New Book Studies the Strength of Global NGO Brands
Five years ago, Professor John A. Quelch, senior associate dean for international development, came across some research that piqued his interest. An Edelman Public Relations report indicated that non-governmental organization (NGO) brands generated extremely high levels of trust relative to company brands, even though the organizations rarely made any effort or invested money in building these brands from a traditional marketing point of view. "I then discovered that virtually no cases had been written on the marketing of international nonprofits," Quelch says. "I suggested to my research assistant Nathalie Laidler-Kylander (MBA '92) that we write 12 cases in a year covering a range of issues in global NGOs, from mission definition, to brand building, to performance management."
Quelch notes that leaders of these organizations need to "nurture and steward their brands" for them to remain a strong asset.
This was the groundwork for Quelch's new book, The New Global Brands: Managing Non-Governmental Organizations in the 21st Century (Thomson Publishing), coauthored with Laidler-Kylander. The book's substantial introduction pulls together conceptual conclusions from the 12 case studies. Quelch proposes three distinct reasons for the trust in NGO brands: the public's perception of the altruistic work these organizations perform, the nature of their work, and that these organizations typically let their work speak for itself, without aggressive promotion.
Quelch says he was drawn to the topic because little previous research existed on it. "NGOs are assuming more and more prominence, and there is pressure on businesses to partner with them," he explains. "There is also an increasing interest on campus among our students and faculty through the social enterprise network to study nonprofit organizations. So I think there was a fit between the project and emerging needs on the campus."
For social enterprise practitioners, the book will prove to be a valuable resource. "It will be a convenient reference book for those leading a social enterprise or NGO to read about the challenges fellow practitioners face," Quelch says.
He notes that leaders of these organizations need to "nurture and steward their brands" for them to remain a strong asset. "They must constantly refresh the brand and educate the stakeholder groups as to why the brand needs refreshing, why they're leading it in a direction that is perhaps a little different than where it came from." Leaders must respect the importance of the asset, but realize "that it's a moving feast, and one must lead from the front to move the brand in directions consistent with where the environment is moving."