The Fund Raiser

Brand Aid

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By Mark J. Drozdowski

The capital campaign I'm running is moving along quite nicely, thank you, although not without the expected hiccups and delays. Funny thing, this fund-raising business. We carefully construct timelines and project cash flows, yet we can't always control when the money comes in. We make the plans, but we don't write the checks.

We do, however, control the nature and timing of our campaign communications. As I have explained to volunteers many times, a campaign is as much about marketing as it is about fund raising. Now that we are halfway through our "quiet phase," which focuses on a handful of major donors, we're ready to think about the "public phase" and trumpet our campaign to the world.

On that front, we've got everything figured out except what to say and how to say it.

Certainly, we know the core concepts ("Help us educate the next generation of students," and "Every gift counts," and, of course, "Even public institutions need private support"). And we are aware of the various vehicles available to us: print, Web, e-mail, DVD, and so forth. We now need to fine-tune those concepts, bundle them with pretty pictures, and deliver them in formats that make sense for our audiences and our budget.

But let's back up a minute. On what do we base our messages? Shouldn't they be "strategic" in some way? Well, yes, of course. The central themes of a campaign emanate from its case statement, which, in turn, emanates from the institution's strategic plan. That logic assumes an institution has produced a strategic plan before launching a campaign. I have no incontrovertible evidence to support that claim, but I'm guessing that most institutions do some form of strategic planning before flinging open the windows to announce a campaign.

For those that don't, the campaign itself can be a strategic exercise. It forces the leadership to consider what's important and what's worth investing in. If that's been divined through a formal strategic-planning process, then the campaign plan -- represented most visibly by the case statement -- should flow accordingly. If not, then the case statement becomes the de facto blueprint, at least with respect to philanthropic investments.

Let's assume we have the strategic plan and we have the case statement translating campus priorities into "salable" items for donor consumption. Anyone who's read a strategic plan knows it can be a rather arid document, and it's really not meant for public viewing. Likewise, a case statement can lack the appropriate sizzle necessary to motivate everyone to give; it's often more rational than emotional. And it, too, isn't meant for widespread distribution.

So come time for the public phase -- the "marketing" portion of the campaign -- we need something different. Sizzle is crucial at this point because there's so much at stake -- namely, our ability to connect with donors of every stripe. Some readers require logic to dictate priorities, while others seek a more visceral representation of needs: stories of gifts, of recipients, of transformation. Naturally, the best marketing materials display a liberal dose of both approaches.

The best ones also reinforce an institution's brand. Our brand is our promise to the marketplace. It defines who we are and what we do. It also is shaped by what people think of us. Over time, our brand can erode or gain stature, depending on good fortune or misfortune.

I've always used the phrase "unique selling proposition" when defining an institution's brand. What distinguishes the institution, even among its peers? I pose that question to presidents, provosts, deans, faculty members, and students when I write higher-education advertorials for The New York Times Magazine (a fun side job of mine). In roughly 300 words, I have to sum up a college's distinct flavor or highlight something that differentiates it within the market.

When a president responds with "small classes, dedicated faculty, and great facilities," I stop him. The last president said the same thing, I interject, and so will the next one. Dig deeper. Tell me something new. What about your curriculum, your academic programs, your faculty, your students, or your campus sets you apart? I'm like a sports reporter searching for a good quote amid tired clichés.

That brand should come across loud and clear in campaign materials. The campaign itself has its own brand, its own visual identity, its own tagline. But those must reinforce the look and feel of the institution, as well as its core messages. After all, people don't give to "the campaign": they give to the college, perhaps because of the campaign.

Donors have to recognize their college behind the campaign veneer. So use the same colors, the same font, the same language, the same tone, the same everything they're used to.

And just as the case statement should emanate from a strategic plan, campaign materials should emanate from an integrated-marketing plan, assuming there is one. The concept of integrated marketing has gained traction recently in higher education, though not every institution actually does it. When I worked for a communications consulting firm, we would ask groups of administrators at conferences if their institutions had strategic plans. Almost all would say yes. When we asked the same question about integrated marketing plans, most would say no. But they loved the idea.

You can find plenty of books on integrated marketing, and several relate specifically to higher education. They will tell you that integrated marketing is strategic, research-based, and audience-centered. It brings together communications from across campus -- from admissions, athletics, development, academics, continuing education, and all other factions -- to ensure a consistent message. Communications generated under such a plan focus on a few core themes. Philanthropy often is one.

Here again, in the absence of a formal plan, the campaign can serve as catalyst. By its very nature, a campaign represents the whole campus and thus can centralize a communications effort. The key themes advanced through campaign materials can jump-start the culture of integrated marketing.

On my campus, we have a strategic plan in place, so the case statement I wrote drew from that document. We don't, however, have an integrated marketing plan per se, though most of our communications efforts are indeed centralized and consistent. With the campaign public phase looming on the horizon, now is perhaps the time to get busy creating one.