely to make foolish errors in strategy. Early on I remember sitting with Kate wondering how we would get anybody to talk about death, which is  not an easy subject. But because of her own experience she showed great patience and conviction that it was an idea worth sticking to. Too many kids are left to suffer alone after a parent dies because nobody knows how to talk to them.

 

3. Don’t force it.

            You cannot force your way into the mind. Turning too quickly to advertising to build a brand is the biggest mistake companies and non-profits can make. Until your brand has gained credibility and established a position in the mind, any ad dollars spent are wasted.

            In addition, trying to force people to change beliefs or behavior with advertising is doubly foolish. It just doesn’t work. Even if your brand is the best thing since sliced bread, consumers won’t believe you if you say it with advertising.

 

4. Focus on PR

            Say it with PR. It works because it is third-party endorsement of your brand. That’s why Red Bull, Starbucks, Google and many other brands used no advertising to build their brands and instead relied on PR.

            Getting PR for your brand isn’t easy, especially if editors have never heard of your organization. But again, stay patient and keep at it.

            And don’t just write press releases. You need to focus on creating news. What are you the first in? What is your story? Who is the spokesperson? What is your category?

            Remember that neither consumers nor the media care about brands. What they really care about are categories. Nobody cares much about Kate’s Club, but they care about “kids facing the death of a parent.” That’s why it is so important to create a category you can be first in and then position your organization as the pioneer, leader and voice of the movement.

            Kate has very much been a pioneer in the “grief” category. She has been on The View, The Today Show, CNN and many other television shows. She has been profiled in People magazine. And last year published her first book: A Healing Place: Help Your Child Find Hope and Happiness After the Loss of a Loved One.

 

5. Stay Consistent

            You might start slow and show great patience but you won’t succeed unless also remain consistent with your brand.

            You need a razor-like focus, not just weeks or months but for years. Too many leaders and marketers like to tinker. So they constantly change messages, taglines, events, spokespersons etc. That never works.

            At Kate’s Club the brand and message has stayed very focused. They have also stayed focused and consistent with their big yearly gala called the Kate’s Club Cabaret. The first Cabaret was held back in 2004 just over a year after Kate’s Club was founded and every year since.

            A yearly event is a great way for any non-profit to raise money. But you need to keep the event consistent with its name, date and position.

            Unlike most non-profits, Kate’s Club went after a younger audience. While this meant having lower ticket prices, it allowed the Kate’s Club Cabaret to build a reputation as a fun, young people gala. Nor did this strategy turn away the older folks who are now attending in droves. What middle-age person doesn’t want to attend the in-crowd gala with all the fun young pretty people?

            Locking the name of the event to your non-profit is also key. Kate’s Club Cabaret uses alteration one of the best ways to increase memorability of a word in the mind.

            No date you pick for an event is ever perfect. Don’t feel the need to have your gala during the “season,” the best strategy is to pick a date and stick to it.

            The first Kate’s Club Cabaret was in August. Why? Who knows? August is hot in Atlanta and kids are going back to school. Getting the venue might have been cheap? Kate might have just picked it at whim. Whatever the reason doesn’t matter, August became the time for the Cabaret and it was locked into the mind.

            One year Kate’s Club tried to move the Cabaret to September. September is a better month for a charity event, less people are on vacation, the weather is beautiful and there is a more serious feeling in the air. Did it work for the Cabaret?

            No! It was one of worst events in terms of attendance. I was there and it was definitely less crowded and didn’t feel right.

            As a result, the Cabaret quickly went back to August where it has remained ever since, growing bigger and better every year.

            The Kate’s Club Cabaret has grown from a 200 person event to a 500 person event. Last year the tickets were sold out.

            In this sour economy, that is an amazing accomplishment. But it speaks to the power of the brand, the message, the PR and the consistency. Bravo Kate and Kate’s Club.

            The 7^th annual Kate’s Club Cabaret is this Friday, August 20^th. Hope to see you there.

Also read another post with more of my Marketing tips for non-profits

Brand Makeover for the Swift School

  

    I am proud to announce that the branding makeover of the Swift School is almost complete. The process has taken many months but the results are extraordinary.

    Just to recap, back in April 2009, I was part of the On The House team that donated a total of $100,000 worth of services to a local non-profit organization in Atlanta. The winner of the prize was the Swift School, a non-profit school that serves elementary children with dyslexia.

    The mission of On the House was to give a branding makeover to a non-profit that was doing great work, but was not reaching its full potential due to weak marketing materials. The winner would get a strategy consulting from me, brand identity work, logo design, website design, photography, video production, brochures, printing and trademark counseling all for free.

    It is all too common that companies think that the name, logo, color, tagline, website don't matter. That if you have a good product or service you will succeed no matter what. Well, this is simply not true. Succeeding without a strong brand is enormously difficult.

    The changes that are being implemented right now at the Swift School are going to go a long way in helping to increase the school's visibility and credibility in the community.

    Like most brands, the Swift School is trying to find a way into the mind of the consumer. The way into the mind is always the same, the way in is with a narrow focus.

Here is how the team helped the Swift School:

1. The Name

    Originally the full name of the school was "The Swift School." But the "The" was an extra and unnecessary word that just made the name/logo longer.

    The emphasis should be on the one word that differentiates the brand and that is "Swift." It was recommend that the "The" be taken off the name. And for "Swift" to be the word that is the largest and most visible in the logo.

    Removing the "the" also allows for a shorter and easier to remember website address. I purchased www.swiftschool.com which amazingly was still available. Before the school was using the much longer www.theswiftschool.org.

2. The Word

    Every brand needs to focus on one word to own in the mind. This is difficult for most for-profit companies to do. It is even more difficult for non-profits which are concerned about being inclusive not exclusive.

    But focusing on a word doesn't mean necessarily leaving anybody out. Brands need to focus on a word so that people can file the brand in the mind. It is easier to file a specific idea than a general idea. Walgreen's is called a "drug" store even though they sell a lot of other stuff and could more appropriately be called a "personal items" store.

    Before the Swift School talked about "serving children with dyslexia and language-based learning differences." While that might be correct, it is way to long. And "language-based learning differences" is too vague. They needed one word that would cover almost all that they do.

    That word is "dyslexia." After all what is dyslexia? Dyslexia is a learning disability that is neurological in origin and is characterized by difficult with accurate and/or fluent word recognition. In other words, dyslexia is a difficulty with reading.

    Dyslexia is the one word that covers it all. It is a word that is already in the media and in the mind. And it is now the word that Swift is focused on.

3. The Tagline and Battle Cry

    Never underestimate the importance of a tagline. A good tagline should become the battle cry for your brand. A memorable call to action for employees, consumers and prospects alike.

    The use of alliteration, repetition and rhyme are all good ways of making your battle cry memorable. For example: Shop till you drop, Toys for Tots, or Loose lips sinks ships.

    The new battle cry for Swift is: Success with Dyslexia Starts Here.

    Obviously the alliteration of Swift, Success and Starts makes it memorable and drives the Swift/Dyslexia connection into the mind.

4. The Color

    Before Swift's color was dark green. But the uniform colors also offered a choice of green, blue, burgundy, or white shirts. That is way too many colors. A strong brand should focus on one color.

    The color selected to focus on was royal blue. The uniforms will only come in a choice of white or navy blue each with the swift name/star.

 

5. The Symbol.

    The guys at brand identity house Matchstic developed the "Star" as the symbol for Swift. It is very helpful if you can have a visual for your brand. And not just a squiggle that has no meaning but a visual that reinforces an idea in the mind.

    A brand like Nike can get away with just a swoosh, but only because Nike was first in a huge new category and they then backed up that symbol with hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising every year.

For most brands, it is best to use a symbol that has specific meaning and relevance to your brand and sets it apart from the pack. The "hut" for Pizza Hut. The "ticket" for Blockbuster. The "lime" for Corona. The "cowboy" for Marlboro. 

The star is perfect for Swift. The has the alliteration again with Swift. And the designers make it unique my overlaying the "s" and star. The star speaks to the potential of each Swift student to achieve success in school.

5. The Logo.

The logo takes the brand name, symbol, tagline and puts them together in a visual nugget that is then used everywhere. One of the most important things not to forget in a logo is legibility. Way too many designers try to make a logo pretty and forget that people also need to read it. Especially from a distance.

Here is the logo designed by Matchstic:

6. The other elements

If you have kids in school, you know how critical car magnets are. New Swift car magnets may seem like a trivial element but they are something that will have an immediate and important impact in the community. The magnets are being made by Branders.com and will arrive next week.

A new blue uniform shirt will be given to each student for the photography and video sessions which will be in November. Kids will still be allowed to wear the old logo shirts for the rest of this year. But all new uniform orders will have the new logo. And next year only the new logo will be allowed.

The website design has been created and is absolutely amazing. When you have a focus and a visual to play with creativity flows. The star is going to be something that can be used across many platforms. A star had such an emotional and relevant impact. The new website will go live in January.

It has been a wonderful project to be a part of. On the House has given an amazing school the brand strategy and brand identity it deserves.

Here is a recap of where the Swift School was in terms of its brand identity to where it will soon be.

 

 

 

Related posts:

Overview of the On the House Project

The Situation at Swift: My analysis of the branding issues

The Strategy for Swift: A summary of my strategy report

On the House Website

Matchstic Website

Ries & Ries Website

My general advice for marketing a non-profit.

The Strategy for Swift

The Swift School

The current mission of the Swift School is “to prepare children with dyslexia and related language-based learning differences to be successful in life.  We will strive to accomplish this mission by teaching them specific learning strategies and skills and by identifying and fully developing their talents.  To do so, we will create an environment that is exciting, challenging and supportive.” A mouthful and not very memorable. Even the director has trouble remembering it word for word.

 

The first step is to focus on a word. While the Swift School helps students with a variety of language-based leaning differences, the most obvious one to focus on is dyslexia. Why don’t they just say dyslexia? Well, non-profits and educational brands often have trouble limiting their brand in any way. But you will never get in the mind with idea like “language-based learning differences.” You can be inclusive with your program but need to be exclusive with your messaging.

 

The Swift School= Dyslexia. So if the word is dyslexia we now need a way to verbalize the idea that is memorable.

 

The way a brand gets established is with word of mouth. But for word of mouth to flourish it has to lend itself to being passed-along. It needs to be short, simple, easy to remember, credible and differentiating. The message has to be one that parents, students, teachers or therapists feel comfortable and confident about sharing.

 

The “The”

The full name of the school is “The Swift School” and the website address is www.theswiftschool.org.

 

Having the “The” in the brand name is just an extra word that makes the name longer. It used to be that companies always named themselves that way, as in The Procter & Gamble Company.

 

But these days it just makes the name unnecessarily longer. Using the “The” takes the emphasis away from the most important word which is “Swift.”

 

Also in a listing or directory how do you alphabetize The Swift School? Under “T” for The or “S” for Swift? Confusing.

 

Having the “The” makes the site address longer and especially for the web, the shorter the better.

 

My suggestion is to just use Swift School as the name. Of course, this can be changed easily on most places except for perhaps the most important, the internet.

 

Since prospective students are usually referred by a therapist or teacher, the website is typically the first and most important place parents find out more about the school. Having a great website with an easy to remember address is an extremely important brand component.

 

Unfortunately, www.SwiftSchool.org is already taken by an elementary school in Bon Secour Alabama.

 

However, sometimes you just get lucky. www.SwiftSchool.com was still available! I couldn't believe the luck! I purchased it right away and will transfer it over to the school’s ownership.

 

Using a .com address has many advantages. Dot com is the gold standard domain for the internet. Dot org is typically used by non-profits, so it would be good choice as well, but since it is taken it is not an option.

 

And if you take the “The” out of the name (which I really think they should) you really need to take it out of the website address. Inconsistency will lead to confusion.

 

Of course, what is wonderful about the web, it that you can own multiple addresses and point them all to one site. All the www.TheSwiftSchool.org traffic can simply be sent to the new site www.SwiftSchool.com. Nobody will get lost or confused.

 

 

A new position for the Swift School

The Swift School uses specific teaching methods with small class sizes to help dyslexics succeed. The key words to focus on are dyslexia and success. These are what set it apart from other private schools, inspire hope and get people talking. Parents, teachers and therapists agree that going to the Swift School ends the struggle with dyslexia and starts kids on the road to success.

My idea for the brand message is this:

 

Swift School

Where success

with dyslexia starts

 

You can see how this will lend itself to word of mouth.

 

“My son had trouble reading and was really struggling in school, but now he is at the Swift School. Swift is where success with dyslexia starts. He is learning how to overcome his dyslexia with specialized teaching methods. I can’t believe what a difference Swift has made in all our lives. Who knows he could the next Richard Branson or Thomas Jefferson or Albert Einstein, did you know they has dyslexia too?”

Successful Dyslextics

When parents get a diagnosis of dyslexia usually they panic. What can we do? What does it mean? What will people say? They worry about how the child will ever be able to succeed in school and be a success in life.

 

It is very comforting to parents and inspirational to children to be constantly reminded of all the successful dyslexics in the world. There are no limits to what a dyslexic child can achieve.

 

Dyslexics can become the President of the United Stateslike Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and John F. Kennedy. Or a scientist like Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton. Or a musician like John Lennon or Cher. Or an actor like Tom Cruise or Harrison Ford. Or an athlete like Muhammad Ali or Magic Johnson. Or a general like George S. Patten. Or an entrepreneur like Richard Branson or Steve Jobs. Or an inventor like Thomas Edison. Or even the sexiest man alive like Patrick Dempsey.

 

To reinforce this idea, you should line the walls of the school with the famous faces of dyslexia. That way children, teachers and parents will constantly be reminded of all their child can achieve.

 

What parent or student would not be impressed seeing all the images as they toured the school? It tells them that Swift believes it is OK to be dyslexic and that the school believes that great success is possible.

 

As Charles Revson famously said, we are not selling beauty cream we are selling “hope in a bottle.” Swift is selling hope in a school.

 

 

Public relations

Swift should work hard at generating media stories about dyslexia. Media attention will help drive brand recognition and word of mouth. The goal is for Swift to become the go to place for dyslexia information.

 

One controversial idea centers on early intervention. The idea that if reach a child early enough in development you can actually retrain the brain and reverse the symptoms of dyslexia. In other words, “Dyslexia doesn’t have to be forever.” Getting parents to see the signs early and seek help right away is key. This idea that dyslexia doesn’t have to be forever would be very effective on the website and brochures.

 

You might put together a “Signs of dyslexia to look for in your pre-schooler” brochure or offer lectures and information to local pre-schools. You might find a local therapist to work with in order to develop some kind of screening test. The advantages of getting kids help early is clear. So Swift should be on the cutting edge of making this happen.

 

In terms of the school’s expansion, adding kindergarten seems like the first place to start. If you propose early intervention, having classes for five year-olds is key. Long-term however there is no reason Swift should not plan on being a full pre-K to 12 grade school.

 

As you are doing now, Swift should continue community outreach by offering seminars and speeches about dyslexia. The new website itself can offer lots of background information about dyslexia to serve as a resource for parents and prospects.

 

When anybody thinks dyslexia the first thing they should think of is Swift and go to www.SwiftSchool.com

 

Stay tuned, I'll be back with Matchstic's logo design soon. First step is the strategy then the design to reinforce it.

The Situation at Swift

 

The story of Swift.

The Swift School is a non-profit school in Roswell Georgia that teaches students in 1st thru 6th grades with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences.

The school was founded in 1998 by Gail Swift a long-time teacher at The Schenck School in Atlanta. When Gail wanted to retire from Schenck parents urged the beloved teacher to continue teaching privately. She accepted and in one room in her church Gail began teaching five students.

In 2000, a two room modular building was leased and the schools enrollment was up to twenty-two students. The school continued to thrive and expand and by 2005 was up to seventy students.

 

Clearly a larger and more permanent home was needed for the Swift School. So in 2006, after a board of trustees had been established, the school purchased a 20,500 square-foot office building conveniently located on 5 acres in Roswell, Georgia.

Unfortunately due to medical concerns, Gail Swift announced her retirement in 2006 and the board began a national search for a new Executive Director.

 

Swift found Elizabeth Strowd from the prestigious Fletcher School in North Carolina and wooed her to the Swift School. The Fletcher School also specializes in dyslexia as well as other learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders.

 

In 2008, the Swift School celebrated its 10th anniversary. With a new building, an energized new Executive Director and 120 succeeding students, the Swift School was ready to take things to the next level.

 

 

Winning the $100,000 On the House marketing make-over is just what Swift needs to get there.

 

 

The Challenge.

Nobody knows about the Swift School. Public awareness of the brand is extremely low even in the learning disability community.

The logo, materials and website need to be updated. But before any materials can be improved by the other On the House volunteers, the brand strategy needs to be clearly defined. No brand will get in the mind with a three paragraph brand mission. Brands get into the mind by owning a word.

 

Swift needs to narrow its focus to own a word in the mind. For example, BMW owns driving, Volvo owns safety. Or in business schools, Kellogg owns marketing and Harvard owns management. It is interesting to note that both Kellogg and Harvard offer a wide variety of business majors; it is not about limiting what you do, it is about focusing your message to perhaps not include everything you do.

 

We live in an over-communicated society today. With too many brands, too many media outlets, too much advertising. The only solution to these problems is the over-simplified message. An over-simplified message allows you to cut through the clutter and get into the mind.

What word should the Swift School own? How can Swift verbalize that position in a memorable and meaningful way? What can Swift do to increase brand awareness?

 

These are the brand questions we will address and answer. Each consulting assignment is different, we don’t have a formula. We dive in and figure out what is going on, what is needed and what can be done. We had a meeting with the Swift team on May 4th. I'm first am outlining the problem, opportunity and challenges. Then I'll give you my strategy in tomorrow's post.

 

 

What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia not seeing words backwards. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin and is characterized by difficulty with accurate and/or fluent word recognition. It is typically the result of a deficit in the phonological component of language and often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities.

 

In other words, Dyslexia is a difficulty with reading in otherwise bright people.

 

Students with dyslexia typically have poor spelling and decoding abilities, problems with reading comprehension and a reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.

 

In other words, students with dyslexia find school extremely challenging.

 

Undiagnosed dyslexics are often assumed by parents and teachers alike to be lazy and lacking in intelligence. They struggle in school and frequently experience failure which often leads to low self-esteem and behavioral problems.

 

Who is Dyslexic?

The numbers are astounding. 15-20% of the population has a language-based learning disability. Dyslexia is the most common cause of language disability which includes reading, writing and spelling difficulties.

 

Dyslexia doesn’t discriminate, it affects males and females nearly equally, and people from all ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.

In the greater Atlanta area of 5.5 million people it is likely that at least 40,000 elementary school children suffer from some degree of dyslexia.

Obviously, the market for Swift and other specialized schools is huge. There are thousands of students in need of help.

 

Despite the challenges, many dyslexics have gone on to great success. Some famous dyslexics include: Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, Sir Isaac Newton, Henry Ford, Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, Charles Schwab, Richard Branson, Ted Turner, David Needleman, Wendy Wasserstein, Pablo Picasso, John Irving, Hans Christian Andersen, George Patton, Magic Johnson, John Lennon, Harry Belafonte, Jay Leno and Tom Cruise.

 

No kid or adult should be ashamed of being dyslexic. It is a common disorder affecting millions of people.  And being dyslexic doesn’t mean a life of struggling with reading, there are now proven techniques and strategies that enable success and offer great hope.

 

 

Up next: I'll share my strategy for Swift. Until then, think about it, how would you position Swift?

When the going gets tough, get giving

When the going gets tough, get giving. These are tough economic times for everybody, especially marketing agencies and consultants. When things were quiet for us back in January, I booked some events, made some contacts and looked for some ways to give back. Giving your services away with coupons and deals just undermines your value. But giving it away completely to companies in need not only feels good it helps your community and builds your brand.

I choose to team up with other successful Atlanta companies so we could give an entire package of services to a local non-profit. One great benefit of this is that it can be an excellent case study to share with prospects. One of the most difficult parts of being a consultant is usually you can't discuss any of the great work you do.

I'm extremely honored to be part of the On The House team which is giving a $100,000 extreme marketing make-over to a needy non-profit. There was an extensive selection process with applications, interviews and meetings to choose the lucky winner.

The winner is: The Swift School, a non-profit school for grades 1 to 6 that specializes in teaching kids with dyslexia.

We start the process on Monday morning with a Ries & Ries half-day brand strategy session. Al & I will be working with the Swift School team and Matchstic to develop the marketing plan that will then be executed with brand logo design, website design, photography, videography, brochures and other materials.

It is going to be very exciting and I look forward to sharing the work and experience with all of you.

The idea for On the House was conceived by Matchstic, a brand identity house here in Atlanta run by Craig Johnson and Blake Howard. Craig recently interviewed me about the project which I'd like to share with you.

CRAIG JOHNSON: How did you hear about On The House?

LAURA RIES: Blake, Craig and I were all chosen as Top 40 Under 40 award winners by the Atlanta Business Chronicle in the Fall of 2008.

Few of the winners were in branding (a lot of lawyers and real estate executives), so we gravitated towards each other. They guys had read some of my books and I was intrigued by Matchstic.

Sometimes you just click with people and that is what happened with me and the guys. After spending an hour or so having coffee with Craig talking about branding and life he mentioned the On The House project. I instantly signed up.

CRAIG JOHNSON: Why did you want to be a part of On The House?

LAURA RIES: I wanted to work with Matchstic. I wanted to give something back to the local community. And I wanted to keep busy during this recession.

CRAIG JOHNSON: What makes The Swift School a perfect candidate for On The House?

LAURA RIES: The Swift School is the perfect candidate because they have everything but a brand. They have a wonderful school that nobody knows about with marketing materials that don’t do it justice.

The school is well respected by experts, lead by fantastic teachers, filled with thriving children and supported by loyal parents. But nobody has heard of it, the logo is dated, the positioning unclear and marketing materials in need of investment.

Like many non-profits all the money has gone into running the place. Many see the investment in branding frivolous. But nothing could be further from the truth.

After the On The House team gets finished with Swift, I think it will serve as a great example of how a focused brand well executed can succeed. Branding means owning something in the mind.  And for Swift strengthening and defining its brand will allow them to sell less and teach more, by making it easier attract students, teachers and donors.

CRAIG JOHNSON: What types of clients do you normally work with?

LAURA RIES: We work with a wide variety of clients from Fortune 500 companies like Microsoft, Frito-Lay and Disney to entrepreneurial companies like The Republic of Tea and Papa John’s Pizza. We don’t specialize in any industry or company size. Our specialty is branding. We help companies to focus. A focus is the key to building a brand in the mind.

You are going to be providing a brand strategy session for the Swift School. Tell us about what you’ll be doing during the session.

My partner/father Al Ries and I are going to lead one of our brand strategy sessions. This is the core of what we do. We don’t have long term clients we only work on a one-day basis. This is the opposite of the way most consultants work. Most consultants study the situation, figure out the solution and present it to the client. We work together with the client to find the answer. That way everybody has ownership of the idea and understands how we got there. Many times there is internal conflict about what the brand is or should be, we help to resolve conflicts and get everyone focused and enthusiastic about the strategy.

CRAIG JOHNSON: What will The Swift School walk away with from that session?

LAURA RIES: The Swift School will walk about from the session with a marketing plan. Swift will have nailed down its brand focus and the exact verbalization of the idea.

CRAIG JOHNSON: What do you think is the most important rule in branding?

LAURA RIES: The most important Law of Branding is the Law of Focus. The way to build a strong brand is by having a narrow focus and owning a word in the mind. Ex. BMW owns driving. Volvo owns safety. Red Bull owns energy drinks. Target owns cheap chic. Zara owns fast-fashion. Nordstrom owns service. FedEx owns overnight.

CRAIG JOHNSON: How can non-profits organizations benefit from a well thought out branding strategy?

LAURA RIES: Non-profits benefit the same as for-profit companies from a strong brand. Strong brands are more successful. They have the ability to generate donations/support/volunteers/PR easier.

Even if you are doing good work it isn’t easy to get attention for it these days. We live in an over-communicated society. We are bombarded daily with thousands of images, sales pitches and charity requests. The only way to get above the clutter is with a focused brand and message. It is the same whether you are selling cars or curing cancer.

CRAIG JOHNSON: What’s your favorite thing about what you do?

LAURA RIES: My favorite thing is being able to work with my Dad. We have been working together since 1994 and he has taught me so much about branding and life. I love being able to travel around the world, meeting new people, learning about different business and helping them to succeed.

CRAIG JOHNSON: What’s the one piece of advice would you give a non-profit that doesn’t have resources to hire a brand strategist?

LAURA RIES: Many companies especially non-profits hesitate to focus their brand and message. They want to make there message as wide as possible. But this is a mistake. Your message and brand needs to be focused in order to get into the mind. You don’t have to include everything you do in your message. Also read my article: Marketing a Non-Profit Brand.

Marketing a Non-Profit Brand.

Many times marketing is seen as a dirty word in the non-profit sector. A necessarily evil that no one admits spending too much time or money on. But to build a successful non-profit organization to help people, you still need to follow the laws of branding. Because powerful non-profit brands will raise more money, attract more volunteers and help more people.

My friend Kate Atwood started a non-profit organization here in Atlanta. I met her through a mutual friend, Thomas Smith, from Northwestern and I have been overwhelmed by her instincts and guts every since.

Still in her mid-twenties, she has already been built a strong brand in just a few years. The brand is Kate’s Club and its mission is to offer hope, community and fun for children who have had to face the death of a parent. Like many non-profit founders, Kate started the club after her own experience with childhood grief.

When Kate was six years old, her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and died when Kate was 12 years old. Losing a parent at any age is difficult, but it is especially traumatic for a child.

I understand this first hand. My Mom lost her father when she was 14 years old. My best friend Amy lost her father in high school. My friend Perry lost his father in middle school. And Thomas lost both his mother and father in high school. It is a terrible, lonely, frightening journey. Thank goodness that Kate’s Club is here to help guide and empower these children on their grief journey.

So here are my Seven Steps for Building a Strong Non-Profit Brand. (They are really the same as building a strong for-profit brand since the goal is the same -- to own a position in the mind.)

1. The name.

This is the first and most important decision any non-profit has to make. Too many charities have generic names that are descriptive of what they do, but lack the ability to distinguish them from similar organizations in the mind. How many American Associations of this or that are there? Too many, in my opinion.

Of course there are some powerful brands with generic names like the American Heart Association or the American Cancer Society. But these are brands that have been around forever and were first in the mind. The American Cancer Society was founded in 1913, The American Heart Association in 1924. What you could do back then and what you can do right now are two different things.

Take General Electric. You couldn’t build a company with that generic a brand name today. GE is successful despite its weak name because it was founded over 114 years ago and was the innovator of many technologies like the light bulb.

I love the name Kate’s Club. It does not say exactly what it is about. But that is OK. What it does do is build a unique brand name in the mind. It also personifies the brand using Kate’s name and Club says it is for kids and is fun.

2. The spokesperson.

All brands need a spokesperson, but it is incredibility important for a non-profit. Ideally the founder is the best person to take on this role. He or she has a powerful connection to the brand and can sell the story to the media, donors, volunteers and supporters.

A celebrity with a personal connection to the cause can make an excellent spokesperson. Think Michael J. Fox and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, Lance Armstrong and Livestrong Lance Armstrong Foundation, Elizabeth Taylor and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS foundation.

Or sometimes just a regular person becomes the celebrity for the brand like Elizabeth Glaser for the Elisabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS foundation. In 1981, Elizabeth contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion and unwittingly passed it on to her two children via breast milk and in utero. Even though she lost her battle with AIDS in 1988, her memory and her story as the namesake of the organization lives on.

Charity brands can also have a CEO who serves as the brand’s spokesperson, one that will give credibility and accountability to the brand. There is always a fear that the money is being wasted, so a professional running the ship is helpful.

Kate Atwood, of course, is the perfect spokesperson for her brand. She is young, passionate and brave. You know you are supporting Kate’s mission when you give to Kate’s Club. And one day I think she will be a big celebrity for her cause.

Kate could also benefit from a high-profile celebrity endorsing her brand. My vote is for Stephen Colbert. When Stephen was 10 years old, he lost his father and two of his brothers (he is one of 11 children) in an Eastern Airlines crash. Such a loss must have had an enormous impact on him. Supporting Kate’s Club might be particularly rewarding for him and his celebrity would certainly help shine the PR spotlight on the Club. I have personally written to Stephen about Kate’s Club but so far no response. If anyone reading this blog works at Comedy Central please tell Mr. Colbert to check out www.KatesClub.org

Another possibility is Katie Couric. Couric's husband, Jay Monahan, died of colon cancer in 1998 at the age of 42 leaving two young daughters and Katie behind. Today Katie is a prominent spokeswoman for colon cancer awareness. She underwent a colonoscopy on-air in March 2000 which inspired many others to get checked as well. Katie and her daughters supporting Kate's Club might be very rewarding for them as well.

3. The position.

Every brand needs a focus. For a non-profit that wants to be as inclusive as possible, this is a very difficult task. But the only way to get your brand into the mind is with a narrow focus.

Take the American Heart Association. We think they need a more narrow focus. They should focus on one danger signal for heart disease. One of the biggest health problems in American, one directly connected to heart disease, and one that people can do something about is obesity. The organization should focus on obesity, the greatest threat to the health of your heart. The AHA can still support many other programs like CPR training and stroke prevention. A focus is for your message and not necessarily inclusive of all your work.

Kate’s Club has done a good job of focusing. The current position is: Empowering the Lives of Grieving Children. But I am always advising Kate to focus more. The more focused the message the more powerful it becomes and the easier it is to get into the mind. I really think of Kate’s Club as the place for kids grieving the loss of a parent. It might also make sense to focus the message on losing a parent to cancer since this is the leading cause of death for adults 35-54 years of age.

4. The enemy.

Every strong brand needs an enemy. This is something non-profits by nature tend to avoid discussing. But strong brands are built by figuring out who the enemy is, what the enemy stands for and then building a brand that stands for the opposite.

Mercedes are big, comfortable cars. So BMW positioned itself as the ultimate driving machine with smaller, lighter, more-nimble cars. Listerine is the bad-tasting mouthwash, so Scope positioned itself as the good-tasting mouthwash. Home Depot is messy and male oriented, so Lowe’s positioned itself as neat and female oriented.

Who is enemy of Kate’s Club? I think it is the American Cancer Society and other groups that focus on cancer patients and cancer survivors. Kate’s Club is for the children left behind, the children whose parents were not survivors and who at a critical developmental stage have a hole in their lives. Much like ACOA (Adult Children of Alcoholics) an organization that helps support those affected by the mayhem caused by growing up as the child of an alcoholic. Alcoholics Anonymous supports only the drinker, society often forgets about the collateral damage.

5. PR, PR, PR.

Not much to say, except that PR builds brand. The spokesperson need to spend the majority of his or her time doing PR for the charity, leaving the managerial duties to someone else. The most important thing for Kate or any other brand leader to do is to spend tireless hours looking for that one PR breakthrough. One mention in USA Today, Wall Street Journal or Oprah can put you on the non-profit map. And once you get one, the others usually come rolling in.

6. A signature event.

All charities, schools, clubs and teams have endless fundraisers. Hardly a day that goes by when some organization isn’t trying to shake me down for money for some good cause. Instead of a non-profit spending thousands of hours on multiple new programs every year, a better strategy is to focus on one or two big events and do them every year forever. Consistency is the key to success. Look at what the Girl Scouts have done with cookies and Jerry Lewis with his Labor Day MDA telethon.

Kate’s Club is following the same strategy with much success. Every August, Kate has a big Kate’s Club Cabaret in Atlanta. There is a silent auction, music, food and lots of fun. It has become one of the hot parties of the year, especially for young people. This year was the 3^rd annual Cabaret, an event that was able to raise over $100,000 for the charity.

7. Color and logo.

Any brand can benefit from the use of a strong singular color they can own in the mind. Pink and Breast Cancer is the best example of this. You see pink and you know what it means. The American Heart Association uses red. Lance Armstrong uses yellow, the color of the leader’s jersey in the Tour de France.

Kate’s Club colors are light blue with yellow. While Kate’s Club doesn’t use a single color, they do have a nice logo and use the colors consistently. Once the brand is well-known, the light blue might have a strong connection with the brand.

Good luck building your non-profit brand, Kate. And good luck to all the other wonderful people out there doing great things for the world with their non-profit brands.