Marketing is tricky. If it was a walk in the park then we’d never have clients knocking on our door. As creatives in an industry that commands creativity, we get it—it’s easy to get hung up on the big ideas and lose sight of what’s effective. Who doesn’t love the warm, fuzzy feeling of conjuring a clever/funny/inventive concept? If nothing else, my years of experience in the marketing space have taught me this: just because it’s a great idea, doesn’t mean it’s the right idea. And it’s all too easy to let your marketing slip off target.

That slip can manifest in one of two ways:
1. You phone it in. You begin to do marketing for marketing’s sake, following trends and making content just to “get something out there.” Or your marketing falls back on the who-what-when and neglects the why.

2. You become enamored with the big idea. A splashy concept or campaign that is a lot of fun and may feel original, but—in actuality—is utterly ineffectual. The kind of thing that leaves audiences forgetting your name or what you stand for, even if they had a good time interacting with your message.

If you’re feeling either of these, it’s a clue that your brand could probably use some work. Maybe just a minor tuneup, or maybe a massive overhaul.

Particularly for mission-based organizations, brand-led marketing can be incredibly powerful. Which means, of course, that your brand must be clear, concise, relevant, and useful. Remember who you are and what you’re about. Is your messaging aligned with your values, mission, and purpose? Is it inspiring enrollment into your mission—or just inspiring attendance at an event or likes on a page?

As you start to reevaluate, remember that your brand is deeper than your logo. It’s your tone of voice; it’s your vernacular; it’s your value offering; it’s your take on things. Your brand is both your purpose and your personality, it is the essence of everything you do. And when you treat it as such, everything about communicating and marketing becomes easier.

When the people who do the actual work have clear brand language to work with—and a universal understanding of the core brand—the turnaround time for marketing decisions becomes faster. Your team won’t be scrambling to constantly reinvent the wheel, and you won’t expose your brand to the possibility of a newbie inventing an off-brand campaign or saying words that don’t align with your message. You’ll nip these problems in the bud and save time, money, and coherence in the process.

Once you live according to your brand your actions are more likely to be strategic, even when you’re not thinking strategically. So the next time you have a quickie idea you want to iterate, you can hold it up to your brand bible to see if it aligns with your vision.

For all you folks in the nonprofit sector and beyond, your brand is your bedrock. It’s your rallying call. When you speak from the heart, people will listen and they will flock. When it comes to marketing, the less time you spend determining if your messaging is brand-relevant leads to more time to focus on the bigger picture. You won’t get hung up in the micro, so you can fully dedicate yourself to enacting positive, long-lasting systemic change. Brands can inspire, especially those of mission-led organizations, so if you feel like your brand isn’t living up to it’s potential—give us a call. That’s what we’re all about.