Brand ‘infrastructure’ in nonprofit organizations: Challenges to successful brand building?

Abstract

The particular purpose of this study was to examine and explore the factors necessary within nonprofit organizations (NPOs) for successful branding, and challenges in their implementation. The approach was an appropriate inductive qualitative one, conducted through depth interviews with opinion formers. Although there has been some research into the variables necessary to successfully build brands, only limited work considers anything other than commercial branding contexts. The originality is that through this work both theory and practice of branding in NPOs will be better informed so that structures to support branding can be better managed. Factors considered important to branding were identified, particularly leadership, employee understanding and clear vision. It was interesting that respondents generally agreed that limited marketing budgets were not necessarily a major problem. The research also identified variables that contribute to a conceptual model of nonprofit brand management, experiential and emotional branding in particular being notable as offering possible platforms for differentiation. The work is exploratory in nature and therefore informs understanding of brand management in a nonprofit context and forms a basis for wider empirical testing.

Keywords::

• nonprofit organizations
• nonprofit branding
• public sector branding
• nonprofit brands
• university brands

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chris Chapleo

Dr Chris Chapleo's research interests are in marketing and branding in the non-profit sector. He has published and spoken widely on aspects of higher education branding. Prior to academia he held senior marketing roles in the publishing and leisure sectors, as well as higher education, where his interest in nonprofit branding began.