Welcome to our newsletter for February-March 2004.

This issue focuses on relevant brand metrics for measuring internal and external brand building and key trends in branding for the Australian not-for-profit sector.

Please forward this newsletter on to colleagues and friends who may also find it of interest.

As always, we want to ensure your continued interest in receiving our newsletter - so if you wish to unsubscribe, please email us at: info@davismarketing.com.au.

Dianne Davis
Principal and Managing Director

www.davismarketing.com.au

Determining precisely what to measure in relation to brand-building activity (for both the internal and external brand) should be based on a central premise: what are your strategic brand goal/s – what are you trying to achieve during this time period ?

Drawing on the seminal work of Scott Davis & Michael Dunn (Building the Brand Driven Business), we summarise below, sets of internal and external brand metrics linked to key brand goals.

It is important to remember that you shouldn’t seek to implement all of the following metrics, but rather, select those that are most relevant to your business-brand objectives; in addition, your metric set should include an appropriate mix of qualitative and quantitative measures (to ensure richness and depth of data).

As a guide, it is recommended that around four internal and between six-eight external brand metrics should be tracked (“constituting the maximum amount of information that can be meaningfully absorbed and applied”):

A). Key Internal Brand Goals and Relevant Metrics

Explanation:
A= Brand Understanding; B = Brand Influence; C = Brand Trust;
D = Brand Credibility; E = Brand Delivery; F = Brand Preference & Advocacy

Brand Understanding: can employees describe the key attributes and differentiated
elements of your brand
Brand Influence: can employees describe how they directly / indirectly impact the
customer experience?
Brand Trust: do employees trust the organisation‘s leadership to do the right thing
relative to the brand’s values
Brand Credibility: do employees believe the organisation is capable of delivering on
its promises to customers, stakeholders and employees
Brand Delivery: do employees believe the organisation fulfils its promises to customers
& employees
Brand Preference & Advocacy: do employees prefer to work for your organisation rather
than a competitor, and how comfortable are they referring friends and family?

B) Key External Brand Goals and Relevant Metrics

Explanation:
A = Brand Awareness; B = Brand Understanding; C = Brand Relevance; D = Brand Credibility;
E = Brand Delivery; F = Brand Preference; G = Brand Purchase Conversion;
H = Brand Advocacy; I = Brand Stretch; J = Brand-Driven Customer Acquisition;
K = Brand-Driven Customer Retention; L = Brand Share of Wallet; M = Brand Price Premium;
N = Brand Loyalty; O = Brand Uniqueness; P = Brand Consideration; Q= Brand Satisfaction

Over the past three years, Davis & Associates has built a strong track record in strategic brand work for the Australian NFP-community sector. Indeed, the NFP sector is one of our three industry sector specialisations.

Since 2001, we have undertaken brand strategy projects for: Multiple Sclerosis Australia, ParaQuad NSW, Uniting Church, St.John of God Health Services, Sydney Adventist Hospital (“SAN”) and Volunteering NSW.

In May 2004, in conjunction with Associations Forum (a specialist service provider to NFPs), we will be running a short workshop on key strategic brand issues and the NFP sector.

The Australian NFP sector is worth approximately $25 billion a year, making it larger than the total national agricultural industry and involving some 2.3 million Australians as volunteers.

Our brand research has identified four consistent themes in terms of general perceptions of the sector:

1. Highly competitive (everyone is chasing the “charity dollar”)

2. Bombardment at every turn – “charity exhaustion” (on the street, door knocking, telemarketing, direct mail, internet)

3. Lack of transparency and accountability (“where is our dollar going?”)

4. Growing divide between the NFPs who are better-funded and adopting professional management processes and strategies, and those who are not.

Other key findings from our brand work, include:

• While there is a perception of clutter in the sector (“lots of days” “lots of ribbons”), themed events are still seen as one of the more effective “public” marketing activities because they:
  
  - Enable people to have fun for a worthwhile cause
  
  - Involve the community, reaching a wide range of people
  
  - Encourage active participation
  
  - Give people a sense of receiving something in return for their investment of time and / or money
  
  - Increase community awareness of the NFP via publicity generated by the event.
• From the corporate perspective, genuine partnerships with community-based NFPs are regarded as the most effective form of involvement; corporates acknowledge that such partnerships require a great deal of work and effort on both sides – but ultimately can produce meaningful benefits for both parties.
• For the future, four major “attitudinal changes” amongst the wider Australian community will come into play in relation to NFPs:
  
  - Demand for greater accountability
  
  - An Australia-first perspective (“charity begins at home”)
  
  - The need for more transparency
  
  - Generational change (younger generations less involved in communities/more “me-focused”).

Thus, creating a differentiated brand (to stand out from the clutter) based on a sustainable positioning represents a central business issue for community-based NFPs; increasingly, they will need to:

• Grow (and sustain ) awareness / recognition in a highly competitive market (often with limited budgets)
• Identify, reach and connect with discrete segments within the individual donor market (i.e. general public), anchored to distinctive brand personalities and resonant brand values; and
• Build brands that corporate partners acknowledge as offering clear business synergies and benefits (notably: enhancement of the corporate’s reputation-brand; the ability to promote company services and products among the NFP’s customer-stakeholder base; and opportunities for employee engagement).
  

The latest offering from leading brand academic, David A.Aaker, can be ordered via Amazon. Aaker frequently sets the tone on branding amongst academia and business globally: A Must-Buy

In late 2003-early 2004, Davis & Associates were appointed to undertake new brand and strategic marketing projects for:

• Bentleys MRI
• Bridges Personal Investment Services
  

Dianne Davis was quoted extensively in an article in BRW on marketing accountability, marketing metrics and the relationship with the Board (December 11, 2003).