[Ohio-talk] Whozit Retires Now we have the NFB Brand.

[Eric Duffy]

This is something we are going to be talking about a lot in the days, weeks, and months ahead. I have pasted a lot of information below, but please take the time to read it and become familiar with it.



National Federation of the Blind
2014 Branding Guide


The following document describes the new brand architecture, one-minute message, and new tagline that have been developed by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), acting through its elected representatives with guidance from a brand consultant. The new logo and visual identity of the organization are described in separate documents but serve as important components of our brand. The goal of this branding effort is to refresh our commitment to the National Federation of the Blind, and to better convey who we are and what we do when we communicate with potential members, potential donors, and the general public. Leaders of the Federation should study this material and work to reflect the brand in our daily activities and help other members of the Federation understand and reflect the brand as well. 

 
Background 
What is our brand? An organization’s brand is simply its reputation. Branding is the process of establishing or strengthening the reputation that an organization has or wishes to have. Our brand is the set of ideas, values, qualities, and characteristics that we want our members, donors, and the public to associate with the National Federation of the Blind. This new branding effort does not change who or what the National Federation of the Blind is. Instead, it distills who and what we are into concepts and messages that guide our efforts and help us communicate what we do to others.

To understand the power of branding, play this quick game. 

What qualities do you associate with Volvo automobiles? How about with Apple computers and devices? If you immediately think of safety and reliability when you think of Volvo’s cars or of innovation when you think of Apple’s products, this isn’t an accident. Volvo and Apple have invested a great deal of time and effort to make you think of their products in this way. That time and effort includes the marketing campaigns that they put together, but those campaigns would not be successful if they were not backed up by everything that these companies do. All of Volvo’s decisions include enhancing the company’s reputation for making safe and reliable automobiles, and all of Apple’s decisions are designed to reinforce the idea that their products are innovative and cutting-edge. This process of establishing and reinforcing a reputation is branding.



Our New Brand Architecture
Our brand is the set of ideas, values, characteristics, and qualities that we want to be known for. The brand architecture defines these ideas, values, characteristics, and qualities. It serves as a filter through which to screen potential messages, and as a reminder of our organizational values as we make decisions and take action. The brand architecture guided the creation of the one-minute message and the new tagline, and it should also guide all of our other messaging, as well as organizational actions and decisions. The components of the brand architecture are not necessarily intended to be used as external messages, but you may find that some of them can be. Some of our leaders find the brand promise to be a particularly powerful and resonant statement and are already using it in speeches, presentations, and documents. The elements of the brand architecture are as follows:

Brand Values
Our brand values are the essence of our brand, the code by which the brand lives— the principles upon which we make our decisions. They are the heart and soul of the organization. We have expressed them as follows: 

COURAGE: Fighting for freedom takes perseverance and unwavering determination in the face of challenges, setbacks, and difficulty. For seventy-five years the NFB has led this fight and made significant progress on the road to complete freedom and equality for the blind. It will take our continued courage to “break down the remaining barriers on the last miles of the road to freedom” (to paraphrase Dr. Maurer). 

RESPECT: Our faith in the capacity and dignity of blind individuals is at the heart of our mission. We assert the right to be treated fairly and equally. We reject society’s low expectations that come from the ingrained belief that blindness is the characteristic that exclusively defines us.

FULL PARTICIPATION: We assert that blind people have a right to live fully and equally in the world, and from this flows our expectation that society will not artificially prevent blind people from full participation. The world is better off when all of its people can contribute all that they have to offer.

LOVE: The NFB provides a loving, supportive, and encouraging family that shares in the challenges and triumphs of our blind brothers and sisters. This deeply held faith in one another sustains members during times of challenge and cheers on individual and collective successes. Love is the feeling that permeates our organization and pushes us to expect the best from each other.

DEMOCRACY: The NFB is the original and largest organization of the blind. By virtue of being a democratic organization open to all blind people, we represent the issues that are important to the blind openly and fairly. National, state, and local officers are elected by the membership of the NFB to ensure a representative form of government and democratic decision-making practices. Our membership-driven structure ensures blind people may determine their own future rather than relying on others to advocate for them.

COLLECTIVE ACTION: The primary purpose of the NFB is “to serve as a vehicle for collective action by the blind.” A core belief is that the blind can and will speak for themselves. Embodied in this self-determination is the understanding that progress comes from blind people working together, sharing individual dreams and speaking with a more powerful, unified voice than any one person could on his or her own. 

Brand Personality 
Personality attributes are the culture of the organization—who we aspire to be. The NFB’s defining personality traits are:

Inspirational
Innovative
Inviting
Powerful
Brand Value Proposition Statement
The brand value proposition is the unique value that our members and supporters receive from our work in exchange for what we ask from them. Our brand value proposition statement is: 

I am filled with hope, energy, and love by participating in the National Federation of the Blind because my expectations are raised, my contributions make a difference to me and to others, and I can celebrate the realization of my dreams with my Federation family.

Brand Positioning Statement
This statement describes the NFB relative to other entities in the blindness field. It is as follows: 

The NFB is the only organization that believes in the full capacity of blind people and has the power, influence, diversity, and determination to help transform our dreams into reality.

Brand Promise 
The brand promise is a distillation of the other elements, the heart of what is most important about the National Federation of the Blind. It is what each of us tell ourselves every day so that we can go out and live the brand. Federation leaders have already found it to be a useful statement about our organization in speeches and presentations. Our brand promise says:

Together with love, hope, and determination, we transform dreams into reality. 



The One-Minute Message
Often our members and supporters wonder, “How can I possibly explain what the National Federation of the Blind is and does in a concise way?” The one-minute message is designed to solve this problem. It can actually be repeated in less than a minute, and can also be thought of as the “elevator speech” (a short statement that could be used to describe the NFB to a stranger during a short elevator ride). The one-minute message is already featured on the home page of our website, www.nfb.org. It should be memorized and used as often as possible. Phrases from our one-minute message can also be incorporated into other messages and into the conversations that we have among each other and with potential members and supporters.

The one-minute message:

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back. 



The New Tagline
The new tagline comes from the new one-minute message, and is meant to be a short and concise way of conveying what the Federation is all about. The tagline is always paired with the name of the organization and never appears by itself. The tagline is: 

“National Federation of the Blind: live the life you want.”



Activating the Brand
The key to establishing any brand is consistency. Consistency means that, as individual Federationists and as an organization, we must think and act in ways that solidify the reputation that we want to have. Remember, brand is just another word for reputation. Consistency also means repetition of our one-minute message and our tagline, both among ourselves and to others who do not know us yet. Repeating our new messages, in virtually every communication and interaction we have with the public and with each other, is what will firmly establish our brand. We should also review our communications and actions to make sure they are consistent with our brand. When we use the brand architecture as our guide posts we will find areas where we can better reflect our brand and continue to strengthen our organization. 

Some brands are so well integrated into our collective minds that we use them without even thinking about it. In some cases brand names have replaced the precise words for the products being discussed. Kleenex is synonymous with facial tissue, even though there are many brands of tissue. For some people, Coke is synonymous with carbonated soft drinks. These companies have successfully incorporated their brands into our culture by making sure that their brand names and messages are repeated to us over and over. This is what we must do to establish the brand of the National Federation of the Blind.

In addition to using the new messages whenever you have the opportunity to tell an individual or group about the National Federation of the Blind, they should be incorporated into all of the methods that you use to get information about the NFB and your affiliate or division to your members, supporters, and the public. Things that should incorporate our new branding messages include affiliate newsletters, websites, social media (your Twitter and Facebook accounts), press materials, radio and TV interviews, brochures, convention and seminar agendas, reports, and more. You should also incorporate the new messaging into Federation meetings, seminars, and conventions, so that all of our members become familiar with this new way of thinking and talking about our organization. Some steps you might take to immediately “activate” the new brand by using our key messages and brand architecture include:

Opening chapter and/or affiliate meetings with the one-minute message
Featuring the one-minute message on your affiliate website, 
Twitter account, and Facebook page
Including the messaging in your affiliate newsletter
Adding the one-minute message to your email signature
Holding a brand training session at your state convention, state board meeting, leadership retreat, or chapter meeting
Making a video of your affiliate leaders using the new messages
Using the new messages when you are interviewed by the media
Including greeters at your chapter meeting to better reflect the personality trait of being “inviting”
Giving members more opportunities to share their individual stories and how the Federation allows them to live the life they want
And anything else you think to do that better reflects the brand of the National Federation of the Blind
In the weeks and months ahead we will share more ideas about how we can better reflect our brand and message our organization. Most certainly the more you study and understand our brand the more opportunities you will find to strengthen our use of the brand.



Conclusion
If we all live the brand every day through all of our actions and decisions as Federationists, and if we use the brand messaging consistently, then we will continue to firmly position the National Federation of the Blind as the kind of optimistic, innovative, and dynamic organization that people will want to join and support. We should use this opportunity to strengthen our communications and build greater understanding about our organization. As you create new ways of reflecting our brand and find innovative applications for our messaging, please share them with our public relations team at the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute so those ideas can be disseminated throughout the organization.