3 Social Entrepreneurs Reveal the Benefits of Investing in Branding
“Is an investment in branding of any real worth to the growth of my social enterprise?”
You’re right for taking a moment to ask that question. Every opportunity to invest in something for the benefit of your social enterprise should be met with a healthy amount of skepticism. Maybe you’re searching for an impact brand consultant—asking your closest Impact Hub peers for referrals and assurances.
You want to know if brand strategy can help you craft your message and tell a more compelling story to your audiences. You want to know if brand identity can help you achieve brand recognition. Bottomline, you want to know if impact brand building can lead to increased sales and business growth.
Earlier this year, I spoke with a few impact business leaders who manage great social enterprises. Generous as they are, these social entrepreneurs took a moment to reveal the benefits of investing in branding. I’d like to share some of their insights to help you make an informed decision for (or against) investing in the development of your brand.
“Aside from helping Tilt develop a strong voice and stand out in an overcrowded world, investing in a brand strategy and brand identity design has impacted us in a way that we never expected,” said Jackie Colmar, Co-Founder and Editor of Australian social enterprise, Tilt Magazine. “The process of developing an effective brand strategy forced us to dive deeper into the ‘why’ behind what we are trying to achieve, further enabling us to stay true to our mission throughout everything that we do, which is crucial for any impact driven organisation or entrepreneur.”
“Investing in brand strategy and brand identity has helped us to carefully curate a social enterprise with meaning and purpose,” says Stephanie Stanton, Co-Founder and Director of Marketing & Business Development at Jimani Collections, a socially conscious jewelry brand empowering women in Kenya. “We’ve been able to build our brand equity by consistently delivering clear and engaging content and by using a tone that fully reflects the values of our brand. Through the formation of a strong brand strategy and brand identity, we’ve been able to better share our process and the stories of the women behind our products, creating an authentic and compelling experience for our audience.”
“When we first began, we didn’t have a logo or a consistent set of fonts or a brand identity at all,” said Christian Black, Co-Founder of Half United, a social enterprise providing seven meals to children with every product sold. “Everything we created was ‘willy nilly’ and out of focus. We hired an amazing graphic designer, fresh out of SCAD who really opened our eyes to design and branding and their importance. Not until we had these things and consistently used them were people able to recognize us as a brand. It’s been a journey figuring out who we are and who we market to. And if we were confused, I’m certain our customer was confused! Nailing down who we wanted our customer to be has made things a lot more clear for us. Every time we create something, whether it be a new product, graphic design, a photo shoot, or a post to instagram, we now think, ‘okay, is this our customer and would she enjoy this?’ Having this clarity is now setting us up for a great year with a focus on where we want to go and who we want to continue to become.”
So the answer is “yes!”
The experiences and insights shared by these leaders make one thing clear: branding was well worth the investment for each of them. Working with a brand consultant, strategist or designer helped these social entrepreneurs build more compelling and effective brands of social good. They’re now better positioned to accomplish their missions and realize their visions of impact and life change.
Read the full article on LinkedIn Pulse or Social Change Central to hear more branding insights from social entrepreneurs at ENAT, The THX Co. and This Bar Saves Lives. And if you decide an investment in branding is worth it to the growth of your social enterprise, start a conversation with me. Just complete the simple contact statement at the bottom of any page on Thinkory.com. I can’t wait to hear from you!
I’m Ralston, brand designer and co-founder of Thinkory—the Washinton, DC brand consultancy that works exclusively with social enterprises like yours. Let’s talk about working together to create a brand of impact that's easier to buy, easier to talk about and easier to scale.
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