You Have a New Brand—Now What? Steps to Build Awareness for Your New Nonprofit Brand

A brand launch is a significant milestone for any nonprofit organization. It’s an opportunity to make an impact, energize your team and connect with key stakeholders in meaningful ways. Whether you are refreshing an existing identity or unveiling completely new nonprofit branding, the success of a brand relaunch can shape the future of your nonprofit, drive growth and open doors to new opportunities.

To ensure the successful implementation of your new nonprofit branding, it’s essential to develop a clear, strategic plan to build awareness. Here’s how to get started.

1. Work Inside, Out: Engage Your Internal Stakeholders First

Before launching your brand to the public, start by ensuring that everyone within your organization is on the same page. Your employees, board members and other internal stakeholders should be your brand’s first ambassadors. Their understanding and enthusiasm will directly impact how the new nonprofit branding is received externally.

• Empower Internal Stakeholders: Provide key internal stakeholders with a solid understanding of the new brand identity and its meaning. This includes board members, staff and volunteers. Give them the tools they need to communicate the brand’s narrative effectively. This can include talking points, a brief overview of the rebranding process and key messages explaining why the change is important for the future of the organization.
• Communicate with Key Partners: Ensure that your donors, volunteers and community partners understand how the new brand ties into the organization’s strategy and future goals. Keeping these groups informed fosters stronger relationships and greater support for your mission.
• Internal Communications Channels: Use a variety of communication channels to spread the word internally. Depending on your nonprofit’s structure, consider methods such as phone calls, town hall meetings, email newsletters, talking point cheat sheets, updated brochures, office signage and even videos explaining the new brand. This ensures that everyone is aligned and can confidently share the message in their own circles.
• Feedback Loop: Create a space for internal stakeholders to provide feedback or ask questions. This could be an open forum or an anonymous survey. Giving people the opportunity to share their thoughts not only makes them feel included but also helps refine your strategy as you move forward with external communications.

2. Determine Marketing Channels and Set Your Media Budget

Once your internal stakeholders are informed and aligned, it’s time to shift focus to your external audiences. Brand consistency across all platforms is essential for reinforcing your new identity. A well-thought-out marketing plan will help you maintain clear messaging and engage key audiences.

• External Brand Consistency: Ensure your messaging is consistent across all marketing channels, whether digital or print. Update your website, social media profiles, email templates and any other touchpoints to reflect the new brand. A cohesive brand presence helps build credibility and recognition.
• Targeted Outreach: Develop a communication strategy tailored to your key external audiences: donors, volunteers, funders and community partners. Use your nonprofit branding relaunch as an opportunity to re-engage these groups, providing them with an exciting update about the direction of the organization and the impact your nonprofit is making.
• Choose the Right Channels: Determine the most effective channels to reach your target audiences. Owned channels such as social media, email newsletters and your nonprofit’s website should be central to your outreach. For larger campaigns, consider leveraging paid media (such as digital ads, print materials or direct mail) to expand your reach.

3. Leverage Corporate Partnerships

Corporate partnerships can be a powerful tool for amplifying your nonprofit’s new brand. These partnerships can provide access to new audiences and strengthen relationships with companies already invested in your cause.

• Collaborate on Messaging: If you work with corporate sponsors or donors, explore ways to integrate your new brand messaging into their communication channels. Can you include an update in their employee newsletters? Could you share your brand story through their social media channels or at community events they sponsor?
• Fundraising Opportunities: Corporate partners often have an extensive network of employees and customers. Depending on the nature of the partnership, you might be able to include a fundraising solicitation in your brand messaging—either internally, through employee giving programs, or externally, through customer-facing campaigns.

4. Leverage Earned Media

A brand relaunch provides an excellent opportunity to raise your organization’s visibility and generate buzz. Media coverage can significantly amplify your message and help it reach a wider audience.

• Media Outreach: Ensure your nonprofit’s leadership, especially the CEO or executive director, is visible and vocal about the brand evolution. Work with local media to arrange interviews, press releases and feature articles that highlight your nonprofit’s mission and the reason behind the rebrand.
• Engage with Community Issues: Frame the conversation around your new nonprofit branding in the context of the broader community. Media outlets are more likely to take an interest if you can tie your new identity to current social, environmental or community issues. Show how your nonprofit’s work contributes to solving local challenges or advancing community goals.
• Excitement and Passion: Ensure that any public-facing communication is filled with energy and enthusiasm. A compelling and passionate message will resonate more deeply with the audience and increase the chances of media interest and public engagement.

5. Track Analytics and Adjust Your Strategy

A successful brand awareness campaign requires careful tracking and analysis. By measuring key performance indicators (KPIs), you can ensure that your efforts are delivering results and make necessary adjustments along the way.

• Monitor Key Metrics: Track data related to website traffic, social media engagement, email open rates and media impressions. These metrics will help you assess how well your messaging is resonating with your audience.
• Set Benchmarks: Create benchmarks based on your organization’s typical performance during the first three months of the campaign. Use this data to evaluate whether you’re hitting the mark with your new brand message.
• Evaluate and Pivot: Don’t be afraid to make adjustments if certain strategies aren’t performing as expected. If a specific channel or message isn’t gaining traction, revisit your approach and make tweaks to optimize your efforts.

Conclusion: Building Lasting Brand Awareness

Building awareness for your nonprofit’s new brand is an ongoing process that involves thoughtful planning, clear communication and consistent engagement across multiple channels. By working from the inside out, engaging your internal stakeholders, leveraging strategic partnerships and utilizing media and analytics, you can create a strong foundation for your rebranding efforts and ensure lasting recognition in the community.

In the end, a successful nonprofit branding launch is not just about changing logos or taglines; it’s about creating a lasting connection with your audience and showing how your nonprofit is uniquely positioned to make a difference.