Integrated Marketing Communications

for Local Nonprofit Organizations:

Messages in Nonprofit Communications
Teri Kline Henley

SUMMARY. Discusses the importance of planning message strategy for

nonprofit communications. Strategy issues such as branding, connecting
to the audience and positioning are addressed. Execution, including copy
and visual issues are explained. A sidebar discussion on the creation and
use of logos is included. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth
Document Delivery Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail address: <getinfo@
haworthpressinc.com> Website: <http://www.HaworthPress.com> 2001 by The
Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]

KEYWORDS. Nonprofit communications, nonprofit marketing, marketing communications planning, nonprofit messages, logos
IMPORTANCE OF MESSAGES
While the organizations goal and objectives are the foundation of the communication plan, the message is the heart of its efforts to reach the audience
Teri Kline Henley, MBA, is Shawn M. Donnelley Professor of Nonprofit Communications, Loyola University New Orleans and serves as Director, Donnelley Center
for Nonprofit Communications, Loyola University New Orleans, Box 201, 6363 St.
Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118 (E-mail: henley@loyno.edu).
[Haworth co-indexing entry note]: Integrated Marketing Communications for Local Nonprofit Organizations: Messages in Nonprofit Communications. Henley, Teri Kline. Co-published simultaneously in Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing (Best Business Books, an imprint of The Haworth Press, Inc.)
Vol. 9, No. 1/2, 2001, pp. 179-184; and: Marketing Communications for Local Nonprofit Organizations: Targets and Tools (ed: Donald R. Self, Walter W. Wymer, Jr., and Teri Kline Henley) Best Business Books, an
imprint of The Haworth Press, Inc., 2001, pp. 179-184. Single or multiple copies of this article are available
for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service [1-800-342-9678, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (EST). E-mail
address: getinfo@haworthpressinc.com].

2001 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Marketing Communications for Local Nonprofit Organizations

(Radtke, 1998). Organizations can fail to reach their objectives because they
miss the mark when it comes to communicating messages to members, potential donors or other important constituencies such as leaders and government
officials.
STRATEGY
Frame the Issue
The first step in developing a message strategy is to clarify the issue to be
communicated and place it in a relevant framework. It is not enough to simply
create a message that communicates the mission or issue(s) of the organization. Using research and media, current responses to the organization and its
mission must be identified. There are several possible findings from the research.

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Potential audiences know nothing about the organization and its mission.
Potential audiences are misinformed about the organization and its mission.
Potential audiences are clearly informed about the organization and its
mission.

Message strategies will vary greatly depending on the knowledge and impressions of audiences. In addition there may be multiple audiences to consider with varying levels of knowledge. Messages should be tailored to address
these differences. If the general response to the organization and its issues is
positive, it makes sense to build on this foundation. The alumni association of
a university generally deals with a fairly well informed audience that is familiar with the organization and most likely has positive feelings toward it. It is
assumed that the alumni of the institution wish to see the university prosper
and will be inclined to donate money or time.
If, as is often the case, impressions or awareness of an organization are negative or non-existent, it will be necessary to bring the issue to the forefront and
begin to encourage dialogue. Strategies for message implementation will vary
depending on the framework in which the issue resides. When the current
framework of the message is not relevant to the audience it may even become
necessary to reframe the issue to achieve relevance. A message concerning the
need to support public schools may seem irrelevant to single people or those
who do not have school age children. When the message is reframed to show

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that as the schools go, so goes the future of the community, the message may
begin to seem more relevant to these people.
Connect to the Audience
Every consumer, whether he is buying a loaf of bread or writing a check to a
nonprofit organization, determines what is in it for him. No matter how worthwhile an organization, consumers have limited resources and will choose to
become involved because doing so meets one or more of their needs. Common
emotional needs met by participation in nonprofit organizations include desire
to help others, to effect positive change, to act on beliefs, to leave something of
value behind, to counter feelings of loneliness or to gain some kind of control
over environs (Squires, 1997). There may be a more rational reason such as
personal success, meeting influential people or recognition for a job well done.
Different audiences have different needs, and it is essential to discover what
the need is before constructing the message.
Some messages, especially those that relate to health issues, may simply be
to encourage the public to engage in a positive behavior (take your blood pressure medicine to be here for the ones you love) or avoid a negative behavior
(dont take drugs). Some anti-drug campaigns have been criticized in the past
as not being relevant to audiences and therefore not effecting change. A Harvard School of Public Health study found that while fear tactics raised awareness among teens about the dangers of drugs, the overpowering messages
didnt seem relevant to the teen. Teens responded with the attitude it cant happen to me, and tuned the messages out (Pomice, 1990; Cosper, 1997).
Once the organization discovers what the audience hopes to attain from affiliation with the organization, the message must indicate action. Most organizations want different targets to do different things. The local United Way
wants potential clients to use its agencies services and potential donors to
give. The message strategy will vary for each constituency. One of the simplest ways to encourage a response is to make it easy for the audience to communicate with the organization. For that reason phone numbers and web
addresses should be on all materials. In addition organizations should test how
easy it is for potential volunteers or clients to contact them. A phone number
that rings with no answer or where the caller is put on hold for long periods of
time may result in lost opportunities. In addition a world wide web presence
needs to be updated and checked regularly. If audience members send a message and get no response, they will lose respect for the organization and direct
their efforts elsewhere.

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EXECUTION
Copy Issues
Whatever the medium chosen for communication, remember that the organization must make the appeal personal. This is best accomplished by composing a message to one person rather than generic mass audiences. The
introduction of targeted media and computer databases allow this personalization more than ever before. Even when creating a message to run in mass media such as newspapers or public service announcements for broadcast
television, bringing the message to the individual level is powerful. As discussed previously, one of the most effective ways to make a message personal
is to show a benefit of action or result of inaction.
Visual Issues
Choosing which visuals to use to convey a message in print, on television or
on the internet can have powerful implications to the effectiveness of the message. The basic rule is to keep the images simple and clear. Beyond that, there
is a strategic decision as to whether the visuals should be symbolic or realistic.
Symbolism is appropriate in situations where the use of the more realistic image would be too graphic for general audiences. One of the earliest ads by Partnership for a Drug Free America used the symbolism of a frying egg to show
the effect of drugs on a persons brain (This is your brain, this is your brain on
drugs, any questions?). It was felt that the symbolism would be a creative and
strong message. Many critics argue that symbolic messages are not as shocking and effective as more graphic messages. Realistic images help clarify the
message in many cases. Save the Children has effectively used realistic pictures of starving children to tug at the emotions of potential sponsors for nearly
70 years. Potential sponsors can now go to a website (www.savechildren.net),
be introduced to children who are in need, and sign up for sponsorship on-line.
One important visual decision is that of the logo and visual image that will
be used singularly by the organization on all materials to promote its activities.
A clear identity and image can help articulate an organizations mission and
message donors. Organizations that can pay for marketing expertise may
spend between $30,000 and $300,000 for a new graphic identity (Feder, 1998).
With such a high price tag, it pays to explore whether an agency may be willing
to take on the design and implementation on a pro-bono basis or in exchange
for creative license and recognition in the community. Another possibility for
ideas is a local college of art or a community college with commercial art

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classes. In exchange for use in a portfolio, students are often a wellspring of

ideas for such projects.
Checklist for Good Logos
A logo is part of how an organization identifies itself to its various constituencies. It
needs to be general enough to last over time but specific enough to identify the organization and its mission. An organizational identity program consists of a welldesigned logo and a plan to use that image consistently in all communications from
the organization. A good logo:

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Conveys an appropriate image. Traditional, whimsical, hipall of these can be

visually conveyed, but the visual must be consistent with the organization.
Is appropriate for all possible uses. A good logo can be rendered in black and
white, 2-color, 4-color and on electronic media such as TV and the Intemet.
The logo should also be used on letterhead, business cards and signage.
Make sure it works on all uses before settling on the final design.
Is simple. One graphic element plus the name of the organization should suffice.
Can stand the test of time. Be careful about using trendy images or typefaces.
While it may be necessary to update a logo periodically, it should not be something that must be done every few years. When updates occur, they should
generally be a slight change unless the name or mission of the organization
has changed significantly.
Is used consistently throughout the organization. It may be useful to provide a
style guide to anyone who may use the logo in communications or correspondence. Such a guide informs staff, members and volunteers the appropriate ink
color(s) to use when printing materials with the logo and other such mandatories
that will help keep the graphic image from the organization consistent.

Shock Value
Use of shocking copy and visuals appears to be particularly useful when audiences already are familiar with an issue but are unwilling to take action such
as smoking cessation, avoiding drinking and driving or not using illegal drugs.
A public service announcement sponsored by the American Academy of Dermatology featured grotesque images of a man with skin cancer narrating film
clips of himself with his family at the beach 30 years ago. At the end of the ad,
he removes his prosthetic nose graphically showing his transformation from
sun worshipper to skin cancer patient. ABC-TV rejected the ad as too graphic
to broadcast nationally (Gellene, 1999).
Use of Celebrities
Celebrities have limited effectiveness as communicators for nonprofit organizations, unless there is a logical tie-in for their involvement. Nobody ever
beat Bob Hope for the U.S.O. (Squires, 1997). Actress Mary Tyler Moore, re-

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counting her own struggle with diabetes, is a passionate spokesperson for the
Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Few can forget the powerful images of Christopher Reeve, known to most Americans as Superman and now the founder and
spokesperson for the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation. Not only are
these celebrities believable, but they are motivating.
Alliance between nonprofit organizations and a union or group of celebrities can be effective. The United Way and the National Football League have
had a relationship for 27 years. On both the local and the national level, professional football players support the organization. The League, with the United
Way, creates commercials to run during its games, and the players often volunteer at local agencies. In the year 2000, all 31 NFL teams were involved in
projects such as building homes for low-income families, building playgrounds for agency kids and serving food to the homeless. Another successful
alliance is the Country Music Associations recent campaign with the Ad
Council, Tune in to Your Kids. The repetition of an ongoing relationship and
messages promoting a singular idea can have powerful results.
CONCLUSION
As with any aspect of the Marketing Communications plan, the message
strategy must be strategic and consistent between the media and message over
time. The message must be continually evaluated to determine which parts of
the campaign are working and which are not effective or outdated. Only
through such planning can the message remain fresh, relevant and effective in
reaching the target market.
REFERENCES
Cosper, D. (1997, November-December). Shock value: feasibility of health and
safety campaigns. Print, v 51, n 6, 38-40.
Feder, L. K. (1998, January 5). Branding culture: nonprofits turn to marketing to improve image and bring in big bucks. Marketing News, v 32, n 1, 1-2.
Gellene, D. (1999, April 29). Vivid health messages can run afoul of networks sensibilities, Los Angeles Times, p. C, 6.
National Football League and United Way Partnership, http://national.unitedway.org/
nfl.cfm#top, March 3, 2001.
Pomice, E. (1990, June 11). Misery loves Madison Avenue: public service ads pack a
powerful punch, U.S. News & World Report, v 108, n 23, 53.
Radtke, J. M. (1998). Strategic Communications for Nonprofit Organizations: Seven
Steps to Creating a Successful Plan. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Squires, C. (1997, April). All about donors, Fundraising Management, v 28, n 2,
34-35.