Charity rebranding “is the easy way to fix the problem, rather than the real way to fix the problem…maybe the brand is its own worst enemy in that particular regard.”

That’s one of the points made by Michael Birkin, our Guest on Two Ps on a Pod this week

Michael is CEO of KYU, a global collective of creative companies that are focused on tackling some of the world’s most complex problems by harnessing innovation to drive societal and economic change.

But it’s very much his time as CEO at Interbrand and Vice-Chair of Omnicom Group that we are focussing on today. Google Michael, and you’ll find that he is one of the world’s global authorities on branding – he actually invented brand valuation. With his help and direction, we are looking at charity branding and rebranding, considering what branding can do for charities and what it can’t and when a rebrand should happen and when it shouldn’t.

We discuss what branding means, why rebranding as a quick fix to tackle deeper structural problems is a mistake, why the new broom rebrand by the new arrival rarely stands up to scrutiny and how there are other more effective ways to re-energise a struggling charity than embarking on a rebrand.

Michael’s perspective is very different from those that we usually hear in the charity sector, and I think it is an essential one to consider in the face of the charity rebrands that can serve as a hinderance to growth rather than a driver. I hope you enjoy the interview…