Organizations go through a rebranding process for a variety of reasons. Maybe it was time for a fresh look or maybe your messaging didn’t align with what you uncovered during a strategic planning phase. Whatever the reason, rebrands are often an important and necessary exercise. But it’s not enough to just undergo the refresh. You also need to plan for the roll out among your internal and external stakeholders. Here’s how you can introduce your nonprofit’s new brand.
Articulating the Why
The first place to start is by answering what prompted the rebrand or brand refresh. Think of it as a way to get people excited about the future direction of your organization. Borrow a page from MailChimp’s book and share an in-depth explanation of the process and all of the things that were developed in support of the brand. Or do a casual announcement like Slack did in 2019. No matter how you do it, be sure to do it in a way that reflects your brand’s personality.
Inventorying, Budgeting, and Planning
With any nonprofit’s rebrand, there are a lot of moving pieces. Think about all of your physical collateral such as business cards, signage, letterhead, flyers, brochures, etc. Then think about what you manage digitally, such as social media handles, domain names, email addresses and signatures, etc. It can get overwhelming really fast! That’s why inventorying all of your touchpoints is a great first step.
Once your inventory is complete, organize it by order of importance. Identifying what needs to be done prior to any announcements being made and what can be done after can help you develop a realistic timeline and corresponding budget to launch the rebrand. It also makes it more manageable from a resource management standpoint.
Finally, come up with a plan! Is there an anniversary or an event that would be the perfect time to make such an announcement? Are you trying to synchronize the timing of a social media announcement with your website going live? How far in advance do you need to order signage or materials to have everything in place for an occasion announcing the new brand?
With so many details to consider, a launch calendar can come in especially handy. Break the calendar down into respective phases with concrete goals and deliverables so it’s easy for anyone to follow.
Identifying Who To Tell and When
First up: your employees. They’re your most important brand ambassadors as they convey your organization’s culture and will signal to your key constituencies whether they feel positively or negatively about the rebrand. Bring them into the fold as soon as possible to give them a sense of ownership.
Begin by sharing the whole story of the rebrand — from the reasons behind it to the details of your new messaging and brand values. In addition to your employees, your board members, key donors, interns, and lead volunteers should be aware of the upcoming changes, they too are your brand ambassadors!
The Internal Rollout
To cut down on repetitiveness and reinforce your new brand message, create an FAQ cheat sheet with scripted answers. Then, distribute it to the central points of contact within your organization who are most likely to field these questions. For example, your volunteer coordinator, director of development, and HR liaison can answer questions for your volunteers, donors, and staff respectively.
Next, if you haven’t already, develop and distribute a new brand style guide, complete with supporting assets. Make it easy for your brand ambassadors to find your new logo, color palette, font, verbiage, etc., and make sure that people know where to find it, whether on your intranet, website, or by email.
Going Public
Now that your internal stakeholders are excited about the new brand, it’s time for phase two: going public. Think of it as an opportunity to reconnect with past and current clients, prospects, donors, volunteers, and the general public. It’s also a chance to remind the larger community of who you are, what you stand for, and why you matter.
The biggest thing to make your public launch successful? Making a clean break. For example, launching a new website with a fresh new logo and sending out emails with the old logo creates a sense of organizational dissonance. Are you this brand? Or are you that one? It can also signal to employees that it’s okay to keep referencing the old brand, which ends up diluting the strength of the rebrand and all your efforts (and money!)
Thanks to that inventory you created earlier, you know what needs to be updated and when to make the public-facing launch successful. And operating in phases — internal first, then external — means that you have time to make sure your public-facing assets are appropriately branded. When you reach the end of the rebrand, celebrate your hard work!
We’ve helped numerous organizations go through the rebranding process, from organizational renaming to a logo evolution and more. If you’re just starting out or are lost in the process somewhere, we can help! Send us a note and let’s go from there.
