Bringing the New UNDP Brand to Life

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Bringing the New UNDP Brand to Life

• May 2002

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Global solutions to global problems

• From politics to security to public health, from
  crime to the environment, a growing agenda of
  development issues can no longer be managed
  within the boundaries of any single nation.
• Global and national coalitions for action are
  emerging centered around the United Nations
  indispensable role. The UN can bring together
  governments, civil society, multinational
  corporations and multilateral organizationscoming
  together around particular issues of concern and
  looking for innovative ways to address them.
• Mark Malloch Brown

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A consensus is emerging

• Anti-poverty
• Sustainable human development
• Governance/enabling environment/capacity
• National ownership
• The World Bank is becoming UNDP and UNDP is
  becoming what?

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What will a new brand do for UNDP?

• Clarify role, differentiate it among agencies in
  the new development context
• Formalize the organizations new character while
  affirming core values
• Facilitate further progress

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What is a brand?

• Brand reputation
• Reputation promise performance

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Why branding matters

• CoherentProvides a clear and simple (not
  simplistic) context for all communications
• DistinctiveCreates preference
• Aspirational Leads the organization into the
  future

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Building a Brand

• Foundation Brand Positioning
• Framework Brand Attributes (Character)
• Bricks Client Interactions Messages
• Mortar Corporate Culture

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Positioning is the core of the brand

• What distinguishes us from others in our field?
• A strong positioning must be
• Relevant to audience needs
• Credible for the institution
• Differentiated from the competition
• Sustainable over time

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Positioning UNDP the bad and the good news

• I dont understand precisely what UNDP does.
• They dont have the money to be effective.
• They are too close to governments.
• Virtually anything UNDP can do, the World Bank
  can do better.
• But
• UNDP does a heroic job of trying to achieve
  donor coordination.
• The Human Development Report is a flagship
  product that makes good use of the UNs
  legitimacy. The World Bank could never produce
  that.
• Only UNDP can.
• It has to be UNDP

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UNDP Brand Strategy

• Strong UN association
•   Balanced with independent identity
•  Positioning rests on how UNDP delivers
• Brand by the how, not the what

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Sample of Preliminary Positioning Concepts

•  
• Partner for change
• Trusted advisor
• Capacity builder
• Connector
• Network
• Facilitator
•  

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UNDP Positioning Statement

• UNDP is the UNs global network to help people
  meet their development needs and build a better
  life. We are on the ground in more than 180
  countries and territories, working as a trusted
  partner with governments, civil society and the
  private sector to help them build their own
  solutions to global and national development
  challenges.
• Our UN identity ensures our neutrality and our
  respect for each countrys control over its own
  future. Our commitment to development makes us
  advocates of change and our wide, decentralized
  presence keeps UNDP close to development issues,
  resources and thinking. Countries draw on the
  knowledge not just of the people of UNDP but also
  of our broad circle of partners, together
  encompassing a world of development experience.

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What does Network mean?

• An interconnected group or system
• A fabric or structure
• A supportive system of sharing information and
  services among individuals and groups having a
  common interest
• Connected over a large area
• Coordinated purposefully arranged
• Widely distributed
• Examples human nervous system the Internet

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What does Network mean?
CO
Other UN
CO
NGO
CO
CO
CO
Donor
CO
SURF
CO
HQ
CO
HQ
SURF
CO
CO
CO
CO
CO
CO
CO
Government
THIS
NOT
THIS
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Many facts support our new positioning

• Present in almost every developing countrymore
  than any other development organization.
• Chair of UNDG, Campaign Manager and Scorekeeper
  for MDGs
• Coordinator role rooted deep in our 50-year
  history and culture
• COs communicate directly with each other and with
  other agenciesnot just through HQto access
  resources and thinking from around the world
• RRs play unique role in promoting cooperation and
  collaboration among all members of the UN system
• New knowledge networks in six global practice
  areas
• Global and national HDRs gather information from
  many sources, authoritatively assess the status
  and goals of human development.
• Other

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Key Attributes of UNDP

• Trusted (UN neutrality client countries are in
  charge)
• Effective (active, close to the issues, quickly
  links problems to solutions)
• Knowledgeable and Connected (knows the answers
  or can connect to the right resources to find
  them anywhere in the world)

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What does this mean for our culture?

• What will we do differently?
• We are one organization, not 135
• We must all act as communicators
• We must make the most of our common
  connections

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Applying the brand to communications

• UNDPs new positioning is evolutionary, not
  revolutionary it grows from UNDP history and
  field-driven culture.
• But it offers a new emphasis to match new global
  needs
• Describe activities in terms of the whole network
• More strongly express connections between country
  offices or programs and other parts of the
  network
• Not a passive grid or pool of knowledge but an
  active, dynamic, interconnected system for
  capturing best practices from North or South and
  delivering them wherever needed
• Both an advocacy network (country and global) and
  a capacity development network
• Stress how UNDP coordinates and draws upon
  different sources of knowledge and resources

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Applying the brand Fact Sheet example

• CurrentUNDP focuses on outside actors,
  including non-governmental organizations and the
  media, that can impact the legislative process.
  In Indonesia, UNDP supported the establishment of
  a Media Centre inside the National Assembly.
• SuggestedUNDPs experience around the world
  has taught us the importance of connecting
  outside actors, including non-governmental
  organizations and the media, with the legislative
  process. In Indonesia, UNDP applied lessons
  learnt in other countries to support the
  establishment of a Media Centre inside the
  National Assembly.

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Applying the brand Practice Description example

• Crisis Prevention and Recovery (draft in
  progress)
• Many countries are increasingly vulnerable to
  violent conflicts or natural disasters that can
  erase decades of development and further entrench
  poverty and inequality. Through its global
  network, UNDP seeks out and shares innovative
  approaches to crisis prevention, early warning
  and conflict resolution. And UNDP is on the
  ground in almost every developing countryso
  wherever the next crisis occurs, we will be there
  to help coordinate international assistance and
  bridge the gap between emergency relief and
  long-term development.

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Applying the brand new standard description

• (Draft in progress)
• UNDP is the UNs global development network,
  advocating for change, seeking out and sharing
  best practices, and helping people build a better
  life. We are on the ground in more than 180
  countries and territories, helping them create
  their own solutions to global and national
  development challenges. As they develop their
  local capacity they rely on UNDP for our own
  knowledge and resources and for access to our
  wide range of partners.
•  

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Brand Launch Milestones

• Internal branding presentations In progress
• Update Branding Website In progress
• Branding toolkit printed posted on Web Week of
  June 3
• Train HQ-based brand presenters Week of June 3
• Replace logo on Website (on embargo) Week of June
  3
• MMB video to staff mid-June
• Messages developed at all levels June-July
• Publications launch HDR, IAR July 24

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Bureau/CO Action Plan

• What does this mean to our audiences
  (internal/external)?
• What are their special needs?
• How can we bring the brand to life for them?
• What are the benefits to them?
• What is the emotional content?

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An opportunity and a challenge

• Opportunity
• Exciting time Afghanistan, Nobel Prize
• Reach out to all constituencies
• Its about the positioning, not the logo
• Challenge
• Convey what has changed and what has not
• Translate into audience benefits
• Achieve consistency
• Clarify, educate and inspire

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If the new UNDP brand is

• Associated with real improvements and benefits
• Understood and communicated by managers
• Embraced by staff in the field and at HQ
• Implemented strongly and consistently
• Then the mortar grows stronger

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Then the new UNDP brand will succeed

• It will symbolize the organizations progress,
  provide a rallying point for its people,and
  inspire still greater achievements on behalf of
  human development.