Last week, Sandy shared with you important information about a lawsuit that Johnson and Johnson has brought against the American Red Cross regarding the use of our logo. As it is technically known, the Greek red cross is one of the most recognized symbols worldwide, contending with major for-profit brands. In fact, over the past seven years of my Red Cross career, I’ve heard a few times from various people that we are actually number two worldwide in brand recognition, falling closely behind Coca-Cola. While I don’t doubt it, I wasn’t able to find any research that backed this claim. For example, in its report of the Best Global Brands 2006, Interbrand makes note that the Red Cross and other NGOs were not included in its rankings because a non-profit’s brand value cannot be accurately assessed using an earnings model.
When it comes to non-profits, brand value has a lot to do with trust. When disaster strikes, financial contributions flow in from the public without hesitation because they trust the American Red Cross to deliver relief to affected persons. To ensure that this level of trust is maintained, it is important that we protect the image of our brand. A good place to start is the American Red Cross Graphic Standards and Brand Identification Manual. While this guide may seem lenghty and technical in nature, it is actually fairly concise and gives good examples of acceptable and unacceptable uses of our logo.
If you are starting a Red Cross club or working with your local unit to recruit young volunteers, the guide will help you develop your marketing materials. It is also especially helpful if you are an external organization partnering with the Red Cross on a project. While the Red Cross unit you are working with must give their approval, the guide provides a starting point for how to develop co-branded marketing and related materials.
In general, brand value is directly related to perception. With an organization as large as the Red Cross that spans the globe, it is important to be consistent when communicating our image to the world. By protecting our brand, we will truly become One Red Cross.
Ralph Chislett, Texas
Filed under: National Headquarters, Press
