Marketing And Branding In The Non-profit Sector
Marketing And Branding In The Non-profit Sector
Does the stereotypical “soup kitchen” come to mind when you think a nonprofit? Well homeless shelters funded by a single church or wealthy individuals are out there but these have not been representative of the sector for many years. Bring on the promotional items! Regional or nationwide nonprofits need to promote themselves like any other big organization does.
A large charitable organization like the Red Cross looks a lot like a welloiled business machine. Does this mean that they need to approach promotional products the same way any forprofit business would? Yes and no. Context is king in marketing; one idea doesn’t meet the needs for everyone equally and this applies to a nonprofit organization as much as it would for anyone else.
One difference would be the availability of funds to spend on marketing efforts at a nonprofit. Thanks to things like profit money to spend on the less solid things like marketing and branding is more available. Budgets at nonprofits can end up very limited especially because the reputation of a nonprofit can be a huge factor in its success. Some nonprofits see it as a priority to keep the amount of money they spend towards “administrative costs” as low as possible. Critical to their reputation even. In the case of a charity how likely are you to give if they seem to spend half of their donations on themselves?
The usual guidelines you’d pay heed to when using promotional items in a business setting still apply to nonprofits. A trade show means keeping promotional items easy to carry but still attentiongetting. No will want to carry something around all day if the promotional products they’ve been given are heavy junk no matter how neat it is. Avoid the temptation to just toss money into purchasing any little trinket you can find either. Giving out an easy to carry but completely useless promotional item is just going to be a waste of money. Money that may more difficult to come by in a nonprofit environment!
Without the big financial safety net you might be tempted to play it safe in a nonprofit setting. Really though less room to maneuver might mean letting those creative juices flow and utilizing promotional items that others might not consider. Charities can attract a younger and creative group of employees or volunteers so it is important to tap into that creative resource. Take advantage of the fact that many people don’t look at nonprofits as a business which can mean more freedom. Picking a promotional item that might not be entirely professional could be a bigger benefit to a brand than a hindrance!
The nonprofit sector doesn’t have as much interaction with the promotional industry as it should. It is important to not write off the nonprofit sector as a source of potential clients if you’re a promotional items seller. They’re out there and they need your help! If you are a nonprofit the promotional items out there could be a critical contribution to getting some awareness out there and some contributions rolling in. Our sectors can mutually benefit one another and society as a whole.
About the writer: Wes Robertson has been in the custom promotional products industry for several years. He is an author and marketing consultant.
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