Minnesota Council on Foundations Blog – Philanthropy Potluck

MCF’s network of communicators met last week for a discussion featuring three panelists who have developed and used messages for a variety of organizations, highlighting their current work for the Medtronic Foundation, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies and the Catholic Community Foundation.

This post covers a four-phase brand strengthening process used by the Catholic Community Foundation (CCF) and presented by Anne Rodenberg, communications and marketing manager.

Anne started by stressing that their brand was not broken when they started their 15-month brand strengthening process, and that logo development was just one piece of the project. Creating buy-in from internal leaders, board members and donors was a key objective, and the process was designed to obtain input at every stage. The resulting new logo and positioning platform has been positively received, and is being used to expand awareness for the Foundation.

Phase 1 – Research and Brand Discovery – 9 months:

• The goal was to identify the gap between CCF’s current and desired brand, as perceived by core constituents.
• Drawing on an inclusive process to gather input from internal and external stakeholders, determine CCF’s core value proposition, broad positioning framework, and key messages for target audiences.
• Develop metrics to quantify and measure current brand awareness, and monitor improvements.

Phase 2 – Visual Identity Development – 3 months:

• To refresh CCF’s visual identity (logo, tagline, colors) in a way that differentiates CCF from other foundations and Catholic organizations, and communicates its value proposition to target audiences in a creative way.

Phase 3 – Brand Strand Development – 3 months:

• The goal was to develop a strategy for deploying the refreshed brand to internal and external stakeholders.

Phase 4 – Brand Deployment – ongoing:

• To create a renewed excitement and clearer understanding of CCF through the effective implementation of a refreshed identity.

Read the first post from last week’s meeting: Developing an Effective Message.

- Susan Stehling, MCF communications associate

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 6th, 2012 at 1:01 pm and is filed under communication, community foundations, programs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.