A lot of nonprofit leaders have a tendency to denigrate “corporate” marketing techniques and I think that’s a mistake.

This attitude seems to be based on the assumption that nonprofit endeavors are some how more “pure” than commercial enterprises and, therefore, those engaged in cause work will become sullied if they begin to act like corporations. Phooey.

The fact is, good marketing is good marketing and when it works, it works for those who use it regardless of their motive.

Nike’s universally recognized swoosh defines everything the company does.
Netflix offers current subscribers a discount when they bring a new customer to the company.
Tiffany’s is on the second page of the New York Times every single day.
The pharmaceutical industry’s ubiquitous ads (“Ask you doctor about. . .”) have spawned far greater demand for their products than would otherwise exist.

There are lessons to be learned from those examples.

The greater the number of people who know who you are and what you do, the more effective your organization becomes; the more effective your organization becomes, the better able it is to serve the cause. Greater service to the cause generates an even broader awareness of who you are and what you do. That cycle is exactly what nonprofits should strive for.

Some pretty smart and successful nonprofits have done exactly that.
When you see a Red Cross, you know exactly what it stands for.
You don’t have any problem understanding the mission of the Make A Wish Foundation or the goals of Special Olympics or the United Way’s purpose.

Nonprofits one and all, those organizations have recognized that smart marketing is a tool which actually enhances their ability to do the right thing. They may be big and well-financed, but they didn’t start out that way – they got big and generated substantial support because they marketed their cause smartly.

So don’t sneer. Study. Spend some time looking at the ways in which effective corporations communicate their messages and learn from them. Figure out what techniques and strategies are most effective and find ways to adapt them to your work.

What you learn and incorporate into your efforts on behalf of your organization will make it stronger and better able to fulfill its mission, more effective in the service of the cause.
How can that be a bad thing?