The Impact of a Name (Logo) Change on Direct Mail Fundraising A Huntsinger & Jeffer White Paper

As many non-profits have discovered, a change in identity is almost inevitably accompanied by a significant drop in response. Even organizations with relatively high name recognition such as Second Harvest, have seen drop-offs that last as much as one to three years, despite very aggressive and high visibility PR campaigns. Unfortunately, this is a fact of life in mergers, so budgets may need to be adjusted to accommodate these temporary effects.

The risk is especially significant when the change affects both the name and the logo, since these are the elements that let donors and prospective donors know that the mail they're receiving is coming from someone they know.

USPS studies have shown that more than half of prospective donors state that they only give to organizations with which they are already familiar. Since most organizations spend more money on direct mail fund raising than other forms of advertising, most prospects become familiar with organizations by repeatedly receiving direct mail appeals from them.

So while an identity change is usually a relatively short-term problem (lasting only as long as it takes for the new name and logo to achieve widespread recognition), the effects within that period can be substantial.

Second Harvest Case Study
With the help of one of the big "branding" agencies, Second Harvest National Food Bank Network changed their name to America's Second Harvest and changed their logo at the same time. The branding consultant conducted several focus groups, which were universally enthusiastic about the new name and logo. Unfortunately, they forgot to ask the direct mail donors and prospects.

Prior to the official name change, H&J conducted a test in both the prospect market and to existing donors, which showed that switching to the new identity would produce a 40% decline in prospect revenues and a 30% decline in donor revenues. We then proposed a year-long plan to phase in the new identity, to allow donors and prospects to get used to it without disrupting revenues.

About two months into the plan, however, client's CEO (under pressure from Communications Department) became impatient with the phase-in process and ordered an immediate switch. Prospect revenues promptly dropped by 40%, and donor revenues by 30%. The organization received several hundred letters and calls from confused donors (more than half of whom seemed to think that another, "sound-alike" organization was doing fraudulent mailings claiming to run Second Harvest's food programs).

For the remainder of the year, mailings employed a "dual-logo" presentation, with both logos presented on the carrier and letter and with an insert explaining the name change. Eventually, revenues rebounded. However, America's Second Harvest has since redesigned the logo once again, reducing the size of the graphic element and reinstating the "food bank network" part of the original name.

Lauchbach Literacy International Case Study
Our client Laubach Literacy International merged with Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc. to become ProLiteracy Worldwide. Laubach had a sizeable donor base, whereas Literacy Volunteers had a smaller file. Both organizations were unprepared for the expense of the merger including legal fees, branding, and public relations. They began to narrow the scope of their direct mail fundraising. Their name change was to occur in the summer, so we recommended that they not change the name at all until after the important holiday giving period (their largest revenue season). As often happens, their respective boards and branding agency did not agree, so the name change went through. We used both names on the outer envelope along with an insert explaining the merger. However, because of organization expenses, acquisition was put on hold and the program was reduced and eventually went in-house.

The Smithsonian Museums Case Study
Outside our client base, the Smithsonian museums logo change is a pretty famous case study. Most notably for the Museum of the American Indian (which was the only one of the museums to have a large direct mail donor base since they were still in the building phase). Smithsonian, again with the help of a "branding" agency, decided all the museums should adopt the Smithsonian Institute "sun" logo and graphic standards, dropping their individual identities. Seems reasonable, especially since Smithsonian is a fairly recognizable name. But the Museum of the American Indian did a three-way pre-test to see if there would be any impact: existing Museum of American Indian name/logo vs. Museum of American Indian name with Smithsonian logo vs. Smithsonian name and logo. Again by about 40%, the existing Museum of American Indian name/logo was the winner, though the combined version did slightly better than the full Smithsonian version. Nevertheless, the Smithsonian proceeded with the changes, and the museum struggled with revenue declines.

PCI-Media Impact Case Study
PCI-Media Impact employs creative media to improve health, promote human rights and foster social change globally. Working with local NGOs, technical and production consultants, PCI-Media Impact offers training and broadcast assistance in creating entertainment-education radio and TV programs that address specific needs within the targeted audience.

In mid-2007, PCI (Population Communications International) changed its name to PCI-Media Impact to reflect the expanded scope of its mission. In addition to the new name, a new logo and graphic standards were introduced. One of the chief concerns was that this shift in the mission would result in a loss of support and that a change in the name would cause confusion among donors.

As PCI-Media Impact’s fundraising consultants prior to and during the transition, Huntsinger & Jeffer helped the organization solidify its new mission with existing and newly acquired donors through direct mail.

Our first mailing to donors was an announcement of the name change that included the rationale for a new name and logo. The package included a magnet along with a very “soft” ask to help offset costs. We were pleasantly surprised when this mailing netted revenue.

One of the most significant changes in the direct mail program during this period was the redesign -- and repositioning -- of the quarterly newsletter. Our goal was to make the newsletter a more effective tool for providing donors with updated information about the work their gift were making possible.

The newsletter became a key element in introducing the new name to high dollar, current and lapsed donors. Net income from the first newsletter mailing actually increased by 15%.

For the first eight months after the new name introduction, every outside envelope carried the old PCI logo and name with a bar announcing the new PCI-Media Impact name. A buckslip announcing the name change was also included in all direct mail communications. With these efforts, we were able to maintain response and average gift levels.