Transcript How UNV communicates its brand

UNV brand communications
A guide to our new approach
May 2009
Things to consider
- What are brands?
- What makes them special?
- Why is it important to UNV?
- Why now?
- The new approach at UNV
Things to practice & discuss
- What is the UNV brand?
- The UNV ‘elevator pitch’ – what is yours?
- The UNV ‘boilerplate’ and how to use it
- Idea and difference: share your examples
What you receive
- EXPRESS:
the UNV Brand Communications User Guide
- Access to materials online
- Access to the brand communications forum
- Helpdesk support
Part 1:
About branding
What is a brand?
“the promise that captures and represents
what people can expect”
What is a brand?
“A statement about aspirations and even
beliefs. A source of identity.”
Will Hutton
Governor, London School of Economics
Famous brands
Why do brands matter?
“Living the brand makes work matter
and people feel like winners”
Why do brands matter?
“It can make or break a company or a career.”
Will Hutton
Governor, London School of Economics
Famous branding problems
• Swedish vacuum cleaner: "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux”
• "Come alive with the Pepsi Generation“. In Chinese this became: "Pepsi
brings your ancestors back from the grave"
• ‘Polio’ laundry soap (Czechoslovakia)
• ‘Zit’ soft drink (Greece)
• ‘Life’ cigarettes (Mali)
• ‘Ayds’ anti-depressant drug (USA)
• In one sea port, freight handlers saw a new sticker on
some boxes. It means ‘fragile’, but they hadn’t been told.
They thought it meant ‘broken items inside’ and threw
them away! (new ideas need to be explained)
Personal brand problems
Gerald Ratner owned a highly successful chain of jewelry
stores in Great Britain.
But he told a business lunch that his goods were “crap”
People stopped buying
and he went broke!
Lessons:
• Be consistent in what you say,
and how you say it
• Your brand relies on people’s trust
Personal brand problems
Lawrence Summers, Former World Bank Chief Economist,
was President of Harvard University when he said in a speech:
‘women don’t succeed in math
and science because of genetics’
Donors stopped sending money.
He lost his job and damaged the
University’s reputation
Lessons:
• Everything you say has an impact
• What you say should reflect our core beliefs
Corporate branding problems
UNICEF (Germany) launched a campaign to
raise money for children’s education in Africa.
It wanted to show that all children are the same,
regardless of colour.
But the pictures reminded people outside
Germany about bad race relations.
UNICEF headquarters had not been informed.
The local branding did not match their
international brand image.
UNICEF Germany had to remove the adverts
and apologize.
UNICEF lost some support internationally.
Ways we communicate the UNV brand
1. Talking about UNV, our work, volunteerism for peace
and development
2. Meetings with UN, volunteers, governments, NGOs,
donors, beneficiaries, media…
3. Writing reports, email, presentations, newsletters,
vacancy announcements
Part 2:
How we got here
Why UNV brand review was needed
• Expanding UNV mandate
• Business strategy (advocacy, integration,
mobilization) needs to be clarified, implemented
• Operations growing, diversifying
= need for clarity, consistency
How the review worked
• UNV hired expert consultants
• All major UNV stakeholders were surveyed
• Consultants made proposals
• Project board (Core Management Team and
Head, Communications) responded to
proposals
• Planned solution was tested on stakeholders
• Solution was finalized and announced!
Stakeholder perception surveys and interviews
I. Online survey
Sent
Completed
Response rate
A) UN Agencies/Partners (includes UNDP CO)
39
13
33.3%
B) Non-UN Partners (includes roster of potential UNV volunteers)
40
27
68.0%
C) UNV volunteers (includes currently serving + former)
51
41
80.4%
D) POs and HQ
50
31
62.0%
180
112
62%
Total
II. Interviews
Internal
External
18 (Senior Management Team members)
7 x UN partners (UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, WHO, DPKO, EAD, UNDP)
3 x donors (Ireland, Japan, Germany)
2x G77 (programme Countries)
1 x civil society (Forum/IVCO)
19
Some key perceptions about UNV
1. UNV is primarily a supplier of volunteers ..……………..……..(ALL)
2. In future a wider role : A.I.M ………………. (UNV volunteers, PO’s, HQ)
3. Partners satisfied with collaboration…………..……..…….. (All partners)
4. Volunteers’ performance & value for money main motivators.. (ALL)
5. UNV is ‘practical’ , ‘flexible’ , ‘dynamic’ ……….……..(mostly internal)
Key reflections on stakeholder feedback
from a branding perspective
Performance
Messaging
Culture
– The organization is performing well and
meeting partners’ expectations
– Lots of view points and messages (perhaps too
many messages)
– Very broad messaging invites interpretation,
e.g. governance connotations, G77 viewpoint
Conclusions:
Danger of being
too “fluffy”
Need for clarity
– Disconnect between organization at HQ level
and service in the field
– Reluctance to communicate impact
on the ground
21
Volunteerism
brands
Universal
Where does UNV fit?
… can you guess?!
Values
based
Skills
based
Special
interest
In the middle!
Universal
UNV wanted to remain here,
- expressing values,
- demonstrating results.
How could it do so, effectively?
Values
based
Skills
based
Special
interest
Options
Universal
from the consultants
Values
based
Skills
based
Scenario 1
Scenario 2
focus on advocacy
focus on mobilization
‘Development and peace. Delivered.’
‘Volunteering for humanity’
world’s advocate of volunteerism,
challenges people to contribute
Special
interest
efficient volunteer organization,
making a real impact
Solution
Universal
agreed by UNV
Values
based
Skills
based
‘inspiration’
‘action’
‘Action’ expresses UNV’s
activities and results
‘Inspiration’ expresses
UNV’s values and ideas
Special
interest
So we get…
Part 3:
Our inspiration
WE BELIEVE...
VOLUNTEERISM
CAN TRANSFORM
THE PACE AND NATURE OF
DEVELOPMENT
THAT’S A
POWERFUL
IDEA
IMAGINE…
OVER 6 BILLION PEOPLE
CONTRIBUTING THEIR
TIME AND ENERGY
TOWARDS DEVELOPMENT
AND PEACE
DELIVERING
ON THAT
POTENTIAL
IS OUR MISSION
THAT’S WHY EVERY ACTION
WE TAKE AS AN ORGANIZATION
HAS TO BE AMBITIOUS
IT HAS TO LIVE UP TO
OUR BIG IDEA
OUR ACTIONS SAY A LOT
ADVOCATING FOR VOLUNTEERISM,
ENCOURAGING PARTNERS TO
INTEGRATE VOLUNTEERISM INTO
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMING, AND
MOBILIZING VOLUNTEERS
IF OUR PARTNERS
SEE VOLUNTEERISM
AS A CORNERSTONE
OF THEIR PROGRAMMES,
WE CAN ADDRESS DEVELOPMENT
CHALLENGES TOGETHER
PARTNERS INSPIRED BY THE
POTENTIAL OF VOLUNTEERISM,
THE ACTIONS OF VOLUNTEERS,
AND THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF UNV
WILL HELP US TO GROW
AND EXPAND VOLUNTEERISM
OUR ORGANIZATION’S
PROMISE IS THAT
THE DIFFERENCE WE
MAKE
IS INSPIRED BY
THE IDEA WE EMBRACE
WE ARE
INSPIRATION
IN ACTION
EMBRACE
THIS IDEA
LIVE IT EVERY
DAY IN UNV
TOGETHER,
WE ARE
MAKING A
DIFFERENCE
Part 4:
Guidelines
EXPRESS
Contents

Tagline

Tone of voice

Idea + Difference

Boilerplate text

Elevator Pitch

Definition of ‘volunteerism for development’
Tone of voice
 Confident
 Clear
 Inclusive
 Genuine
Idea + difference
1. First step: think about the key ‘idea’ you want to convey.
Make sure it appears within your communication
2. Second step: demonstrate the ‘difference’
Explain how UNV can help, and the results it can
produce.
e.g. the results produced by UNV as an organization,
UNV staff, UNV volunteers, volunteers in general.
Note: the annual report in written in this style. The idea does
not have to come first!
Idea + difference Example
[idea]
‘Volunteerism can help communities achieve the Millennium
Development Goals’
[difference]
‘In India, UNV and the publisher Times of India launched the
“Teach India” campaign, which mobilized 50,000 volunteer
teachers in one month, significantly contributing to
children’s literacy and education (MDG 2).’
Boilerplate text
Boilerplate text
Standardized text
Always in documents
Never edited!
You can add to it
The term comes
from hot water
boilers which have
a standard ‘plate’ of
information for
safety reasons
Boilerplate text Exercise
Describe our organization, our work, and our contribution
Write
50 words in 5
minutes
Pass your text to the person to your left
- Did your neighbour write the same thing?
- Was it better (or worse!)?
- Do you have the same elements as the UNV boilerplate?
Boilerplate (short) key elements
‘The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the
UN organization that promotes volunteerism to support
peace and development worldwide. Volunteerism can
transform the pace and nature of development, and it
benefits both society at large and the individual
volunteer. UNV contributes to peace and development by
advocating for volunteerism globally, encouraging
partners to integrate volunteerism into development
programming, and mobilizing volunteers.’
Elevator Pitch
Elevator pitch
A short introduction (long enough for an ‘elevator’ ride)
e.g. 30 seconds long
It starts a conversation
- Introduces UNV
- our aims, activities
- you and your role
Notes:
Make it your pitch. Use your own words.
Believe in it. Be confident, genuine
(remember the UNV tone of voice)
Elevator pitch – an example
“
United Nations Volunteers contributes to peace
and development through volunteerism.
We do this by:
- advocating for recognition of volunteerism,
- encouraging others to integrate volunteerism
into their development programming,
- and mobilizing people to volunteer for peace
and development worldwide.
”
Elevator pitch - Exercise
Choose a partner (or two)
Ride in an elevator
(or find a quiet corner)
Practice delivering
your ‘pitch’
Think about: different types
of people you meet
(UN, volunteers, NGO, etc.)
Discuss with colleagues
Practice!
Part 5:
Support
Implementation – how to get help
www.unv.org/branding/tools
Materials are on the UNV
website where all staff and
UNV volunteers can reach
them:
- EXPRESS (English, French,
Spanish)
- Emblems with taglines (6 UN
languages)
- Training material (this slideshow)
- Other support materials you
request
These materials are also on the
UNV Knowledge Platform
Let us know if you want more!
UNV branding forum
Go here to share:
 Questions
 Suggestions
 Examples
 Ideas
http://branding.UNV.org
Contacts
Brand questions: [email protected]
Helpdesk: Tomas Matraia (+49-228) 815 2222
Communications Unit: [email protected]
UNV Communications Toolkit
Toolkit includes…

How to use the UNV emblem

Terminology: Do’s and Don’t’s

Document layout; specifications

Photography

Dealing with the media, etc.
Using the UNV emblem
Please use the emblem with the new tagline, wherever possible.
The ‘plain’ emblem is still valid (e.g. for official signage)
‘Full width’ versions are also available (as in this presentation, above)
New!
Terminology – do’s and don’ts
DO
DON’T
UNV volunteers
international UNV volunteers
UNVs
IUNVs, NUNVs
Volunteerism for development
V4D
…the United Nations
Volunteers (UNV) programme
…the United Nations Volunteers
Programme
…the UNV Online
Volunteering service …
…the Online Volunteering Service…
For more, see the UNV Communications Toolkit (in English, French and Spanish)