Archive for the ‘Nonprofits’ Category
Loss aversion looms large in branding
Not long ago I believed sustainable business, renewable energy and the socially responsible consumer were on the verge of going mainstream. I know they will get there eventually, but that day now seems farther away.
Those of us impatient for change — in our organizations, among our customers, within society — would do well to sit with this fact: People are more motivated to avoid losses than to achieve gains. How much more? About twice as motivated.
This is just one of many thought-provoking research findings explained by preeminent psychologist Daniel Kahneman in his latest book, “Thinking, Fast and Slow.”
This is my second post exploring what some of Kahneman’s findings could hold for brands and the organizations and leaders managing them. Earlier I looked at the distinction between plausibility and probability in the brand stories we tell. Here I’m interested in what humans’ deep-seated aversion to loss means for purveyors of change. (more…)
Tags: aversion to loss, brand, Branding, Daniel Kahneman, Loss aversion, storytelling, Thinking fast and slow
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Is your brand story merely plausible?
Some years ago I led the public relations launch of a next-generation “bet your company” software platform for my employer at the time. The product promised to transform an industry and ensure the business retained its star status. Those of us charged with the product marketing did a fabulous job of storytelling. We had the national trade media eating out of our palms, giving us positive, prominent coverage in one publication after another.
But there was one small problem: Our firm never delivered the product — at least not nearly as advertised.
We had sold an incredible story, not an incredible product.
Today, I am looking back at that experience through the lens of one of the most provocative books I have read in years: “Thinking
, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman, winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. Kahneman is actually a psychologist but his work around decision making challenged the prevailing rational model of judgment in economics. He is professor emeritus at Princeton University. (more…)
Tags: brand, brand story, Daniel Kahneman, nonprofit brand, Thinking fast and slow
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Nonprofit branding: What, why and how
I’m often hesitant to mention “branding” — the core of my consulting work — in nonprofit circles. The reason is simple: It can be a conversation killer.
New research by Harvard’s Nathalie Kylander and Christopher Stone suggests why. Drawing on interviews across 41 organizations, Kylander and Stone identify four reasons for skepticism toward branding among nonprofits:
- Nonprofit leaders widely associate branding with “the commercial pursuit of monetary gain,” which debases their work.
- A brand is often seen as “peremptorily imposed from above” in lieu of a strategic planning process, which is viewed as more participatory.
- Some believe leadership vanity is a larger motivation for branding than fulfilling a mission.
- Large nonprofit “bully brands” overshadow weaker organizations and “give brand management a bad reputation.”
These and other reasons for skepticism can’t change one fact: Any organization, nonprofit or for-profit, has a brand the moment it opens for business and people experience it. The question isn’t brand or no brand; it’s how well the brand is managed, communicated and experienced. (more…)
Tags: branding consultant, Breakthrough Nonprofit Branding, nonprofit brand, Nonprofit Brand IDEA, nonprofit branding, nonprofits
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