Tag Archives: 413Assign2

Branding a Miracle

CHILDREN’S MIRACLE NETWORKIt takes a lot to be motivated to dedicate a lot of your precious time and money in supporting a cause. When asking my friends about a not-for-profit organization or social cause in which they support, I did not think it was s… Continue Reading

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And These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things!

        Panera, Taco Bell, Frye’s, Steve Madden, UNICEF and Tori Burch; these are all household name organizations that most of the population can identify with in some way or another.  The preceding companies are all organizations with a distinctive brand tied to them that appeal specifically to 3 of my friends.  When I asked my friends why the particular brand stood out to them as superior from all others their answers for the most part all tied back to the concept of brand equity.

         Clow defines brand equity as “a set of characteristics that are unique to a brand.”  When I asked my friend, Michelle why Cookout was her favorite fast food joint, her first response was “their milkshakes.”  Cookout has done a great job establishing brand equity in their milkshakes.  They are a go-to item for most diners, and are always of great quality and exceptionally low price; which is always key for college students who have little to no disposable income.  Apple, another company who has developed tremendous brand equity, and has become the widespread face of smartphones is now looking to further innovate and create something the technological world has never seen or experienced before.  The “Iwatch” has had a lot of buzz around it lately, as the new and upcoming product for Apple.  There is still speculation to what all the Iwatch will entail functionally, but it is certain to be a revolutionary device. Apple has recognized that, as Mark Wilson puts it

Electronic platforms that are merely part of our everyday lives–the industry faces a paradigm shift.”

Photo Credit: http://www.techradar.com
Apple has distinguished its brand by being the go-getter’s in their market and the development of the “Iwatch” will further establish the brand equity of the company.

            Non Profit Social Causes have become increasingly prevalent in society, and in our progressive age, more and more individuals are looking for that one social cause that captures their heart and pocket.  The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation seemed to be the favorite Non Profit Social Cause of most of my friends who I polled.  When asked why this was a foundation that stood out, I got responses like, it is such a well known cause, and the brand had really captured their emotional side and reeled them in as supporters.  Gobe identified this type of branding as emotional branding.  
Photo Credit: http://www.huffingtonpost.com
         Having a relationship with a brand and seeing the ability of the brand to progress and develop further in the future are two of the key components of emotional branding that I believe the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation uses to promote itself and gain supporters.  This foundation has done an outstanding job in its ability to reach out and connect with the masses, including people who have and have not been affected by breast cancer.  The hope that this particular brand promotes is what keeps supporters in for the long haul; that yes, this foundation is worthwhile and one day may even lead to a cure.

            


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Who Says Emotions Get In The Way?

In my last post, I talked about customer engagement, and how we as consumers expect a response from companies. While this communication is great, it probably is not enough to generate brand loyalty. So how can companies draw us in, and keep us there? Marc Gobe, author of “Emotional Branding: Fuel for Success in the Twenty-first Century,” writes about the Ten Commandments of Emotional Branding, which illustrate the additional step companies need to take in order to become the preferred brand. One that really fits the bill is that of dialogue; companies need to shift from communication, or “telling,” to dialogue, or “sharing.” Not only do these companies need to hear what we say—they need to LISTEN. And they need to respond appropriately, and show what our input means to them. I demonstrated this a bit when I brought up ModCloth’s Back In Demand feature, but in order to conduct dialogue, emotions need to be brought into play.

I asked a few of my friends what non-profit organizations they support, and why they advocate those causes.
Rachel, senior at Penn State University: Four Diamonds Fund
As a senior at Penn State, Rachel has actively supported the FDF by participating in THON, a dance marathon fundraiser founded at PSU. Because the school is so big, and because the cause is so ingrained in the school’s culture, it is a huge honor to be able to actually dance at the 48-hour event. This year, PSU raised $12,374,034.46 for the FDF. The money will go to families in need with children diagnosed with pediatric cancer. What money is left over will go towards cancer research. While she isn’t directly affected, the cause holds a big place in her heart.

Dani, senior at University of Delaware: Survival International


Survival International is an organization that helps people that are being abused by their government and having their cultures destroyed because of their minority status. Dani advocates for SI for two main reasons: she is an anthropology major, and she is first-generation US born in her family. While at UD, Dani has found a passion for studying other cultures and how they live, most likely stemming from her own cultural roots: her family originally hails from Cuba. Because of this, Dani feels like she connects well with SI and the group’s values.



Alex, senior at Elon University: The Poverty Initiative


The Poverty Initiative works to raise “leaders committed to building a movement to end poverty, led by the poor.” (Source) While she is not directly affected by this cause, she supports what the organization stands for. Her Nonviolence Studies minor allows her to take classes that question the status quo, and have fostered her thoughts on what we need to do to change our society for the better.

So organizations don’t necessarily need to support a cause that directly affects us—they just need to support a cause that appeals to our interests. Emotional ties and brand loyalty will grow from that initial spark of communal interest. In this case, emotions spur us on, rather than hinder our ability to accomplish things. But that is only the first step; they then have to carry out dialogue with us, and then take action with us. OR it could be the opposite, where they take action against us… but that’s a topic for another day. 



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Consumer Love Triangle

So, advertisers and marketers fully understand the people that they market to. The human brain is simple in the sense that we know what to say and show to entice it to behave in the manner that we want. Gobe explains that when it comes to marketing, co… Continue Reading

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Consumer Love Triangle

So, advertisers and marketers fully understand the people that they market to. The human brain is simple in the sense that we know what to say and show to entice it to behave in the manner that we want. Gobe explains that when it comes to marketing, co… Continue Reading

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Paul’s Blog 2013-02-19 17:56:00

Why Do We Support Social Causes?What can cause a person to commit their time or money to an organization that will provide no direct benefit to themselves? I would wager that 99 out of a 100 people will say because it makes them feel good. Ok… Continue Reading

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The "Holy Grail" of Marketing

Who Do You Support?

So today I had a little chat with my roommates about social causes and nonprofits and which ones they support the most.  Not surprisingly, they each chose very well known organizations that they have been involved with throughout their collegiate years at Elon.  The organizations they found most meaningful to them were Habitat for Humanity, Autism Speaks, and Children’s Miracle Network.  When I asked them to tell me why they were advocates for each organization individually, their responses were all very similar: the organizations were large, they all had very strong values, and the changes that they accomplished were very measurable.  One of them stressed the importance of not feeling like she was just throwing money at a nonprofit to “do her part.”  She loves that Habitat for Humanity is very hands on and she can see and be a part of what she is doing for other people. 

Source: http://www.habitat.org/

So…What’s the Point?

Well, besides the fact that each of my roommates could name a nonprofit social cause that they supported and why, each of them had some sort of connection to the particular one that they chose.  Not only did they support what these organizations were doing but they also connected with them on an emotional level.  The one who chose Children’s Miracle Network also happens to be on the Elonthon Executive Board and mentioned that her brother spent a large portion of his childhood in the hospital.  So in a way, she is both giving thanks to those that helped her brother and supporting those that need help currently.         

The Importance of Emotional Branding 

So, the moral of the story here is that emotional branding=success.  In our reading for this week I learned that emotional branding is, according to Marc Gobé,

 “the means and methodology for connecting products to the consumer in an emotionally profound way.  It focuses on the most compelling aspect of human character; the desire to transcend material satisfaction, and experience emotional fulfillment.  A brand is uniquely situated to achieve this because it can tap into the aspirational drives which underlie human motivation.” 

Being able to use your brand to reach individuals on an emotional level creates a sense of shared experiences and personalization to your customers that will keep them coming back.  They become so involved in your brand that the “product” may not necessarily be the reason that they keep coming back for more. 

Columnist Steve Goldner gives more insight on the importance of emotional branding when he states in his article The Six Stages of Branding, that 

“creating an emotional connection between customers and a brand is probably the Holy Grail of marketing…brands strive for this by being the pinnacle of something and then reinforcing that position at every touchpoint.”  

He uses the brand of Joe Paterno for Penn State and how even after the whole scandal, Penn Staters still stand by the brand defending it and loving it no matter what.  Penn State has created a bond so strong and so emotionally binding, that a majority of supporters will stand by the brand through thick and thin.  Whatever your opinion is on that whole situation, the takeaway here is emotional branding success!


Source: http://nesncom.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/6a0115709f071f970b017743a40fcc970d.jpe
Goldner also gives us six stages of success in emotional branding to think about:


Emotional Stage 1 – How you get someone interested?
Emotional Stage 2 – How do you get someone to consider a purchase?
Emotional Stage 3 – How do you continually reinforce that their purchase decision was absolutely the right decision, the “winning” decision?

Emotional Stage 4 – How do you create a loyal customer such that they want to continue to buy your product and/or are most receptive to cross selling and value add purchases?

Emotional Stage 5 – How do you create a brand ritual (www.brandrituals.net) so that your brand becomes part of your customer’s life?

Emotional Stage 6 – How do you get your audience to be your cheerleader?


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Beaton’s Blog 2013-02-19 17:50:00

Social Change in a Social WorldAs I talked about in my initial blog, I was born and raised in the great state of Vermont. I don’t know how much my readers know about Vermont, but it is an incredibly environmentally conscious state. You would get dirty … Continue Reading

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Choosing a Charity: What’s Driving Today’s Non-Profits?

It’s an important question.  There are over one million non-profit organizations in the US alone.  (You did read that right – millions).  So how in the world does one gain loyal supporters, volunteers and donors?  I mean, there’s only so much free time and money to go around.

I wanted to get to the heart of the matter and figure out what organizations people are supporting and why.  So I surveyed several friends (this is by no means an exhaustive research attempt), and here’s what they said:


Leah supports Pro Nino, an organization dedicated to getting boys off the streets of Honduras and into a safe, enriching environment.  Caroline and Kate support autism speaks, a charity dedicated to autism research.  Julien supports Habitat for Humanity, a group which builds homes for deserving families.

Why Do My Friends Donate?

Leah supports Pro Nino because she has a personal attachment to some of the boys she’s met  during her trips to Honduras and she’s had a firsthand view of how Pro Nino has worked for these boys.  She hears their background and sees how much Pro Nino has helped them gain confidence and a safe family home they wouldn’t find elsewhere.  Pro Nino has saved them from the life they would have lived.

Caroline and Kate support Autism Speaks because it is the philanthropy their sorority supports.  Caroline personally feels like people with autism face so many challenges but bring joy to the people in their lives.  She thinks they and their families deserve support.  Kate is motivated to volunteer so Autism Speaks can raise money for research to find a cure or treatment.


Julien supports Habitat for Humanity because he has seen the difference it has made firsthand through his work building homes.  He said he is always motivated to come back and build more houses because he meets the families who get the homes and is inspired by them.


What do these brands do right?


These three brands differentiate themselves from the millions of charities out there in different ways.  Pro Nino and Habitat bring volunteers to their sites to gain service hours and personal growth.  Autism Speaks has partnered with a sorority to forge a strong personal connection with young women. 

Another thing I noticed is that my friends volunteer their time and advocacy more than their money.  This is likely because I interviewed college students- people without disposable incomes.  I think Pro Nino, Autism Speaks, and Habitat have found ways to engage this generation of progressive, service-minded college students by providing service opportunities rather than asking for money.


I think asking for money and not time would be effective for working adults with disposable income and a lack of free time.  For college students, however, the experience and the money (or lack thereof) are important.  Further, I think a college student without a lot of money to spend would be more likely to give monetary support to an organization if they have had a great experience volunteering with that org.  There has to be a connection first, and a good way to form that connection could be through volunteering.


What Would the Branding Diva Say?


Karen Post, “the Branding Diva”, discusses the power of branding in one of her posts.  She includes both for-profit and non-profit entities in the same post, driving home the point that non-profits face a lot of the same branding challenges as for-profits.

Karen asserts that brands should never rely on shortcuts.  This is crucial for non-profits.  It means you should find ways to make your own money or earn volunteers! For example, Children’s Miracle Network (my charity of choice) partners with businesses, holds special events, and works with universities to plan dance marathons that will bring in money for their local CMN hospitals.


In another post, Karen asks the question “does your brand provide real substantive differences that are important to the customer?”  I think this question applies to non-profits in the sense that a non-profit should ask itself why its particular cause is important to potential donors and customers.  What can the organization do to stand out against the other millions of causes out there?


A solid example is that Children’s Miracle Network not only puts on major events, but garners major celebrity sponsors.  Not only that, but CMN makes sure that the money raised in a certain city or state all goes to that local hospital.  It lets supporters know that their contribution directly helps their community.



Referring back to the 3 charities of choice above, each one provides an experience such as an alternative spring break, a home-building experience, or a sorority experience.



What Would Clow Say?


Clow would agree that these organizations create brand equity through their unique experiences.  He would probably say that these non-profits have built their brand’s equity through researching what it would take to stand out, engaging in continuous innovation, moving fast, and integrating new and old media.

Again, I have to say that Children’s Miracle Network is the most impressive to me in terms of its innovation, understanding of the market, and use of media.  When other non-profits were failing during the economic recession, CMN experienced huge growth, and I’d like to think it’s a result of their outstanding brand equity.


Wrapping Up


Brand equity is important for non-profits – these organizations must find a way to gain loyal supporters through creating positive experiences.  Examples include Leah’s experience volunteering at Pro Nino in Honduras, my experience volunteering at Duke Children’s Hospital, and Julien’s connections with the Habitat for Humanity families for which he builds homes.

Both Clow and Post would agree – to put it very simply, make yourself stand out and become self-sufficient.  Those are keys to a successful non-profit.

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A Little Bit of Emotions

What Speaks to Your Heart?Everyone has that brand. Thats organization. Everyone has that “WOW” that makes them want to be dedicated, want to be involved, and want to advocate for. Emotional branding is a critical part of todays new marketing world… Continue Reading

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