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Nonprofits looking to rebrand must take care to preserve the organization’s core values while refreshing its identity to resonate better with current and future supporters. Though this isn’t often an easy feat, a successful and strategic rebrand can lead to renewed energy and stronger mission alignment.
To that end, 20 Forbes Nonprofit Council members share their best strategies for navigating a nonprofit rebrand. From engaging stakeholders early to seeking expertise from marketing professionals, here are their practical tips and insights for ensuring the rebranding process runs smoothly.
Too often, nonprofits keep work in-house to save precious resources, which can cost more in the long run. Investing in a good marketing company is worth the cost of ensuring your brand is professional and relevant before you begin. Start with basic brand guidelines, including clear and consistent messaging, fonts, different versions of your logo and how you are going to use what and when. – Bev Wenzel, The ROCK Center for Youth Development and Discover You
Lean on your existing community. It is always amazing how many people are already in your network who can provide insight and expert assistance with a rebrand at no cost. – Taryn Palumbo, Orange County Grantmakers
We rebranded to announce our plans to serve students across more cities in the Bay Area. The most important part of a rebrand is your story—a consistent manifesto shared internally and externally. Rebranding helps you better represent who you truly are (or will become), and that purpose should drive the project. You need to help people understand by giving them tools to champion your central purpose. – Irene Shih, Minds Matter Bay Area (MMBay)
When rebranding, there can be this temptation to abandon all previous iterations and make a clean break to a new brand. This presents the possibility of alienating those who worked hard to build the previous brand. It is important to honor the work that went into creating the previous brand by clearly communicating why any new brand changes are necessary. – Jordan Palladino, Harvest Stand Ministries
The success of a rebrand can be driven by three key factors. First, get meaningfully engaged with the board for a crucial external perspective. Second, find a creative and flexible branding partner who takes time to understand the organization and inspire your best thinking. Last, hire a strong internal marketing communications lead who can execute the roll out in the near and long term with excellence. – Shelley Hoss, Orange County Community Foundation
Start with the client data you already collect and flesh out how you want to evolve with direct community input. Surveys, interviews and forums are great tools for this. Clients choose who they work with based on alignment of need and reflection of self. Acknowledging the power of representation allows for more credibility and influence amongst the communities your organization serves. – Christina Engel, Magic Cabinet
Is this a rebrand or spin-off? Do you need a full rebrand, or would it be more efficient and effective to create a stand-alone entity? Or is it time for a new premium sibling entity? This strategy can allow you to focus on a different supporter group without alienating your existing supporters, as there will be enough commonality to make the link but with a specific focus to engage a new audience. – Jonathan Prosser, Compassion UK
Forbes Nonprofit Council is an invitation-only organization for chief executives in successful nonprofit organizations. Do I qualify?
To achieve a smooth rebranding, it’s critical to involve key internal constituents in the process. Make sure to carefully communicate the vision behind the rebrand to college presidents, the board and other internal stakeholders to ensure they understand how the updated brand aligns with the identity, values and brand personality already established. – Michael Horowitz, The Community Solution Education System
When rebranding, ask yourself what makes the organization truly different in a crowded market. Look past the obvious factors of long history and great people. What is the real set of differentiators? Why would anyone want to affiliate with you? Take time to create several different value propositions and test them with target audiences. Those reactions may provide great insights into a new brand. – Pat Tamburrino, NobleReach Foundation
Focus on the lasting benefit of the new brand. Rebrands can be exciting but we key in on the hot phrase or hip concept of the moment sometimes. Successful rebrands have to last. As you consider a new name or image, ask if it will remain viable and successful a decade from now. A rebrand now can be valuable but if you do it every year or two, it will appear like you don’t know who or what you are. – Patrick Riccards, Driving Force Institute
Rebranding is as necessary as updating a kitchen or bathroom in a home. Similarly, contracting with an expert is key. This is not a DIY project, so it is imperative to find a marketing firm that understands your brand and mission to accurately capture its essence. The rebrand has to send a clear message to your audience about who you are and how you can make a difference in their lives. – Tara Chalakani, Preferred Behavioral Health Group
When undertaking a rebrand of your nonprofit, you should form a working group that’s representative of your brand’s stakeholders. They will shape the brand itself, but more importantly, they will be the best ambassadors to sell the new brand to your stakeholders. Their invested energy into the process will do more to ease the transition to a new brand than any press release could. – Michael Bellavia, HelpGood
Be careful not to lose the brand recognition you already have in an effort to be fresh and new. Oftentimes, people confuse services between nonprofits. They know that the work is valuable but may confuse the nonprofit that fights homelessness with the one that fights joblessness. If you’re not constantly telling your story, changing the logo or even the name may not resolve that issue. – Kimberly Lewis, Goodwill Industries of East Texas, Inc.
Make sure the need for rebranding is clear. A major impediment to rebranding comes from those stakeholders who don’t believe it’s necessary. They are loyal to the current brand, don’t like change and consider it bad for the mission. Provide the reasoning behind a decision to rebrand and how it impacts the sustainability of the organization. If you win that argument, momentum will be on your side. – Victoria Burkhart, The More Than Giving Company
Plan to repeat yourself. Especially if you are refreshing or rebranding a long-existing brand, it will take time for the new brand to truly sink in for all of your diverse stakeholders and audiences. Have an active implementation and communication plan for the first three to six months, and plan to reference the rebrand for the first one to two years. This transition is vital to bringing along your audience. – Matthew Gayer, Spur Local
What type of rebrand is it? Is it a tweak to your existing logo, or a complete overhaul of the brand, mission, vision and values? Clearly define what the rebrand will be. Organize a “rebrand council” that consists of a small group of internal and external stakeholders, clients, board members and a top-notch marketing firm. Don’t do it in-house; the smallest rebrand can go wrong if not executed by professionals. – Erin Davison, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Louisiana
Stakeholder engagement and communication are critical to ensure the rebranding journey goes smoothly. This will build trust and support by creating a sense of ownership and reducing resistance to change. Communication will eliminate barriers and promote healthy transparent collaboration and feedback. – Hari Prasad Josyula, IPMA USA
Ask to what extent the new branding ties in with your vision, mission and core values—then consider the immense opportunity you’ll have. Every opportunity to communicate the new brand is also a chance to tell your “why,” to reinforce who your organization is and to communicate its aspirations. If you’re strategic about rolling out the new brand, you’ll drive new eyeballs to your organization and its work. – Randy Wong, Hawaii Youth Symphony
Involve your staff in the nonprofit rebrand to tap into their insights and passion for a more authentic outcome and stronger support. Involving your staff who are your best marketers will help create not just a better brand but also help your mission, vision and values tie to your brand more holistically, which will drive your marketing. – James Dismond, Hospice Care of the Lowcountry
Rebranding is a great way to reboot and reset an organization’s mission, strategy and public perception. Be intentional about what three key topics you want the public to know about your brand, services and mission. Keeping the “why” as the centerpiece of your rebranding helps to ensure the public will understand and appreciate the effort. – Aaron Alejandro, Texas FFA Foundation
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Navigating uncertain and dynamic economic conditions can challenge even the most seasoned marketing teams. When turbulent economic times hit, all parts of a business shift. Top marketing leaders recognize those moments and adjust their plans to meet the business’s strategic needs.
Throughout my career, I’ve learned that marketing has to ebb and flow with those changing conditions. That happens in countless small ways every day.
As leaders, we have to keep our team members on track to deliver the outcomes that matter to revenue. We need complete alignment with the sales strategy and prioritization. We have to focus on sales enablement, effective messaging and positioning, ultimately bringing the right people into the funnel and nurturing them in the right way.
It’s also crucial to keep a strong eye on customer marketing and engagement. It’s important to be laser-focused on ensuring your customers stay your customers.
Markets can change quickly, affecting buying cycles and leaving marketers in unpredictable situations. Executing any strategy during those times is like riding a rollercoaster. You can expect a lot of twists and turns.
However, marketers can enjoy a successful ride if they stick to three tried-and-true strategies that have served me well, no matter the economic conditions.
Related: 5 Marketing Strategies That Work Even in Uncertain Times
Marketing leaders, and marketers in general, need to stay approachable at all times, but particularly during uncertain economic conditions. Fostering open communication and encouraging feedback ensures everyone is working toward a common goal, comfortable sharing their opinions and building a culture of trust and collaboration.
From a people perspective, marketing leaders have access to a ton of information, and we sometimes forget how tough times affect our team members. Communicate with them. Be transparent so they understand the circumstances and the business strategies. It’s okay to talk about heightened expectations or where improvements are urgently needed.
From a strategic perspective, remaining approachable allows people to provide early indicators of things that aren’t working so you can get ahead of them. Hold regular one-on-one meetings with team members to hear their concerns and ideas.
Marketers have to be out front, and they need support from all the business functions around them. You’re building consensus, socializing messaging and driving strategy. To do that in a way that really delivers value, you have to always adjust to input.
By listening and learning, you will create an environment of trust, which leads to better decision-making and stronger strategies. If you’re not approachable, people won’t give you that crucial feedback.
Marketers must be willing to experiment and try new things, even in uncertain economic conditions, to ensure companies remain agile and can respond quickly to resource shifts. Operating with a mindset of experimentation can mean testing new messaging, trying different marketing channels or developing new content types.
But you can’t experiment your way out of a bad product fit or a low addressable market. Sometimes the business needs to redirect its resources toward strengthening the product or technology to improve market fit.
Marketing leaders shouldn’t overlook that. Cutting back marketing spend to divert toward strengthening other parts of the organization will lead to stronger budgets when that product fit is nailed and the addressable market increases.
Related: 5 Ways Your Brand Can Pivot to Thrive in Uncertain Times
Metrics should never be overlooked, whether times are good or bad. A strong understanding of your metrics fuels decisions around marketing spend. Knowing your numbers is the best way to ensure marketing strategies are aligned with business goals and you’re directing your budget toward the right outcomes.
It’s also critical to understand every stage of the sales funnel, customer acquisition costs (CACs) and customer lifetime value (CLV). That information plays a key role in creating powerful marketing strategies.
By calculating the CAC and CLV, you can make more informed decisions about where to allocate marketing budget and which channels best drive customer leads and engagement that results in revenue. That data-driven approach helps marketing teams make the most of their budget and ensures they’re delivering the best possible results for the business.
Absolute clarity about your metrics is the only way to spot the areas that need more attention or aren’t performing at the optimal level.
When conditions are good, marketers always should be thinking, “what if things turn?” Accurate metrics can provide the early insight you need because when turbulent times arrive, it’s almost too late.
Related: How to Manage and Maximize Your Marketing Budget During Times of Economic Uncertainty
Navigating uncertain and dynamic economic conditions is always a challenge. But by focusing on remaining approachable, experimenting where you can and prioritizing metrics, you can emerge from turbulent times in an even stronger position.
Marketing is never a straight line, but we can — and should — have the agility to quickly shift course and the acumen to execute strategies that deliver stability during the toughest times.
Working in marketing during turbulent economic times may be a rollercoaster, but the ride is always worth it.
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