I recently had a meeting with a private foundation in which we discussed the idea of an agency-vendor pool of resources, designed specifically to support the communications of their grantees. They realized that they were making important investments in those research and charitable ventures, but that in most cases, the capabilities of those organizations to present their own brand image and messaging could be improved. I left the meeting truly inspired by what I’d term innovative thinking at its best. What an obvious need and what a resourceful, breakthrough solution! Brilliant. Foundations can invest based on intelligence and information, but support those investments with a commitment to smart, effective communication.
This foundation had leapfrogged ahead of peer organizations in their thinking. Being philanthropic, they naturally seek causes that align with their program areas, and it goes without saying that they want those organizations to be successful.
There is a great deal of pressure around performance measurement on nonprofit organizations these days. Why not develop a preferred list of agencies that could shore up and support the important messages and critical brand tools of those grantees that were signed on to help the cause? Everything from multimedia presentations to top-tier, brand and image-level products could be substantially improved in their operations; important presentations made to crucial constituents are improved, as are all facets of the brand. But why weren’t these areas more successful in the first place?
For smaller companies, academic organizations, and nonprofit entities, they’re clearly focused on the core mission. All other related functions like brand image, articulating important ideas, projecting who they are and why they are different, what they do, and why they do it — that’s secondary, or non-existent.
But this flaw in DNA extends to larger organizations as well. We see client teams frustrated by the need to explain the image and tell a great story, often fraught with internal battles for budget and the true commitment of executive management. It’s clearly explained best by the old adage, “He who is good with a hammer sees everything as a nail.”
The culture of any organization crystallizes quickly and firmly, and it’s typically built around the business value proposition. But companies sometimes grow and develop, refining and distilling their skills, product offerings, adapting to new economies, customer preferences, needs and desires. The part of their operation that is sometimes discarded — unwisely — is the need to sharpen messages, adapt marketing strategy, and communicate that success in a cogent way. Remaining relevant to market shifts is important across all areas of operations; wouldn’t it stand to reason that the brand image needs to mirror those adaptations?
Obviously, this involves branding and that, as a discipline, can be forgotten or relegated to an academic exercise. Some CEO’s pick this language up freely and bandy it about as if they earned an MBA on the subject. Others dismiss it, prioritize according to their values, and pursue what they believe to be the true value model of their organization.
We’re now having discussions in our offices about how smart it would be for private equity firms, angel investors, and other venture capitalists to bring a smart branding agency on board as a B2B partner. If these individuals and private firms choose to invest their assets in a third party enterprise, shouldn’t they ensure that the communications strategy and brand image of that enterprise is on track?
For me, being in the back kitchen of brand development and brand management, it’s obvious when I see a client manager who is driven, committed to telling their brand’s story and doing it well. I’d even venture to call it something else. I’d suggest that it is a mission critical priority, and I’d say that it is a matter of protecting, and ultimately, supporting and building your core investment.
Related posts:
- Big Agency Bias
- The Agency-Procurement Process: 10 Best Practices
- The Importance of Alignment Within the Organization
- An Assortment of Brand-Related Treats
- Guns, Grenades & Pornography
Tags: agency-vendor relationship, branding, communications, investment, marketing
This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 at 7:36 pm and is filed under Advertising, Brand Identity, Business, Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
