Report: Nonprofits Have Major Branding Problem in Weak Taglines
by Dorothee Royal-HedingerThursday, September 25th, 2008
Did you know? Taglines are the best way to succinctly convey nonprofits’ value, but 7 in 10 nonprofits rate their taglines as poor or they don’t have one at all.
To remedy this problem, the Getting Attention blog has released a new, free Nonprofit Tagline Report which features in-depth analysis of current practices and a guide to making the most of a tagline (in eight words or less) shaped to responses gathered in a survey of 1,900 nonprofit communicators earlier this year.
From the press release:
Maplewood, NJ – A newly-released report based on survey findings drawn from 1,900 nonprofit communicators shows that most nonprofits don’t have an organizational tagline that works to make their organizations’ value clear, and easy to remember and repeat.
“You might say ‘A tagline is a terrible thing to waste’,” says Nancy Schwartz, communications consultant and author of the report, alluding to the classic UNCF tagline ‘A mind is a terrible thing to waste.’ “A nonprofit organization’s tagline is, next to its name, the marketing message most frequently heard, and the easiest and most effective way to convey its brand,“ says Schwartz, president of Nancy Schwartz & Company (www.nancyschwartz.com) and blogger at Getting Attention (www.gettingattention.org).
“A strong tagline complements an organization’s name to convey its unique value or impact with personality, passion and commitment. Nonprofits that fail to make the most of their taglines are basically throwing that opportunity away,” she says.
Schwartz sees taglines as a key tool in building strong nonprofit brands, which are more important than ever in these times of increased competition for dollars, members, volunteers and other supporters. “Nonprofits can develop a tagline at the organization, program or campaign levels to freshen up their messaging, emphasize their commitment and/or revive tired positioning,” she says.
More key findings from the report:
· Nonprofit taglines that work generally fall into one of four categories, describing an organization’s focus of work; impact or value; core values or spirit; or strategic approach.
· An effective nonprofit tagline:
o Relates to an organization’s name, without repeating it
o Must be easily accessible, memorable and repeatable
o Is specific to that organization
o Runs eight words or less.
o Features verbs.
· The leading reason that nonprofits don’t have taglines is…they never thought of it (33%).
· Human services lead the way in having taglines (75%), with grantmakers just behind.
· Environmental organizations hold up the rear, with only 30% using taglines (while the field is becoming increasingly high-profile, complex and competitive).
Download the report here:
http://www.gettingattention.org/nonprofit_tagline_report.html
