Messaging What Matters: Making Meaning to Make a Difference

Holding good ideas up to the light

Message Program messages advance the day-to- day work Brand messages describe the organization

A brand is a person’s gut reaction about a service, product or organization. Source: Marty Neumeier, Brand Gap Your Brand = Your Reputation

A brand explains an organization to itself, its stakeholders, and the people it serves. It is the DNA of your organization. A brand is more than a logo

Your brand is not… an ad campaign a logo a web site   

Your Brand is the Sum of Everything SAY DO BE communications programs values + vision words behaviors soul

Aim Staff Board Funders Donors Volunteers Use Evolve Live it! Focus Three Steps AlignAct

THE SOUL OF AN ORGANIZATION PROMISE What’s the contract you offer? What do you deliver? VALUES What drives you? PERSONALITY How do you operate? How do people experience working with you?

Promise Statement The brand promise statement is… the value your constituents receive from your work. The brand promise statement is not… intended as a public message, but as a tool to convey the organization’s essence.

The Center for American Progress is a think tank dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through ideas and action. We combine bold policy ideas with a modern communications platform to help shape the national debate, expose the hollowness of conservative governing philosophy, and challenge the media to cover the issues that truly matter. Mission Statement

Progressive ideas for a strong, just and free America. Brand Promise

Mission Statement To promote a larger, healthier urban forest as part of the urban ecosystem through community planting, maintenance, education and advocacy.

Create a greener San Francisco, tree by tree. Brand Promise

The brand values are the animating idea behind your brand. They drive you to do what you do and they help align your behaviors with your brand promise. Brand Values

Authenticity Equality Trust Brand Values

Relevance Action-ability Legacy Brand Values

The brand personality are the attributes and qualities that come to mind when someone hears about you. These help to distinguish you from other organizations and, along with the promise, offer a reason to work with you. Personality

Brand Personality

THE SOUL OF AN ORGANIZATION PROMISE What’s the contract you offer? What do you deliver? VALUES What drives you? PERSONALITY How do you operate? How do people experience working with you?

Case Study

PROMISE Change the Conversation. Again. VALUES Truth-telling Transparency Community PERSONALITY Fearless Watchdogs Outspoken

“There’s nothing about cancer that is pretty or pink or soft or fluffy. Life is worth celebrating, not cancer. People recognize the truth when they see it and the reality is cancer does suck. It’s time we all told the truth about breast cancer. Join us.” --BCA

Let’s play! Let’s play! Exercises designed to unlock the building blocks of your brand identity

DNA DNA What 10 words best describe what lies at the heart of your organization and its work?

Look at the list you created in the DNA exercise. If you had to lose five of the words/ideas, which would they be? What if you could only have three? What one idea would you fight for keeping at any cost? That’s your word – without it, you wouldn’t be you. Forced Sacrifice

A great way to unlock what you are most passionate about is to determine…. Purposeful Passion What are you fighting for?What are you fighting against?

Imagine that your organization is a person. Describe that person. Now write their online dating profile. Personality

Elevator Speech

What are your ideas?

Keep It Simple, Sweetheart!

INSPIRATION ILLUMINATION INTENTION INSIGHT IMPACT

@LBCollab