That’s what evaluation expert Edith Asibey calls “the tactical syndrome—broad or undefined goals leading to that laundry list of communications tactics.” Planning is the only antidote—front end planning (including planning the evaluation approach) followed by evaluation on an ongoing basis.

Consider these strategies two halves of a whole—they work best together. Without them, you’re simply throwing your marketing resources away.

Step One: Planning Impact

Here’s the problem. All too frequently, I hear nonprofit communicators who are “just doing it”— reaching out without taking the steps necessary to make sure they are engaging the right people in the right way to reach their goals. Without planning, that is.

I understand that you’re pressed for time and sometimes you just have to get something out the door. But usually that effort to get that one web page updated or the e-news article written and out the door is all action, no traction.

What you get from that is marketing product. What you don’t get is impact. And you may be alienating loyal and prospective audiences by missing the mark.

It’s hard, very hard, to take the time to plan. Because none of us have a minute of extra time, and planning seems like a real chore. But here’s what planning gets you, according to Sandra Jordan, Director of Communications & Outreach for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID):

1. Directs your focus.

• Only when a path is clearly defined can you stay on it.
• A clear path ensures you make the most of your effort and budget.

2. Forces you to articulate concrete, measurable objectives so you, and the decision makers who make staffing and budget decisions:

• Know what you are working towards (critical for buy in).
• Make the right decisions on how to get there.

3. Provides a definitive means of tracking progress (or lack of progress).

• Against stated objectives.

4. Doubles as a pithy overview of your work to engage colleagues and funders.

• Marketing is an all-organization responsibility.
• But to engage your colleagues (or prospective funders) you need to be able to show them what you’re doing and why.

5. Makes it easy to draft your day-by-day work plan.

• By breaking down the big ideas that comprise the master marketing plan into nitty-gritty execution.
• Clarifies elements for your work plan and roles and responsibilities, so you focus on priorities and capitalize on each staff member’s or freelancer’s skill set.

Step Two: Evaluating Impact

The e-word alone frightens many nonprofit communicators away because it’s human nature to avoid facing what we’re not doing well. I expect that’s why our 2007 survey showed that only 37% of nonprofit communicators track impact.

But evaluation is just as crucial as getting your campaigns out there. Without it, you’re driving blind.

Here are just a few of the insights you’ll get from proactive, all-the-time evaluation:

1. What’s working.

• So you can do more of that, and less of what’s not working as well.

2. What segments of your base are engaged, and which segments you have to get to know better so you can speak to their wants and preferences.

• So you know who you’re still courting and who you’re nurturing for the long run.
• So you know how to best court those who aren’t yet engaged.

3. What their habits are.

• When and how much do they read, how often and when do they participate in your Facebook fan page or download a report.
• So you know how to reach out to them in the way most likely to motivate action.

4. What content is most compelling to your base.

• So you can develop more content on those topics.

5. What messaging generates action, and what doesn’t stir the pot.

• So you know what messaging to use more often, and what needs to be cut or revised.

Here are three surefire ways to evaluate your marketing impact, easy to tackle even if you’re a one-person shop:

1.  Launching periodic online surveys of five questions or less to get to know your base and prospects, and solicit their input. Use Survey Monkey (free).

2.  Forming an ad hoc marketing advisory group.

3.  Setting up and analyzing Google Analytics (free) for your website and blog.

Get to work!

So I thought I should put together a list of key things to think about, if you are considering a video production. I’m putting this together for our clients, but I think it can be useful for anyone thinking about making a video. The more you consider these issues before beginning, the smoother your project will advance.

Three Reasons Why You Should Use Video Now

1.  Video production, once complicated and expensive, is now doable by anyone with a video camera and access to the internet.  Brief, on-the-fly videos provide authenticity and compelling visuals via a short production cycle. This is great news for nonprofit organizations looking to connect with their networks in a way that’s reaches beyond narrative and photos.

2.  There’s a growing expectation that video will be integrated in every communications mix.

3.  Video, when done right, contributes immediacy and excitement to your organization’s communications mix, and strengthens overall impact.  Well-crafted online videos can emotionally engage your audiences in a way that reading can’t.  It’s almost like being there in person and sometimes even better, with the ability to provide the human element (e.g. an online site visit) that’s unmatched for building interest, creating trust and driving action.

Videos are shown to:

• Generate a response that’s both intellectual AND emotional.
• Inspire action. The right combination of storytelling, imagery (through photos and video) and personal appeals can be more effective in moving people to act.
• Significantly expand audience reach through online distribution. An engaging video is easy (and likely) to be passed on by your viewers, representing an exponential growth in reach.

What We Did Wrong, So You Don’t Do It

Great Nonprofit Taglines of 2009 from GettingAttention.org on Vimeo.

Our Goal
We wanted to build our video skills and decided to start by producing a video announcement of the 2009 winners of our annual Nonprofit Tagline Awards program. We were confident a video featuring the finalists and winners would be a compelling and complementary addition to the marketing mix (mostly narrative, online and offline) and an effective way to build awareness of award winners and the Nonprofit Tagline Report publication.

Our Mistakes
Eager to get our feet wet in the online video world and with limited video production experience, we dove right in with little more than a concept outline in hand. As a result, our initial end product was a seven-minute video featuring tagline award winners and finalists. It took over 30 hours to produce.

When we shared the video with colleagues, the main response was “it’s too long,” and we agreed.  We went back to the drawing board and cut the video to less than two minutes, transforming it into a “trailer” for the Report.

In hindsight, we realized we did not do the proper initial planning for the video.  We didn’t ask ourselves the simple questions —“What is the goal of this video?” or “How long should it be”?

In particular, our most significant mistake was that we did not storyboard the movie or concept before beginning the production. We began production before we had a clear vision of what we wanted to produce. Don’t forget the storyboard!

We did do some things right, like beginning with a fairly simple production strategy. Our video movie is a simple slide presentation with text animations, created in Keynote (you can also use PowerPoint) and exported into a movie file format.  Once editing was complete, we uploaded the video to Vimeo, a free video-hosting website.

Next Time: The Right Way to Do It
Despite our mistakes, our first experience in producing online video was a valuable one.  We flexed our creative muscles and learned useful lessons about planning and production that we can pass on to you.  We are excited to get our next production rolling and have a much clearer sense of the right production process.

So, upon further reflection and research, here’s our new, expanded take on how to succeed:

9 Steps to Launching a Successful Video for Your Nonprofit

1.  Develop a Simple Plan to Guide Your Project
Whether you’re shooting a 30-second PSA or an hour-long documentary, you must start out by creating a plan that includes the pre-production, production and post-production aspects of your video project. It’s a critical first step.

This is really no different than other nonprofit marketing endeavors you’ve worked on. You don’t start the development of a brochure, annual report, website, fundraising campaign, advocacy campaign, etc., without some upfront planning.

2.  Test Your Video Idea Against Your Communications Goals
You’re not going to do a video just for the sake of doing a video. (Though, you certainly may choose to produce a low-risk, low-budget video as your first effort using this medium.)

Review your organization’s communications goals and evaluate if video is a relevant channel.  Key questions include:

• What’s the purpose of the video?
• Who is the target audience?
• What actions do we need to motivate?
• Whom do we need to reach to make that happen?
• What are the best channels to reach them?

3.  Evaluate Your Resources to Ensure They Match Your Concept
There’s always a connection between the degree of complexity and the size of your resources when shooting a video. However, advances in software and hardware technology and a growing number of people trained to work in video production, means quality video is within reach of the typical nonprofit budget.

No matter the complexity you have in mind, the concept for your video must take into account at least these basic items: the people who work on the video—on camera and off; the location or locations where it will be shot; the equipment needed for the shoot (cameras, lighting, editing suites, etc.); the graphics needed for the video (still photos, logos, other typical artwork you encounter in your marketing materials); other effects including music, props, costumes, etc.

4.   Make Sure the Video Has a Clear, Relevant Message
Remember, your video has to be clearly linked to your overall messaging. So, as you head down the path of video production, be sure you first summarize your video’s chief message and goals in one simple paragraph that you can have on-hand and share with everyone involved in its production. When you run into the inevitable twists and editing challenges, you’ll have this clear statement of your video’s goals to guide your decisions.

5.  Decide on Your Video’s Format
In general, the format most easily achieved for nonprofits producing a short-message video doesn’t involve live people. Instead, the video’s format includes a series of still images — photos and text artfully arranged with various, subtle movements and transitions on the screen — a zoom, a page turn, a dissolve, etc.— done to the backdrop of a compelling voiceover and music.

Other formats to consider are the ones you’re probably more familiar with through a life-time of seeing video and television: The talking head (generally a simple, tight shot of someone speaking into the camera); the standard interview with two people usually either sitting across from each other or standing up; the documentary (which can involve a wide range of formats); the story approach with a completely written and rehearsed script; and the video magazine approach, which typically includes an in-studio host who introduces the topic and serves up transitions from various “in the field” reports, and then wraps up the program.

6.   Choose a Style that Matches Your Goals
This is an easy concept but one you have to get right. Will a silly or serious video be more effective? Formal or informal? Be sure your selection of style matches your goals.

Some web video pros believe a successful video must move at least two emotions (i.e., sympathy, outrage, fear, joy, laughter, awe, wonder, etc.); tell a bit of story (dramatic tension, heroes and villains and victims, etc.); and provide a spectacle (the viewer is wowed in some manner, often in a way that ultimately causes her to respond to the call to action).

Caution: Silly certainly has its place. But you’ll want to be sure that the silliness-factor is properly tempered for your video. It can be done right and make sense — but getting it right can be a real challenge when you consider serious nature of most nonprofits’ messages.

7.   Get Feedback from Colleagues and Members of Your Target Audience
Once you’ve got a rough cut of your video — meaning you’ve done all your shooting and most of your editing — be sure to show it to people whose opinions you respect. It’s critical to get some more objective opinions. It’s very common to hear “It’s too long” and you’ll have a good sense of what parts you love but need to go.  Collect the feedback, review it and revise.

8.   Make Sure It Gets Seen
We’re in the midst of a video-Cambrian explosion. There have never been more outlets for delivering a video to your target audiences, with more appearing every day. So you don’t want to go to the trouble of producing your nonprofit video and just to post it on your website.

Once you have the finished product in hand, be sure to maximize your video’s exposure by:

• Posting it on YouTube
• Linking to it from your org’s Facebook and LinkedIn pages
• Tweeting about it through your Twitter account
• Embedding the video in your blog and website
• Sending out an email (in your e-news, if you have one) to your base with an invitation to view, share and comment.

9.   Emphasize the Call to Action and Track Results
Don’t overlook this one. As you map out your video, be sure you set it up with a clear call to action and a trackable URL, email address and/or phone number. This way you’ll get the best measure possible of its success. These results will inform your next video project and other communications strategies.

For a nonprofit, the answer lies in the way (if any) your organization is involved in the relief effort. The following guidelines derive from an analysis of news of, and fundraising for, relief efforts in the response to the Haitian earthquake and the plight of its three million survivors in need.

For organizations providing services in the earthquake relief effort

Make it clear why your organization is well-equipped to help. Be as specific as possible.

• Partners in Health, having worked in Haiti for the last 25 years, was well positioned to provide immediate rescue help and medical care before many other relief organizations could get on the ground in Haiti. PIH immediately crafted messaging emphasizing the value of its long-established operations and relationships in Haiti, and the breadth of its services:

“For the last 25 years, Partners In Health and Zanmi Lasante (our Haitian sister organization) have been delivering community-based care that extends well beyond the hospital. It involves building houses, bringing clean water, and providing emotional and social support to those in need. While the enormous task of treating people physically injured by the earthquake still looms large before us, we cannot ignore the mental health injuries that are also ubiquitous at a time like this, particularly for those who were already living on the margins, suffering from the vicious cycle of poverty and disease.”

•  The International Rescue Committee’s(IRC) online appeal focuses on its rescue staff’s expertise:

“Our specialists are veteran first responders who have quickly set up effective emergency programs around the world during violent conflicts and natural disasters. They also have a long history of working closely and effectively with local aid organizations.”

Communicate broadly, clearly and visually (if possible) about how donations are managed, where they are going and what your organization’s relief effort is achieving. That comes after thanking donors immediately (and often) and adding them to your donor database for follow up. Interest in the relief effort fades much more quickly than your organization’s need for support.

More immediately, you’ll need reliable, timely reporting out, even though you’re frequently working with technological and logistical constraints. This is the time to put Web 2.0 tools, from Skype to Twitter, to work for all they’re worth. Communicating on disaster relief work is where these tools make a huge difference in sharing the focus and impact of your work on the ground in real time via podcast, photos and/or video.

• Partners in Health(PIH) reached out immediately for donations to fund medical care for Haitian survivors of the earthquake. The PIH team started reporting out to donors immediately via emails every second or third day, and Stand with Haiti, a website covering the relief effort and featuring videos, interviews, a blog and instant updates from the field (via Twitter).
• The American Red Cross’ home page features its work in Haiti, and ongoing campaign to raise more funds.  Its report-out on aid and impact is outstanding, with weekly podcasts from the field, photos of its work on the ground and a constant stream of news on relief work.The Red Cross has done an admirable job of deflating fears about its potential to repeat its flops in previous relief efforts, spearheaded by this on-the-ground video of Red Cross president Gail McGovern. McGovern speaks specifically on dollars used to date and how they’ve been allocated.
• Doctors without Borders(MSF) just released this eye-opening video to convey how relief needs have changed in the two weeks since the earthquake. It serves to motivate additional donations while emphasizing MSF’s capacity to provide the aid that is needed, even as those needs change over time.

Be thoughtful in your use of graphic photos of the disaster.

• The press is working for you by publicizing shocking photos of the disaster (not to mention the videos floating around YouTube, and the tens of thousands of photos on Flickr).
• Some journalists argue that graphic photos (such as those of dead children) are too much. Others assert that the seriousness of disasters like this one necessitates the use of photos to convey the gravity of the situations, especially to a jaded U.S. audience in the midst of an economic downturn.

Follow-up to transition disaster donors into loyal donors.

• Giselle Holloway, IRC’s Director of Direct Response, reminds us that “a person doesn’t truly become a donor until they make their second gift. When donors join your organization through an emergency, you need to start cultivating them immediately so you can retain them after the crisis is over. Send them an e-mail or letter that thanks them for their support, welcomes them to your organization and educates them about your broader mission. You also might want to make welcome phone calls to new donors at higher giving levels or try to convert them to monthly giving. And don’t forget to send all your new donors updates on a regular basis that show how their gift is making a difference.”

For organizations fundraising for aid efforts, but not directly providing aid

Be proactive and specific in conveying the process for distributing donations and where/how/when the money will be spent.

• United Jewish Federations of North America(UJF) launched a mini-site to solicit donations for nonsectarian earthquake relief efforts, carried out through the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee(JDC), a 94-year-old humanitarian aid organization that works in over 60 countries worldwide. “Funds are being collected on a non-sectarian basis as part of JDC’s International Development Program(IDP) which responds to natural and manmade disasters, providing immediate relief and long-term assistance.”

Explain why your organization has chosen to get involved as a pass through for donations.

• This role, which is probably an unusual one for your organization, has the potential to confuse your established audiences. Help them understand what you are doing, and why.
• UJF does a great job of explaining why it’s getting involved in raising money for relief work. Several reasons are cited including its ability to reach out to its national network of Federations to encourage them to raise for money for JDC’s relief work (a fundraising machine, already in place); its funding of the Israel Defense Forces field hospital, the first portable medical facility operational in Haiti; and working with the National Association of Jewish Chaplains to mobilize chaplains trained in disaster spiritual care and partnering with the American Red Cross for deployment.

For other nonprofits continuing with fundraising and communications outreach

Be sensitive to inappropriate pitches.

• You may actually go as far as to acknowledge the magnitude of the earthquake and cyclone disasters, and the contributions your donors and prospects are likely to have made. In doing so, you craft the opportunity to talk about your issues (hunger, shelter and health are directly related) and/or service recipients and the fact that these needs persist in the face of these tragedies.Fundraiser Jeff Brooks characterizes disaster giving as “above-and-beyond giving,” and cautions, “There’s no need to take away from the need in Haiti. Relief giving is not taking gifts away from you.”
• Remember that your audiences have been immersed, whether they have wanted to be or not, in disaster coverage.

Relate your work to relief work when relevant—but don’t overstate.

• Make sure you don’t overstate a connection between your organization, services or programs and the disaster.
• At the same time, acknowledge the earthquake. Pretending the disaster didn’t happen is the worst mistake your organization can make. And hunger is hunger, be it among survivors in Port-au-Prince or Philadelphians living in poverty.

Continue with your planned communications and fundraising campaigns.

• Don’t get nervous and pull the plug on carefully designed plans. Yep, many journalists are focused on earthquake relief coverage and other front-page news. But if you have a timely pitch, make it.
• However, if you are planning a once-a-year bash or fundraising campaign and it coincides with the week of a disaster, consider delaying it. Otherwise, full steam ahead.

Plan to communicate even more effectively around the next crisis.

• If your organization isn’t focused on relief, or passing through contributions, it’s likely that you’ll be on the sidelines next time round.
• While this experience is still fresh, sketch out a one-page plan of what you’ll do next time round. This approach will help you avoid panic at that point, and stay as productive as possible with marketing and fundraising communications.

I recommend you continue to track how these organizations, and others, are communicating on their relief efforts or in the shadow of the Haiti disaster. There’s lots to learn about how your organization can improve its outreach, in times of disaster or, better yet, days of calm.

Relevance (i.e., connection) is a prerequisite for conversation and thus, for communications success. If your messages are off, your organization will fail to engage your base. And, without that engagement, there’s no way you’ll motivate them to act – give, volunteer, register or advocate.

So, based on our findings, it’s clear that strengthening messaging is a priority for many of you. I urge you to digest the findings below to learn more about the state of nonprofit messaging today, and how you can shape messages that do connect.

Here’s the survey if you’d like to review questions asked while digesting the findings.

Most Nonprofit Messages Don’t Connect Strongly with Key Audiences

Eighty-four percent of nonprofit communicators say that their messages connect with target audiences only somewhat or not at all. That’s 915 nonprofit communicators working with organizations of all sizes, issue focus and geographies who rate their messaging as failing to generate the conversations they need to.

Looking at the flip side, only 16% of nonprofits rate their messages as connecting well. This is a dismal success rate, especially since it’s not due to lack of effort. Survey respondents report working extremely hard to achieve their marketing goals: huge effort with minimal results.

That’s a very serious problem.

Behind the Disconnect: 86% of Nonprofits Characterize Their Messages as Difficult to Remember

Most nonprofits report that their messaging suffers from lack of inspiration (73%), poor targeting to audience wants and needs (70%), and difficult to remember (86%). Three strikes and you’re out.

Few communicators laud their messaging for its strengths: Only 13% of organizations characterize messaging as cogent while 8% describe their messaging as potent.

These comments from survey participants explain why their messages fail to connect:

• “Our messages need to be more succinct to communicate how effective we really are.”
• “We don’t move our base to action.”
• “We have individual elements that are ok solo, but no unified path.”
• “Our messages aren’t hard-hitting or targeted enough. So they fall flat.”
• “We need to shape messages that are simple enough for staff to remember and feel comfortable in repeating it to others.”
• “Too much jargon. I can’t even understand what we’re saying.”

Inconsistency Reigns Supreme, Leaving Confusion and Annoyance in Its Path

There are numerous tactics to craft more relevant messages. However, when aiming to increase relevance, it’s imperative to go beyond delivering a few relevant messages here and there. The real challenge is to consistently deliver messages that connect.

Here’s the rub: Less than 50% of nonprofits report consistent use of their core messaging (organizational tagline, positioning statement and talking points). That means that even though most organizations have taken the effort to craft messages, those messages aren’t used consistently across channels (website, direct mail, email), audiences or programs.

Inconsistency breeds confusion and annoyance. When your network has to decipher what organization is reaching out to them (because the messages are unfamiliar) and what you’re trying to say (because it’s new to them), you’ve failed. They just won’t do it in the noisy, cluttered message sphere.

Your Checklist for Messaging that Connects

Most nonprofit communicators (78%) see these characteristics as crucial for messaging that connects:

• Clear
• Focused
• Concise
• Engaging
• Unique
• Memorable

What’s Getting in the Way: Effective Messaging Stymied by Lack of Focus and Leadership Support

Survey respondents share many of the same barriers to (and frustrations in) improving messaging. Here are the leading obstacles to doing better:

• Lack of leadership support
• Too busy
• Concerned about expense
• Diverse audiences
• Complex programming
• Blinders, e.g. lack of external perspective
• Colleagues, volunteers, members untrained as messengers.

Here are respondent comments about their barriers to creating messaging that connects:

• Lack of Leadership Support and/or Understanding
  • “Funds are prioritized for fundraising, not marketing. Our leadership doesn’t understand how the two are halves of a whole. How can I build that understanding?”
• Staff and Leadership
  • “Too many cooks. Each department and location has their own ideas and frequently don’t check in with marketing to see if it’s ok to use them.”
  • “Hard to engage, reach and train staff in our 41 locations.”
  • “Hard to shape a useful message development process, as board members have widely divergent perspectives and are very involved in communications. Help.”
  • “No time to train/educate/empower staff, board and volunteers to understand and deliver messages.”
• Complexity of Issue Focus
  • “It’s tough to create effective messages for an anti-poverty project that focuses on education and long-term change over time in a foreign country that is not in ‘crisis’ mode (such as Sudan or parts of Africa), yet is still one of the poorest in the Western hemisphere.”
• Diversity of Program Work
  • “How do we find a way to speak for more than 32 programs in a targeted way while maintaining consistent organizational messages?”
• Lack of External Perspective (a.k.a. blinders)
  • “Our messages are typically crafted from the ‘inside out,’rather than shaping them to the wants and needs of specified audiences.”

There’s Huge Potential for Stronger Nonprofit Messaging: Three Steps to Take You There

These survey findings are incredibly useful in showcasing what’s critical in making messages work, and what it takes to get there.

Here are my recommendations for your first three steps to stronger messages.

1. Ensure that your organization’s strategy and goals are crystal clear
   I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been hired to develop a message platform (tagline, positioning statement, talking points) for an organization but can’t get to ground zero because there’s no agreement on organizational direction and goals.

   Without clear organizational goals, marketing goals can’t be defined but without them it’s impossible to define the right audiences to engage. If this is your situation, your problems are bigger than weak messaging. Get on it!

2. Build understanding and support of leadership and colleagues — You need their insights and reach
   The three most-cited barriers to effective messaging (lack of leadership support, too busy, and concern about expense) underscore the degree of messaging crisis. Communications succeed only when it’s built on effective messaging. Refusing to invest the time and money it takes to craft those messages will undermine your entire communications agenda. It’s an investment your leadership can’t afford not to make.

   But here’s what you’re up against: Nonprofit staff members most focused on making the most of their messages are communicators (58%), fundraisers (40%) and program staff members (21%) in order of survey participation level.

   That’s important because it highlights that communicators have a lot of work to do to develop support for and input in the message development process. Cross-organizational participation is even more vital once your messages are ready to roll. Your colleagues are your primary on-the-ground messengers via their workday conversation and communications.

3. Start with your tagline — Less is more
   It’s always harder to write something shorter than longer, and your tagline is as short as it gets. It is the absolute essence of your messaging.

   Moreover, your steps in the tagline development process build the insight you’ll need to craft a potent positioning statement and key messages or talking points (the other two elements in your message platform).

Consistency is the Be All and End All of Messaging Impact

There are a numerous tactics to deliver more relevant messages. However, when we aim to increase relevance, we don’t mean that we simply want to deliver a few relevant messages here and there. Simply developing a compelling welcome email is not enough. The real challenge in email marketing is to consistently deliver relevant messages.

Make it easy for your network to recognize that a communication is coming from your organization by being consistent – in language and tone – in your outreach to each segment.

Tell Me about Your Messaging Hopes, Challenges and Strategies

Please email me on what you’re doing to strengthen your messages (at the organizational or program/campaign level) and what’s getting in your way.

I’ll be drilling down on messaging this year, and would like to share your experiences and guidance with your fellow nonprofit communicators.

Due to the ubiquitous nature of advertising and promotion, we’re all bombarded by communications.

In the face of this morass, inconsistencies in editorial and graphic content make it difficult for your audiences to recognize, at a glance, that your communications are all coming from your organization. Remember, we’re all scanners these days, so looking and sounding the same way, over time, throughout your various channels, is crucial.

In addition, it’s likely that those who do recognize that mismatched communications are from your nonprofit won’t think much of your organization or your sloppy communications effort.

Consistency is the key to your audiences absorbing your messages, and for them to be able to “whisper down the lane” — repeating those messages to others. No other form of communication is as powerful as this natural network.

Here’s how to put a style guide to work to ensure powerfully consistent communications:

A Style Guide Is a Long-Term Solution

An easy way to ensure clear and consistent communications is to create an editorial and visual identity style guide, made available organization wide as an ever-accessible PDF.

Everyone needs to be on the same page when it comes to getting the word out. The standards featured in your style guide will make it easy for them to do so, reducing
time spent, errors made and endless frustration.

A style guide will also make it unnecessary for you and your colleagues to re-invent the wheel each time, saving you a great deal of effort.

Remember that once you’ve launched your organizational style guide, it may make sense to develop guides for major campaigns or programs (see link below to the style guide for the University of Maryland’s $1 billion Great Event fundraising campaign).

Action Plan

Here is a step-by-step approach to putting together, or updating, your style guide.

• Spread out communications samples in front of you, including pages printed out from your web site, e-news blog, fundraising campaigns, and other key channels.
• Jot down standards that work best in the following areas. You’ll want input from colleagues and external audiences if possible.

Traditionally, style guides covered punctuation, spelling and other editorial guidelines. I suggest you expand this concept to include visual guidelines as well so you and your colleagues have a single point of reference to shape communications.

EDITORIAL Guidelines

The primary purpose of editorial guidelines is to address topics specific to your organization that are not adequately covered in the standard published style guides, such as The Chicago Manual of Style or The Associated Press Style book (see below).

In addition, the guide summarizes some of the most- frequently-raised questions of style, topics that are dealt with in greater detail in these manuals, in order to offer a quick, but more comprehensive, reference tool.

Questions of style, unlike many questions of grammar, usually do not have a right or wrong answer. Instead, establishing a preferred style is helpful so that a consistent presentation can be maintained throughout an array of materials that may be produced by many different individuals.

Having a set of predetermined guidelines will also save those individuals the time and energy required to develop their own guidelines.

Guidelines should include:

• Word style preferences (preferred spelling and capitalization, e.g. web site vs. website, grant making vs. grantmaking).
• Words not to use.
• Naming and acronyms.
• Person, tone and voice.
• Positioning statement: The two or three sentences that establish your position in the philanthropic world and how it should be included, as a whole, in most communications.
• Talking points for staff and board: Key messages that briefly cover the who, what, when, where, and how of your group, and how they should be incorporated in most communications.
• Tagline (in eight words or less)
• The title of the published grammar style guide that your group uses:  Communicate the title of the guide that your writers need to follow when deciding whether to insert that final comma or not, or selecting the right preposition to follow the word parallel (to or with).

Review these titles, talk to colleagues, and select one if you haven’t already. Top picks are:

• The Associated Press Stylebook
• The Chicago Manual of Style
• Words into Type.

VISUAL/GRAPHIC Guidelines

Since the power of a strong visual identity can only be realized through consistent application, these standards are crucial for colleagues throughout your nonprofit to follow.

Elements should include:

• Logo: Sizing; colors; position on the page; what elements should be included when logo is used.
• Color Palette: Official colors and details on how those colors are to be used.
• Typeface (e.g. all newsletter headlines are in Times Roman Bold, 14 pt.).
• Layouts, templates.
• Web templates.
• Photo and image library.

Putting Your Style Guide to Work

Your next step is to distribute the guide and ensure that staff and consultants are clear on its content.

An in-person “training” session is often an effective way to introduce the guide and ensure that your colleagues view it as an aid (fewer open issues, decisions, delays) to them, rather than a dictum imposed upon them.

Remember to refresh your guide on an ongoing basis as questions come up and preferences are determined.

Stellar Nonprofit Style Guide Examples

You’ll see that these examples range from a one-pager, which might be enough for your organization, to Rutgers’ multi-page guide. The more numerous and complex your organization, programs and audiences are, the more depth you’ll need in your style guide.

Don’t be afraid to contact your communications colleagues at these organizations to learn more about the development or implementation of these guides.

• CHIP and Children’s Medicaid Campaign Graphic Identity and Branding Style Guide
  (A good example of a mid-level style guide with graphic focus)
• Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Editorial Style Guide
• Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine Identity and Style Guide
• League of Women Voters of New Jersey Editorial Style Guide (a good model to start with)
• Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (men’s music fraternity) Visual Standards
• Rotary International Visual Identity Guide
• Rutgers University (These guides are the ultimate, and probably more than you will need.)
  • Editorial Style Guide
  • Visual Identity Manual
• United Animal Nations Graphic Standards Manual and Editorial Style Guide
• U. of Maryland: Great Event Fundraising Campaign Style Guide

Does your organization have an editorial and/or visual standards guide you’d like to share with colleagues? Please email me the URL today at: nancy@nancyschwartz.com

What this means for your communications impact is vital: If your messages are off, your organization will fail to engage your base. And, without that engagement, there’s no way you’ll succeed in motivating them to act – give, volunteer, register or advocate.

Get a sense of how nonprofit messaging is working, or not, via these initial findings from our current messaging survey.

The State of the Message

Yikes! Nearly three of four nonprofit communicators say that their messages connect with target audiences only somewhat. This indicates a huge opportunity for improvement in 2010.

This story typifies a frequently-cited reason for the failure to connect:

“Our message is quite memorable given the time to explain or show what happens to the animals reared in factory farms. However, we can’t educate the whole world on a one-to-one basis and people generally don’t know or think about these issues. We need short, sharp statements to get the idea across quickly.”

Your Messaging Wish List

Here is your messaging wish list so far. You’d like your organization’s messaging to be more:

• Clear
• Focused
• Concise
• Engaging
• Unique
• Memorable
• Consistent.

That’s pretty much the standard checklist for effective messaging, which tells me the level of your frustration and of your dissatisfaction with the status quo.

These communicators’ picks on what aspect of their messaging they’d change first are sentiments echoed by many respondents:

“We’ve got to get all staff, board members, volunteers and performers speaking the same message to the community and donors. Problem is they all have their own messages.”

“We do so many different things that it is difficult to put it all under one umbrella. A consistently-used tagline that works for all audiences across programs and channels would help.”

What’s Holding Your Messaging Back – The Usual Suspects

You and your communications colleagues share many of the same barriers to improving messaging. Here’s what’s getting in the way of strengthening your messages, via survey responses to date:

• No time to work on messages
• Not an organizational priority
• Audiences are very diverse
• Concerned about expense
• Not familiar with the process/lack of expertise
• Work is too complex.

Here is more of what we’re hearing from the field:

“One of our biggest barriers is confirming strategic goals for the organization or program, so we know what we’re trying to achieve through messaging. In addition, our leadership lacks understanding of the importance of messaging.”

“Time, time, time! So often my day is spent just trying to get the daily tasks done that I don’t have a moment to slow down, focus and take the time to develop an effective message.”

“Funds are prioritized for fundraising, not marketing. Our leadership doesn’t understand how the two are halves of a whole. How can I build that understanding?”

The Potential for Highly Effective Messaging is Strong

These early survey outtakes draw a clear picture of the need for stronger messaging, and what needs to be conquered to get there. It can be done, and we’re going to work hard to help you do so in 2010!

Till then, keep your eyes and ears open for messaging that works (nonprofit or not) and try to identify the secrets to that success. Doing so will give you a significant jump start on your path to powerful messaging.

You know that there’s no message more valuable than testimonials from partners, donors, members, volunteers and program participants on their experiences with your organization. Testimonials rationalize a prospect’s decision to support your organization as they back up your claims and vouch for the value of your work. As a result, these unbiased words carry more credibility than anything your organization’s staff has to say.

It’s challenging to get the right testimonials from your network. But you can count on getting strong material when you ask this series of questions (via phone or an online survey) as soon as possible after an individual’s interaction with your organization.  This approach is vastly more effective than an “open mike” call for testimonials strategy.

You can ask the questions at an organization or program-specific level, depending on the messaging you’re working on. Beware that asking broad questions generates broad responses that tend to be weak testimonials.

Here are the questions to ask:

1. Why did you [join/give/volunteer with/participate in] our organization?

   This question establishes the interaction as “customer-feedback” rather than a request. A request for a testimonial is imbalanced, frequently creating a measure of tension and sometimes a resistance to responding. Customer feedback is an equal conversation; a two-way street.

2. Please list the three things you like most about your [membership/support/volunteer work/program] and why you like them?

   Implying ownership (“your membership”) personalizes the survey. Positioning this question as a positive (“like most”) increases the likelihood of generating a positive response.

   Requesting a report back on three distinct features (for example, a program’s relevance, workshop format and take-home materials) makes the respondent think hard and specifically on her response. As a result, the end product is likely to be more useful to your organization.

3. What do you see as the most valuable aspect of your [participation/advocacy/giving to us/membership/volunteering]?

   By asking your base to pinpoint benefits, you’ll learn which ones are most important (to them and to prospects).

4. Please tell us about any specific success that your involvement with our organization helped you achieve, and how.

   By asking for personal experiences, you’re likely to hear stories that map directly to the challenges faced by the rest of your network. Stories make information easy to relate to, and much more interesting.

5. How has your involvement with our [organization/program] benefited you or your community in terms of increasing quality of life or satisfaction?

   This is one of my favorite questions, leading the respondent right to the answer you’re looking for. It will motivate her to tell you how your organization or program has changed her life.

6. Is there anything about your [volunteer work/program/membership/donor communications] that you would like to see changed?

   This question emphasizes how much you care about feedback and gives you insight into problems that need to be addressed.

7. May we use your comments in our communications, with attribution?

   Remember that an anonymous testimonial has far less weight that one attributed to an individual cited by name, title and organization. If you can feature her photo, all the better. That increases believability hugely! But you do need to ask her permission on all fronts.

   If you’re conducting this interview via phone, send an email follow up to solicit a dated release.

Polishing Testimonials for Ultimate Impact

Once you have a few testimonials in hand, move on to editing. Editing is expected, as long as you don’t change the intention of the testimonial in doing so.

Here are the critical steps to take:

• Use only the strongest testimonials you have. It’s far better to have a few really good testimonials than several mediocre ones. Make sure the testimonials cover a range of benefits. Different things are important to different people. Your prospects are going to decide to get involved for different reasons. You want to cover all the main ones.

• Focus on a single benefit in each testimonial. Load too many in and you’ll deplete the strength of the message.

• A length of two to three sentences works best. However, testimonials can run longer if you’re telling a story.

• Positive messaging works best. Do edit out negative elements, such as slams on other organizations. And don’t use testimonials that have an overall negative tone. They won’t help your organization.

• Conversational is the way to go.  You’re bound to generate some great raw material by asking these questions. But make sure you don’t overdo polishing what you get. Testimonials should be conversational in tone, just as you initially heard them. If you rewrite them formally, they’ll lose their impact.

• Send the edited version with attribution to the source for approval, showing them exactly how it’s going to look with the attribution included. Save the confirmation email you receive in return. In about 20% of cases, you’ll be gifted with a revised testimonial that’s even more glowing than the original.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

What Doesn’t Work

Weak or negative testimonials are worse than no testimonials at all. Here are a few examples that add little messaging value:

“Imagine standing and just looking at a stainless steel 1936 Ford.  It is great right?  Now imagine working on it!  EVEN BETTER!”
–Crawford Auto Aviation Museum Volunteer

So what? This testimonial provides little insight to the reader.

“I very much appreciate all of your time and insight.” (On a nonprofit news service)
—Anonymous, California, USA

Why is that effort and insight of value? And who is speaking? If I don’t know the speaker’s role and organization, there’s no way I can assess whether her take is relevant to me.

What Works

Here are four examples of testimonials that work, and explanations of why they do so.

“The best part of camp is, without a doubt, the kids – their smiles, laughter, and maturity. I volunteer to help the kids, yet I always leave camp with a renewed sense of hope and life, which comes from the kids, and what they do for their fellow campers, the volunteers, and me. In my opinion, Camp Hope is the toughest vacation you’ll ever love.”
—Catherine Brown, volunteer

Catherine’s articulation of all she gets from giving her time and effort is moving and motivational.

“They are very consistent in their pick-ups. It’s very easy to arrange and I know that the things I donate will not be wasted and any money raised goes to a good cause.”
—Nora C., Bridgewater, MA

Nora C. donated goods to the Big Brother Big Sister Foundation and shares the practical features (reliable pick up, easy to arrange) and more spiritual benefit (any money raised goes to a good cause) that will motivate her to do so again.

“I credit meeting many of my career goals this year to my mentor.  As a result of my mentor’s invaluable coaching, I have been able to map out my job experience and determine my areas of concern, update my job application form and develop my interviewing skills.”
—Carolyn Ellenes

The specifics here make this testimonial a powerful one. Ms. Ellenes shares her experience in a way that highlights specific benefits (analyzing her career path and honing related skills) and value (meeting many of her career goals) of the mentoring program. We understand who she is and how program participation has made a difference in her life, making it easy for us to evaluate the relevance of this testimonial.

Finally, take a look at the Center for Media Democracy’s video compilation of testimonials from members and community producers. It’s three minutes of warm, fun, informational and memorable marketing, that doesn’t seem like marketing at all.

Now Make Good Testimonials Even Better

It’s hard to overestimate the power of a headline. Remember that today’s readers skim at a fast clip. Headlines can stop them in their tracks.

Effective headlines frame a testimonial to capture attention, making content easier to absorb and increasing the potential for audiences to digest your full message. Feature a bolded headline for every testimonial (and include it when you seek permission to use the quote). Your headline should highlight the value of the testimonial, as it does in the three headline/testimonial pairings below.

 Toughest Vacation You’ll Ever Love
“The best part of camp is, without a doubt, the kids – their smiles, laughter, and maturity. I volunteer to help the kids, yet I always leave camp with a renewed sense of hope and life, which comes from the kids, and what they do for their fellow campers, the volunteers, and me. In my opinion, Camp Hope is the toughest vacation you’ll ever love.”
—Catherine Brown, volunteer

Easy to Arrange, Reliable Pick Up
“They are very consistent in their pick ups. It’s very easy to arrange and I know that the things I donate will not be wasted and any money raised goes to a good cause.”
—Nora C., Bridgewater, MA

Invaluable Coaching Moved My Career Forward
“I credit meeting many of my career goals this year to my mentor.  As a result of my mentor’s invaluable coaching, I have been able to map out my job experience and determine my areas of concern, update my job application form and develop my interviewing skills.”
—Carolyn Ellenes

How is Your Organization Developing or Using Testimonials?

Please email me your strategies for soliciting and using testimonials. I’ll be sure to share them with the other nonprofit communicators in the Getting Attention community.

A nonprofit’s tagline is hands down the briefest, easiest and most effective way to communicate its identity and impact.

But this high-impact, low-cost marketing tactic is often overlooked or under-emphasized by nonprofits. GettingAttention.org’s 2008 survey of nonprofits showed that 7 in 10 nonprofits rated their tagline as poor or didn’t use one at all. The majority of nonprofits not using a tagline indicated that they had not thought about it or couldn’t come up with a good one.

The Nonprofit Tagline Awards program is designed to address this missed opportunity, and guide nonprofits to craft an effective tagline.

This year’s award winners demonstrate how powerful taglines can work as a first step in branding or as a highly-effective tool to refresh a nonprofit’s messaging, emphasize its commitment to its work and/or revive tired positioning.

Winning taglines will be featured in the forthcoming 2009 Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Report. The report, due out in November will also feature:

• The 10 Have-Tos for Successful Taglines
• The 7 Deadly Sins – What not to do
• Over 2,500 Nonprofit Tagline Examples to put to work for tagline brainstorming.

For your free copy on publication, subscribe today to the free Getting Attention e-update.

2009 Award Winners

Arts & Culture:  Big Sky. Big Land. Big History. — Montana Historical Society

The Montana Historical Society takes its state’s most elemental and distinctive characteristics (Big Sky, Big Land) and deftly melds them with its mission in a way that generates excitement. The result is a tagline with punch and focus. And a big hit with voters.

Associations:  Building community deep in the hearts of Texans —TexasNonprofits

TexasNonprofits’ tagline tweaks the title of an iconic American popular song from the 1940s and brilliantly connects it to the spirit, passion and mission of the state’s citizenry. A great example of how word play works in a tagline.

Civic Benefit:  Holding Power Accountable —Common Cause

Common Cause’s tagline leaves no doubt about the organization’s mission, unique value and commitment. It’s definitive, with a powerful economy of words. An excellent example of the tagline clarifying the nonprofit’s focus, when the organization’s name alone doesn’t do so.

Education:  A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste® —UNCF -The United Negro College Fund

This 38-year-old tagline from UNCF still rings strong. It elegantly delivers its straight up, powerful message. When your tagline is the boiled-down essence of your argument for support, you’ve achieved tagline bliss. That’s why this one is a classic.

Environment & Animals:  Because the earth needs a good lawyer —Earthjustice

Earthjustice capitalizes on what people do understand – that a lawyer protects rights – and uses that framework to dramatically position its role and impact in the environmental movement. And it does so with humor. If your tagline makes people smile or light up, without stepping on your message, then you’ve made an emotional connection…Bravo.

Grantmaking:  If you want to be remembered, do something memorable. —The
Cleveland Foundation

It’s a rare tagline that manages to recruit people to its cause both unabashedly and effectively. That’s exactly what The Cleveland Foundation pulls off here. Clear, concise, and…memorable! A model for any organization promoting philanthropy.

Health & Sciences:  Finding a cure now…so our daughters won’t have to. © —PA Breast Cancer Coalition

The PA Breast Cancer Coalition’s tagline is both emphatic and poignant. It strikes a deep emotional chord, and conveys the focus and impact of its work without being overly sentimental. “Finding a cure,” a highly used phrase for health organizations, is bolstered here by the appeal to solve a problem now so future generations won’t suffer from it.

Human Services:  Filling pantries. Filling lives. —Houston Food Bank

With simple but effective use of word repetition, the Houston Food Bank clarifies its work and impact. It delivers on two distinct levels—the literal act of putting food on people’s shelves and the emotional payoff to donors and volunteers. An excellent example of a mission-driven tagline.

International, Foreign Affairs & National Security:  Send a Net. Save a Life. —Nothing
But Nets

Short, punchy and laser-sharp, the Nothing But Nets tagline connects the action with the outcome. It’s inspirational in the simplicity of its message and its reason for existing. The kind of tagline nonprofits should model.

Jobs & Workforce Development:  Nothing Stops A Bullet Like A Job —Homeboy Industries

Homeboy Industries’ tagline is a mini-masterpiece, telling a memorable story in just six words. It stops you in your tracks, makes you want to learn more and sticks with you afterwards. That’s the kind of potent nonprofit messaging every organization desires.

Media:  Telling stories that make a difference —Barefoot Workshops

If your organization’s name is vague, it’s critical that your tagline be distinct. Barefoot Workshops’ tagline sums up the transformative power of stories to create change in people and their communities, so clarifying the organization’s focus. Saved by the tagline!

Religion & Spiritual Development:  Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors. —The people of The United Methodist Church

The work of religious organizations often operates on several planes at once — a challenge for any organization and its messaging. Here, The people of The United Methodist Church delivers a tagline trinity that supports its applied faith mission and is warm, enthusiastic and embracing.

Other:  A head for business. A heart for the world. —SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise)

If an organization’s identity contains within it a distinct contrast between its key characteristics, that’s often good tagline material. Here, SIFE surprises with its crystal-clear tagline that conveys not only what’s unique about it but also capitalizes on the contrast between profit and compassion.

But you may not realize how potent testimonials can be. Nothing you can say or write has as much impact as comments from your audience, to their peers. Testimonials are as authentic as you can get. Yet, I continue to be surprised at how many nonprofits don’t put testimonials to work.

Take a look at these powerful examples, drawn from nonprofit websites:

 – Volunteer
“The hours that I spend volunteering for HOM are the best part of my week. I always look forward to coming into the office and seeing other volunteers and the delightful staff, and I especially cherish the times when I go visit patients. I feel that discovering Hospice has been one of the greatest events in my life.”

 – Donor
“I had the opportunity to witness the growth and development of children in need when I volunteered at Berea Children’s Home and Family Services while in college. The children had experienced so much hurt from the past. This season, our families just really wanted to make a difference…so we all made gifts to BCHFS. [We] could not be more satisfied and confident knowing that our gifts positively impact children’s lives.”

 – Client
“I came into the hospital a very nervous hip replacement patient. I left confident and relaxed, comfortable with my ability to care for myself and my family…You cared for me intensely when I needed care, and let me care for myself when I was ready. What more could a rehabilitation patient ask for?”

Why Testimonials Work

For prospective clients, donors, partners and others, there’s nothing more valuable than hearing from peers on what their experiences have been with your organization and its programs and services. Testimonials carry more credibility than anything you could say yourself.  And, others speaking about your nonprofit may have glowing comments about your work that you would be embarrassed to share yourself.

Your prospect expects you to go on and on about the impact of your nonprofit or the importance of your new program. However, when you have someone who has experienced that benefit first hand, their comments are much more convincing and accepted!

Keep this in mind though: The most powerful testimonials aren’t about your organization; they’re about how someone much like the prospect has benefited from involvement with your organization. So the more real the testimonials — the more specifics the better — the more power they have.

How to Get Testimonials and Use Them for All They’re Worth

1) Follow up regularly with clients, volunteers, donors and others, asking for feedback. Doing so via an online survey such as Survey Monkey is the most effective approach. Follow up as soon after your interaction with your audiences as possible, while the experience is still fresh.

2) If you use a survey form or email, ask for one or two sentences describing the value of the experience with your organization whether it be program participation, giving or use of your counseling service. Try to focus testimonials on an objection your prospects are likely to have, such as volunteering takes a lot but doesn’t give much back.

Provide an example to make it easier for your supporters to craft a useful statement. You can even draft a testimonial to be OK-d or revised.

3) Take the testimonial you get and shape it into a brief but powerful statement. Limit testimonial length to one or two brief sentences, with a photo when space allows.

4) Request permission to use the testimonials in your marketing and fundraising campaigns.

5) To ensure credibility, include the name and title of the person contributing the testimonial and the name of their business or organization if relevant. In some cases, issues of confidentiality will make attribution impossible. If this is the case, create a profile to serve as an attribution, e.g. “Donny R., 30 years old, and WHR dental patient for over ten years.”

6) Integrate testimonials in general and more targeted communications, both online and offline. I feel that spreading testimonials throughout your website or brochure has greater impact than concentrating them on a single page. By spreading them out, prospects are more likely to see them even if they don’t read every page.

7) Make sure to refresh your testimonials so they reflect current programming and campaigns.

Start Your Testimonial Collection Campaign Today

Yes, get out there and start soliciting testimonials from audiences today. Remember to ask for testimonials whenever possible, and use them often and wisely!

In addition to great marketing copy, you’ll be getting useful input on strengthening the way your organization does its work. Bonus!

How Do You Put Testimonials to Work?

Please email me any strategies, or war stories, you have to share on gathering or using testimonials, and I’ll pass them on to the Getting Attention community.

Read Part Two of this article series here.

But every nightmare has its silver lining, as Tracy Mitchell, General Manager of Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, NY, shows here.

CHALLENGE: Diverse Audiences Hard to Reach and Engage, Much Less Build into a Loyal Community of Supporters

Even with a successful 18-year run under its belt, Sag Harbor, NY’s Bay Street Theatre is threatened by the challenge of serving its diverse base as well as by the recession.

Bay Street is a vibrant arts and educational center seeking to satisfy residents’ varying lifestyles, tastes and income levels. The theatre prides itself on delivering shows that “shake up expectations of what theatre is, to nudge you to look at the world a different way,” says Mitchell.

But there were two main barriers to Bay Street’s health:

• Potential audiences and supporters are spread over seven towns on the eastern Long Island shore, so aren’t united by geographic community.
• Residents range from full-time locals to more-monied second-home owners, some there for weekends and summers others for summers only. So both the population count and interests vary greatly.

“Our greatest marketing challenge, even in good times, is reaching such a range of residents across the towns,” says Mitchell.

Mitchell also felt confident that there were ways to engage those beyond Bay Street’s traditional supporters (mostly in the 45 to 65 age range).

Marketing-wise, Bay Street had relied heavily on print advertising, placing ads in seven subscription papers for the locals plus many freebie papers (read by seasonal residents) and related websites for all. But ads had become cost-prohibitive and, even if it hadn’t been so costly, wasn’t effective enough to keep Bay Street thriving as the recession settled in.

Mitchell was also faced with the likelihood of former Bay Street patrons cutting attendance this past summer. Since Bay Street counts on ticket sales to cover 47% of its operating budget (with the balance from donations and a few grants), Mitchell knew she had to find a “way beyond traditional marketing and programming to expand the theatre’s role in residents’ lives.”

STRATEGY: Putting New Programs, Hours and Outreach Campaigns into Play to Engage More People, More Regularly

Knowing that the disconnect between residents’ habits, preferences and wants and theatre offerings (summer-focused, closed January through March, not cheap) was the heart of the problem, Mitchell delved into refining programming to close that gap, and into marketing those changes more effectively.

And understanding that shaping new programs requires experimentation (as well as a good sense of audience wants, needs and habits, which Bay Street had), Mitchell and colleagues decided to introduce a series of (relatively) low-cost programming changes.

Here are the new strategies she introduced to boost audiences and revenue, and the impact of each:

Change: Keeping the theatre open the entire year, instead of its traditional closing January through March.

Impact:

• Demonstrates to year-rounders that Bay Street cares about their interests and needs, and is a real member of the community.
• Provides a venue for the community when most others are shuttered.

Change: Scheduling family/children’s programming for non-primetime hours (those are dedicated to theatre in high-season months), including a school vacation kids club and serving as a party venue.

Impact:

• Cultivates a new group of potential theatregoers (parents).
• Fills a community-need for children’s activities.
• Utilizes an otherwise empty facility.

Change: Renovating the theatre’s bar. Okay, this is not a traditional program but let’s look at it as a program enhancement.

Impact:

• Makes any event at the theatre more of a destination. Attend a performance and have a
  drink right there.
• High profit margin.

Change: Introducing an off-season classic film series for $5 a head; each film followed by a cabaret. Low cost to provide, and to attend.

Impact:

• Cost-accessible entertainment for those not likely to purchase a theatre ticket.
• Builds awareness of Bay Street among attendees, and introduces theatre to them
  via the cabaret.

Change: Hosting community events; some, like the Oscar Night party, at no charge.

Impact:

• Establishing the Bay Street brand as “more than just an entertainment venue.”
• Drawing first-timers to Bay Street.
• Emphasizes the theatre’s dedication to the community, a key component of its mission.

But the Bay Street team knew they’d have to market these new programs hard and creatively, particularly since they targeted those likely not to know the venue. Here’s how they shook up their marketing approach:

Offering stay and dine packages, via partnerships with local restaurants and hotels. The discount lures residents into town, even off season.

• “It’s a cost-free way to bring in more business. Our partners do some of our marketing for us,” says Mitchell.

Shifting from print ad-heavy marketing to adding posters (cheap and easy to distribute over a broad geographic area) and online marketing to the mix.

• A more robust website supplemented by a Facebook page, Twitter presence and weekly e-updates engage the younger demographic Bay Street is trying to court, at low cost. Mitchell is still refining these efforts but being there is the first step.

Reinforcing relationships with seasonal supporters through year-round emails and occasional direct mail.

RESULTS: Broader Awareness, Increased Engagement, Diversified Income Streams

Bay Street’s hard work is paying off, with a much bigger network in place just one year later. And, because the theatre is nurturing its relationships with its early (i.e. more traditional) supporters, those relationships are stronger than ever.

The theatre is benefiting from a greater range of income streams. That ensures greater stability, as there’s some decrease of dependence on any one source. “I guess the biggest question remains who will spend money on theatre. It’s a big unknown and we begin spending heavily on the summer shows (rights, rehearsal space, sets) in the spring,” says Mitchell.

“So we’re doing what we can do, working to weave our programs into people’s lives, way beyond theatre in the summer.”

However, Mitchell emphasizes that innovative marketing isn’t a miracle cure. In spite of these changes and a 25% cut in operating budget, Bay Street’s income is down. “We know it’s due to the economy because we see it across every line item, from ticket sales to grants and individual giving. While we have built awareness and good will in the community, we hope that it will boost the $500,000 public appeal we just launched,” she says.

Mitchell’s committed, realistic but inspired approach to marketing is a strong model for nonprofit organizations working in all arenas. Her perspective, and focus on creative survival, is the way to go at all times. It’s the only choice in hard times.

THE TAKEAWAY: 5 Marketing Innovations for Recession Survival

Here’s the beating heart of Bay Street’s recession marketing model. Follow these five steps to see where your organization can go, at minimal risk and cost:

1. Launch free or low-cost activities to reach new audiences. Attract people in a belt-tightened world.
2. Partner with new groups and people. Everyone is hurting and looking for new ways to make things work.
3. Strengthen your ties with your community or base. Double-down on your relationships during tough times.
4. Gingerly expand your definition of your target market to see if tough times open up new synergies.
5. Expand service offerings, if even only around the edges: e.g., food or bar service, children’s programs.