Survey Says: Lessons from the Brandraising Scorecard

If you’ve ever come within shouting distance of Big Duck’s workshops, website, or staff, you probably know we created an approach to nonprofit communications called brandraising. Sure, there are a lot of communications and branding frameworks out there. Ours (the best one, of course!) tailors concepts that for-profits have used for decades to the nonprofit world. At the core of brandraising is a strong brand, built on two simple elements: positioning and personality.

Positioning: the big idea you want audiences to associate with your organization.
Personality: the list of adjectives that describe the unique tone, style, and attitude of your organization.

Getting your organization’s positioning and personality right takes time, key leadership involvement, and a process that builds buy-in at all levels. But once you’re finished, positioning and personality help keep all of your communications consistent and on message, resulting in a clear, unvarying depiction of your organization for the people you want to reach most.

They’re also great tools to assess new communications pieces, and they make it much easier to produce better, more consistent materials in-house and on the fly.

Writing an elevator pitch? Ask yourself if it quickly articulates your positioning and uses language that expresses your organization’s personality. Rethinking your logo, tagline or key messages? Make sure they reflect your positioning and personality, and use that yardstick as a way to avoid subjective conversations along the way.

We’re big fans of positioning and personality because we’ve seen how transformative and helpful they can be for any nonprofit. Want to hear more about how to use them? Check out past articles on the topic here  and keep your eyes peeled on the Duck Call Blog in September, which will be chock full of brandraising glory–all inspired by what we’ve heard through the Brandraising Scorecard.