The Brand IDEA

Offering a new framework for nonprofit brand management, this book presents the Brand IDEA (Integrity, Democracy, and Affinity). The framework eschews traditional, outdated brand tenets of control and competition largely adopted from the private sector, in favor of a strategic approach centered on the mission and based on a participatory process, shared values, and the development of key partnerships. The results are nonprofit brands that create organizational cohesion and generate trust in order to build capacity and drive social impact. The book explores in detail how nonprofit organizations worldwide are developing and implementing new ways of thinking about and managing their organizational brands.

List of Figures, Tables, and Exhibits vii

Foreword by Christopher Stone, president, Open Society Foundations ix

Introduction xiii

PART 1: CONTEXT, CONCEPTS, AND BUILDING BLOCKS

CHAPTER 1: WHAT IS DRIVING THE PARADIGM SHIFT AND BRAND IDEA FRAMEWORK 3

CHAPTER 2: WHAT IS A BRAND ANYWAY, AND WHY SHOULD YOU MANAGE IT? 21

CHAPTER 3: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: REVIEWING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF BRAND 37

CHAPTER 4: WHY THE SKEPTICS HAVE IT WRONG: UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE AND BENEFITS OF BRAND 51

PART 2: GETTING THE BRAND IDEA

CHAPTER 5: BRAND INTEGRITY 65

CHAPTER 6: BRAND DEMOCRACY 83

CHAPTER 7: BRAND AFFINITY 97

PART 3: PUTTING THE BRAND IDEA INTO ACTION

CHAPTER 8: IMPLEMENTING THE BRAND IDEA: WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO DO IT 119

CHAPTER 9: THE BRAND IDEA IN SPECIFICSITUATIONS 153

CONCLUSION: YOU CAN DO IT! 171

References 179

Individuals Interviewed and Organizations Cited 189

The Authors 197

Acknowledgments 199

Index 203

Nathalie Laidler-Kylander teaches graduate level and executive education courses in management, leadership, and marketing at Harvard's Kennedy School and Tufts' Fletcher School. She has been researching and writing about nonprofit brands for over a decade.

Julia Shepard Stenzel is a consultant who works with nonprofits on strategy and management systems. She is also an active nonprofit board member.

For more information, please visit www.nonprofitbrandidea.com

A growing number of nonprofit organizations are exploring the wider, strategic roles that brands can play—driving broad, long-term social goals, while strengthening organizational identity, cohesion, and capacity. Laidler-Kylander and Stenzel present a new framework for nonprofit brand management which they have termed the brand IDEA (Integrity, Democracy, and Affinity). The model eschews traditional, outdated brand tenets of control and competition in favor of a more strategic, sector-centric approach that is anchored in the mission, based on participatory processes, and promotes clarity and collaboration. Written for nonprofit leaders, managers and staff, board members, professors and students in nonprofit management, and executive education programs, this important resource shows how all nonprofits can increase their impact by tapping into the power of the brand IDEA.

Praise for The Brand IDEA

"There can't be any question of whether the concept of 'brand' is important for a nonprofit. This book has a wealth of ideas about how you can build your brand more systematically and strategically."
—Herman B. Leonard, Eliot I. Snider and Family Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School (HBS), and cochair, HBS Social Enterprise Initiative

"Every nonprofit leader should read this book. The Brand IDEA provides insight, real-world examples, and practical advice about the important role that brand plays, not only among external constituents, but among internal ones as well."
—Eric Nee, managing editor, Stanford Social Innovation Review

"This book has frameworks, examples, and tips to help all nonprofit organizations build stronger brands that will enhance their capacity and strengthen impact."
—Beth Canter, coauthor, The Networked Nonprofit, and author of Beth's Blog