Learn how to build a strong brand aligned with your social mission and purpose.

Our affiliations are signaled by brands. They tell stories that define, differentiate and humanize organizations and indicate what companies stand for. When executed well, brands can connect us with like-minded people and visions, reflect our values, inspire us to take action, or help us feel part of something bigger than ourselves.

Strong brands are needed by social enterprises and nonprofit organizations working on tackling the world’s most critical challenges like poverty, climate change, sexual violence, or homelessness. It is more important than ever that social change-makers learn how to cut through the noise and get other people to pay attention to their causes, services, and innovations.

The Acumen course bundle will teach anyone who wants to build a compelling brand identity for their cause or initiative how to do it.

You will gain access to what you want.

• 10 page workbook with activities that will help starting to build your brand
• Tutorial videos from 5 leading experts and authors and accompanying exercises
• A dynamic forum to share your process with other brand-builders across the social sector
• A Certificate for successful completion of all course requirements
• The ability to revisit any section of the course bundle as needed (the course is self-paced and starts whenever you have the time!)

The curriculum for the class.

Section 1 introduces the course.

• 1. Welcome to the Course (1:19)
• 2. Brands for Social Change (2:23)
• 3. What to Expect in This Course (1:05)
• 4. What is Branding? (2:00)
• 5. How Debbie Got Started in Branding (2:27)
• 6. Exercise: Introduce Yourself
• 7. Resource: Course Map, Workbook and Exercise 1

There is a pre-course survey.

Section 2 contains a short history of branding.

• 8. The 5 Waves of Branding (1:04)
• 9. Wave 1: Brands as Quality and Consistency (2:13)
• 10. Wave 2: Anthropomorphized Brands (7:26)
• 11. Wave 3: Brands as Prestige (8:53)
• 12. Wave 4: Experience Brands (0:56)
• 13. Wave 5: Limbic Brands (4:01)
• 14. Wave 5: Individuals and Tribes (1:50)
• 15. Social Media Backlash (2:55)
• 16. What the Best Brands Need to Do Now (1:41)

There is a quiz about the best brands today.

• 17. Exercise: Frame Your Brand Challenge

There are 5 steps for developing a brand.

• 18. Step 1: Understand the Need for Your Brand (1:47)
• 19. On Strategy (1:19)

There is a quiz about strategic reason for being.

• 20. Step 2: Get Input From Your Potential Audience (1:05)
• 21. On Research (3:21)

There is a quiz about research.

• 22. Step 3: Position Your Brand in the Marketplace (0:48)
• 23. Develop a Brand Positioning Statement (2:37)

Brand positioning is a quiz.

• 24. Steps 4 and 5: Bring Your Brand to Life and Market (0:40)
• 25. Brands for Social Change (2:16)
• 26. Case Study: The No More Campaign (6:42)
• 27. Framework Applied to No More Campaign (2:17)
• 28. What to Keep in Mind When Developing a Brand (2:05)
• 29. Exercise: Apply the first 3 Steps of Debbie’s Framework to Build a Great Brand

Section 4 is about speaking the language of brands.

• 30. Brand Equity (1:15)

Brand Equity is a quiz.

• 31. Brand Evolution (3:21)
• 32. Brand Architecture (2:29)
• 33. The Difference Between Branding, Marketing, and PR (3:04)

Brand Evolution is a quiz.

Section 5 deals with research for branding.

• 34. How Mike got into Brand Strategy (1:21)
• 35. Conducting Qualitative Research (4:57)
• 36. Conducting Quantitative Research (3:01)

Do you conduct qualitative or quantitative research?

• 37. Structuring Questions (3:36)
• 38. Doing Diagnostic Research (4:35)
• 39. Doing Projective Research (2:01)

There is a quiz about Diagnostic vs. Projective Research.

• 40. Researching for Social Change (1:55)
• 41. Focus Groups (3:12)
• 42. Moderating Focus Groups (4:03)
• 43. Mapping the Experience Journey (7:09)
• 44. Preparing Research Materials (8:08)
• 46. Discussion Guide Example (1:47)
• 47. Creating Stimulus for Research (3:07)
• 48. Diagnostic Research Example (4:12)
• 49. Projective Research Example (2:45)
• 50. Qualitative Data Analysis (1:10)
• 51. Quantitative Data analysis (3:00)
• 52. The Creative Brief (4:07)
• 53. Identifying Core Values (5:44)
• 54. Discovering Target Customers (8:28)

Values and target customers are the subjects of a quiz.

• 55. When Research Goes Wrong (5:54)
• 56. Using Research to Innovate (4:05)
• 57. Research for Social Change (4:09)
• 58. Emotional Connection to Brand (1:25)

Section 6: Brian Collins.

• 59. How Brian Started in Branding (3:34)
• 60. Anticipating Needs (4:15)

There is a quiz about brand design.

• 61. On Branded Content (5:50)
• 62. On Storytelling (3:36)
• 63. The Three Pillars of Branding (1:55)

The Pillars of Branding is a quiz.

• 64. On Archetypes (5:26)
• 65. The Dove Campaign (8:12)
• 66. Branding for Legacy Brands (6:12)
• 67. Branding Climate Protection (5:33)
• 68. Design for Change (6:23)
• 69. Branding for Social Entrepreneurs (4:21)

Section 7 contains original designers on re branding and visual expression.

• 70. The Meaning of Branding for OCD (2:59)
• 71. Branding for Non-Profits and For-Profits (1:18)
• 72. Case Study: The Girl Scouts of the USA (2:31)
• 73. Rebranding (4:54)

Re branding is a quiz.

• 74. Positioning (5:19)
• 75. Building Trust Within the Organization (6:14)

Building trust is a part of a re branding process.

• 76. Research (4:25)
• 77. Interviewing Extremes (1:51)
• 78. The Creative Brief (5:36)
• 79. Design (2:38)

Brand research to design.

• 80. Iteration (4:01)
• 81. Implementation (9:52)
• 82. Brand Launch (4:09)
• 83. Rebranding for a Social Cause (1:23)

Apply the first 3 steps to build a great brand.

Section 8 deals with branding for social change.

• 84. Branding for Social Entrepreneurs (2:07)
• 85. Resources on Branding (0:57)
• 86. Closing Words (1:55)

The post-course satisfaction survey needs to be completed.

• 87. Exercise: Reflect on Your View of Branding

There is a free preview of Acumen Master Class.

• BONUS: Preview Another Acumen Master Class with Seth Godin (3:41)

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