Clint Lenard

fastcompany:

Why Fast, Cheap, and Easy Design Is Killing Your Nonprofit’s Brand

A logo doesn’t equal a brand, and nonprofits would be much better served trying to formulate a real strategy than trying to use graphics to hide a lack of true mission.

Technology is fueling a democratization of design, giving ordinary people the power to create with speed and ease. Among nonprofits, many feel that technology is leveling the playing field when it comes to expressing themselves and their brands.

With a smartphone and a laptop, you can channel your inner Spielberg and produce epic videos. Professional themes built for WordPress make websites a snap, and a host of other do-it-yourself marketing tools can help you painlessly create everything from email templates to infographics.

Not a DIY kind of person? No worries. Just have someone else do it for you for pennies on the dollar. Today’s technology allows you to crowdsource all your marketing needs. At Fiverr.com, you can get virtually anything done for $5, like say QR codes built out of Legos. Meanwhile at 99designs.com, you can start a designer battle royal and walk away with a “winning logo” or other creative production for a few hundred bucks.

Technology is indeed empowering those with mini budgets to create mightily. On the flip side, it’s also producing a surplus of uninspired websites, flatlining brands, and cookie cutter approaches to communications. While moving fast and free, nonprofits are trading originality, vision, and identity for templates, plug-ins, and off the shelf solutions.

It’s not a question of whether you can get quality design from cheap (or free) apps and services. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t. The real question is a fundamental one: Do you have a strategy for what you’re creating?

For 8 out of 10 nonprofits, the answer to that question is no. Only 20% of causes report having a formal, written marketing strategy. Meanwhile, 100% have logos, websites, and donor communication vehicles. That’s less than ideal when you consider:

• A logo does not equal a brand.
• A website does not equal a digital presence.
• A Facebook page does not equal an engaged community.
• A press release does not equal press coverage.

Strategy leads to things like a distinctive and authentic point of view, the creation of compelling content, and the development of engaged communities. Without strategy, you are just making stuff that may or may not “look pretty.”

But here’s why this strategic deficit is really such a big deal. At a time when nonprofits need to stand out more than ever, they are at best blending in and at worst becoming invisible. At a time when they need their voice the most, they are saying absolutely nothing.

how will your cause stand out in this overpopulated and chaotic environment? Technology can’t help you. Fast, cheap, and easy can’t help you. Strategy can. Strategy provides your organization with a 3-D effect: direction, discernment, and differentiation.

• Direction: It aims you squarely at your goals, and creates a path that guides you to success.
• Discernment: It is a filter for your decision making. It helps you avoid distractions and inconsistencies. It helps you evaluate the various parts and pieces of your marketing efforts.
• Differentiation: It is how you set yourself apart and stand out from the competition. It ensures you don’t look, sound, feel and act like everyone else.

If you’re a nonprofit, ask yourself these questions. Do you want to fit in, or do you want to stand out? Do you want to “look pretty” or do you want to be effective?

If you’re a foundation, an investor, a strategic donor, a corporate sponsor, or a board member supporting a cause, ask yourself these questions. Would a marketing strategy benefit the causes I support? If so, how do I help them develop one? What obstacles can I remove?

Strategy isn’t easy, or cheap. But it is well worth the investment. In the end, five bucks is a great price for a foot-long sub, or a rave review of a product or service. But what price is your organization paying if you are creating without a strategy to guide you? It’s hard to quantify, to be honest. But you could probably buy quite a few sandwiches.

Read the full story here.

Do you have a strategy?

earthlynation:

Khan on Black by Sue Demetriou

2headedsnake:

Robert Frank Hunter

cheatsheet:

bunnyfood:

You’re welcome, everybody.

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“unce unce unce.”

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