[Ohio-Talk] Building the National Federation of the Blind Brand Part 2:

[Richard Payne]

Braille Monitor                                    March 2018
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Building the National Federation of the Blind Brand Part 2: The Brand
Personality
by Chris Danielsen


>From the Editor: One of the people who has been very involved in helping us
to evolve our brand and to make it better known is our own Chris Danielsen,
a talented and energetic Federationist who works as our director of public
relations at the Jernigan Institute. Here is what Chris says:
In the January issue of the Braille Monitor, my colleague Kirsten Mau talked
about what it means for the National Federation of the Blind to have a brand
and for all of us to live that brand in the work we do for the organization.
She closed her article by talking about the elements that help us define the
brand. These elements, taken together, are known as the brand architecture.
We can think of them as the pillars that support the house that is our
brand. As Kirsten said, the brand architecture is "the internal framework
that explains the components of our brand: our values, our personality, our
positioning, our value proposition, and our brand promise. It is important
that each of us understands and embraces these components so that those
outside the organization will know who we are, what we value, why we exist,
and what we intend to achieve."
Wait a second. Personality? Yes, you read that right.
On the face of it, the idea of a brand having a personality seems unusual.
We often think of personalities as being associated with people. After all,
the word "personality" contains the word "person." But we all know from our
own experience that personality isn't limited to people. Any pet owner will
tell you that her dog, cat, or parakeet has its own personality; those with
multiple pets can tell them apart by their behavior. 
Brands have personalities too. If you think about it, most of the brands
we're familiar with expend a great deal of effort to convince us that we
should like them, not just because of what they make or sell, but because of
what it supposedly represents. Insurance companies want to convince us that
they are on our side and that they will help us out when we need them. State
Farm had an ad campaign in which individuals singing the "like a good
neighbor, State Farm is there" jingle magically summoned a knowledgeable,
helpful representative. Of course, this doesn't really happen; the filing of
insurance claims takes phone calls and paperwork, no matter who you're
dealing with. But State Farm was sending the message that it would solve its
customers' problems as soon as it was called upon. Speaking of insurance
companies, we don't normally think of dealing with them as being fun. Yet
GEICO, with its cute spokes-gecko and humorous ads, wants to project a
whimsical, fun image. 
The fact that the National Federation of the Blind has a personality makes
even more sense; we are, after all, a membership organization. By
definition, we are the sum of the people who are part of our movement and
who work together to accomplish our goals. The way that we interact with
each other, with potential members, and with the public puts the "person" in
our personality. With that in mind, let's examine the personality traits
that make us who we are.
Innovative
The National Federation of the Blind isn't a bunch of blind people
complaining about our problems; we're an organization of problem solvers. We
created NFB-NEWSLINE(r) so that blind people can read the daily newspaper.
We developed KNFB Reader so that the blind can have instant access to
printed documents. We developed our BELL Academies so that blind children
who are not receiving enough Braille instruction in school can get the extra
Braille and nonvisual skill training they need. We created STEM programs to
pioneer ways that blind students can fully and accessibly experience
science, technology, engineering, and math courses. We designed our own
white canes and pioneered the Structured Discovery Method of teaching cane
travel and other blindness skills. When there are changes that need to be
made to laws or policies, we draft proposed legislation and work with our
elected representatives to get it passed into law. In these and many other
ways, we innovate to make the lives of blind people better.
There's more to innovation than our national programs, of course. In my
local chapter, our president asks a chapter member to share a tip for
accomplishing some task as a blind person at each of our meetings. We talk
about things like cooking techniques, how to organize and/or label our
clothes, and how to get around safely when there's a lot of snow on the
ground. From these discussions, I know that we as blind people are
innovating in small ways every day.
Inspirational
One of our missions as an organization is to raise expectations for blind
people; in other words, to inspire. Of course, the speeches we hear from our
leaders are inspiring, but there's more. Our positive philosophy, and the
examples our members set for each other, make blind people and the public
aware that more is possible for the blind than is generally believed. In
2001, the National Federation of the Blind sponsored an expedition in which
a blind man, Erik Weihenmayer, climbed to the summit of Mount Everest. Mr.
Weihenmayer, an experienced climber, had set himself this challenge. The
point of our sponsoring his expedition wasn't that every blind person could
or should climb Mount Everest, but that blind people can achieve whatever
dream or goal is personally important to us. 
While projects like the Everest expedition are important, there are
thousands of examples of blind people inspiring each other taking place
throughout our organization every day. We inspire each other to pursue new
careers, to try new hobbies, to start a fitness regimen, or just to go to a
new restaurant in an unfamiliar part of town. This is how we lift each other
individually and blind people as a group.
Inviting
So many stories of how and why people became Federationists start with an
invitation. In fact, my own story starts that way. I had never thought about
joining an organization of blind people, but while I was participating in a
summer program at the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, one of my
friends convinced me to stay in town one weekend and attend the state NFB
convention. This was nearly thirty years ago, and while I don't remember all
of the speeches that were made or the issues that were discussed in great
detail, I remember how people at the convention made me feel. They were
welcoming. They were eager to tell their stories and to hear mine. We
listened in the convention sessions and talked about what we learned. We
also caroused and "carried on" late into the night. By the end of that
weekend, I had learned a great deal, but I'd also made some new friends and
had a good time. The same thing happened, on a larger scale, when I attended
my first national convention two years later. 
I hear similar stories from other Federationists all the time, and I'll bet
you do too. For some, the first invitation was to a chapter meeting, or to a
social event, or just to visit another blind person who happened to be a
member. People have joined our organization because of a dinner, or a drink,
or a holiday party, or a conversation on a train or airplane. They join
because someone invited them to do so, or at least invited them to learn
more about us.
Powerful
The last of our personality traits is unique in a couple of ways: it's the
only one that doesn't begin with the letter I, and it flows from the others.
If you forget it, though, you might think about another I-word: influential.

The National Federation of the Blind is powerful in a lot of ways, but for
this article I'll just point out that a lot of our power comes from our
other personality traits. Because we are innovators in the blindness field,
we are increasingly respected and listened to. Because we invite people into
our movement, our movement continues to grow. Because we are an innovative,
inspired movement of tens of thousands of blind people, we have the power to
make things happen.
So, there you have it: our brand personality. Each of us amplifies this
personality by exercising its traits in our own lives and actions: by
inviting friends and potential supporters to learn more about us; by
innovating in our own small ways to lessen the inconvenience of blindness;
and by inspiring our blind brothers and sisters to believe in themselves and
to achieve more than they thought possible. Keeping these traits in mind,
and displaying them for others, is one of the many ways in which we can
"live" our brand. 
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Richard Payne,  President
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
937/829/3368
Rchpay7 at gmail.com
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


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