Rosie Burrells

People’s ability to tell your charity apart from others is one of the key hallmarks of a strong brand. Your charity’s brand should clearly communicate a problem faced and how you are working to resolve it. While some charity brands do this with conviction, many struggle to show how they are different from others in their sector. In our research we see that the public are often unable to distinguish one charity brand from the next, frequently expressing confusion about what certain charities do and the important value they add to society. That’s why in this blog I’d like to talk about the importance of measuring differentiation.

Corporate brands tend to invest heavily in differentiating themselves because there is fiercer competition to stand out. However, when charities are thinking about what separates them from their peers and how to action a differentiation strategy, they are usually doing so with a fraction of the budget of their corporate counterparts. However, for charities there is more at stake… it isn’t about beating the competition and making profit, but ultimately persuading people to support your vision for making the world a better place (and we all know that without charities, many of society’s problems would be insurmountable).

Our research often shows that there is limited room for several generalist brands in a particular sector, and that usually, one will take the lead in the public’s mind. A well differentiated brand is one that effectively communicates uniqueness and distinctiveness through its name, mission, tone of voice and visual identity. By measuring perceptions of brand differentiation, we are able to get to the heart of what the public think certain charities do and how well this is being communicated. Although there is definitely the space for more than one charity in a given sector, it remains very important to carve out your niche. 

Our Charity Brand Evaluator research benchmarks which charities are doing well and less well in differentiating themselves. One example of a sector where the public find it hard to tell charities apart is homelessness. The brand visuals of some homelessness charities have tended to be very similar (think logo colour palette and the use of images of street homeless people). However, Shelter recently took a step towards abating this public confusion when they underwent a brand refresh last year. Shelter’s refreshed brand can be viewed as a means of carving out their niche, with a renewed focus activism, campaigning and a secure home for all. 

Another example from our research comes from the mental health sector. There are many brands doing crucial work here, but Mind now tends to be viewed by the public as the sector leader and do-it-all brand. However, one charity that has been successful at forging a distinct brand personality is Samaritans. It is clear that Samaritans’ niche in the mental health space, providing unbiased advice and support at the moment of crisis, has been consistently communicated and is cemented in public consciousness. Three-quarters (75%) of those who know the Samaritans brand agree they would never confuse it with any other organisation, whereas for other brands in the sector this figure falls between 55 and 60 per cent. Likewise, when we look at the attributes people associate with a range of mental health charities Samaritans stands out, being perceived as more friendly, supportive and responsive than others in the sector. 

A well-differentiated brand’s success is that people can easily recognise and remember what the organisation behind the brand has set out to achieve. The next step of the journey is using the brand to show the success of those achievements… perhaps a topic for my next blog. 

Our next round of Charity Brand Evaluator research is just around the corner. This research offers a deep dive into how the public views your charity’s brand personality through exploring a curated menu of metrics, including differentiation, impact, relevance, and loyalty, among others. Download the briefing pack here for more information – or even better – get in touch to discuss what we could reveal about your charity by emailing me at CBE@nfpresearch.com.