Building and rebuilding charity brands: the role of creative agencies

People who work in creative agencies tend to see a charitable organisation as a brand like any in the commercial world, and rightly so. While this is the correct starting point, there is often a huge gap between this simple understanding and the ability to deliver the changes in perception and behaviour that charities need. Besides strict governance and the obvious need for transparency and integrity, charity brands face many other issues, whether rebuilding or starting from scratch. They exist mainly to solve problems, not to meet a demand. Understanding this very different raison d'etre is the second greatest hurdle that creative agencies have to overcome when working on charity brands. The greatest is getting the charity to consider itself a brand and all that entails. When charities get beyond their complacency and suspicion and creative agencies their arrogance and superficiality—as with Breakthrough Breast Cancer and the Fairtrade Foundation—these two obstacles can be overcome. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.