Restoration Hardware and Rebranding your Nonprofit

I received a copy of the Restoration Hardware catalog in the mail and read an interesting piece from their CEO Gary Friedman.Friedman wrote,

“Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction.” Picasso…During the collapse of the global economy, we drew inspiration from Picasso’s words and chose not to listen to the conventional wisdom encouraging us to follow the pack and lower quality to reduce prices. Instead, we saw an opportunity to be liberated, abandoning our past to embrace the future, one that has redefined the essence of who we are. No longer mere “retailers” of home furnishings, we are now “curators” of the best historical design the world has to offer.We’ve destroyed the previous iteration of ourselves, clearing the way to express our brand in a never-before-seen fashion.

Restoration Hardware rebranded their business. Rebranding is the process by which a product or service developed with one brand, company or product line affiliation is marketed or distributed with a different identity. This may involve radical changes to the brand's logo, brand name, image, marketing strategy, and advertising themes. For example, when Radio Shack announced they are now referring to themselves as “The Shack”.This is instructive for the nonprofit organization. There are changes that every organization needs to develop beyond simply cutting staff and services. Nonprofits will have to sit down develop who they are post-recession to their donors, clients and staff. The dollars available for our work is dwindling on a daily basis. Many nonprofits were fighting for dollars in better economic times. Therefore, reducing everything again is not the total answer. Organizations which are going to make it on the other side of this recession will have to know why they exist and tell the story. It is wise to sit down and rewrite the organization’s story.Here are some tips from Molly Jasinski; USA Today Contributor suggests to Rebrand your organization.1) Use your social media tools to help you, not hurt you. Keep up on them, even if it's only for an allotted amount of time every day. Keep your followers in the loop, and they'll help pass the word along for you.2) Create a plan. Stick to it. Have steps you know you will follow, broken down in day/week/month increments, and purposefully roll your rebranding out.3) Focus on the details. Little things -- like making sure things on your website, Facebook, Twitter are consistent -- can go a long way. People look for reliability when it comes to supporting a non-profit, and an oversight on your part could hurt.Rebranding may be the very process that will increase your donor base, gain new clients and reinvigorate your staff.Tips for charities looking to rebrandhttp://content.usatoday.com/communities/kindness/post/2010/07/tips-for-charities-looking-to-rebrand-/1Restoration Hardware: The Story of our Fall Collection.http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/dyn/page.jsp?id=garyfall10&link=TheStoryofOurFallCollection