Larry D. Lauer

In recent years I have focused my attention mostly on academic institutions. So I am often asked if the lessons I learned will apply to nonprofits and other organizations.

Simply put, integrated marketing is “a way of thinking”  and it certainly will apply to any organization. But it always must be adapted.

In fact, before I focused on colleges and universities I was thinking mostly about other nonprofits.  My first book, Communication Power (1997), is really a strategic communication manuel for nonprofit executives. 

A student of mine is working now with a homeless shelter on the branding of a “social enterprise” project.  The project is a home cleaning service, and the marketing challenge is to demonstrate that these homeless workers will do a professioal job cleaning your home. She is using integrated processes to help the staff clarify a credible brand identity.

In past years I was the volunteer president of both a community theater and a human services agency. Both responded well to a more integrated marketing approach clarifying their competitive differentiation. In the case of the human service agency the challenge was also to clarify sub-brand identities for its many separate services.

As co-chair of the board and marketing chair of the Fort Worth Convention and Visitor’s Bureau we used interactive integrated processes by involving a cross section of the city’s leadership to clarify the city’s brand, Cowboys and Culture.

As chair of the membershp committee of the board of a major higher education association we applied market segementation analysis to set membership objectives and strategies.

Integrated marketing turns mission, vision and values into a differentiated brand identity. This both enhances an organization’s visibility and competitive advantage. It uses group process to get as many people as possible “on the same page,” “telling the same story, “generating a captivating buzz.” Group process is also used to identify market segments, needs and trends, and the best media platforms to converge on specific markets and build relationships.

Each organizaton is different, to be sure. Some have divisions or programs that should be treated as sub-brands, while others have a single cause.  Differing management cultures must be taken into account when designing processes and timeframes.  And some have more roadblocks to change than others.

At present, besides serving my university I am working with a think tank, a higher education association, a citizen-to-citizen internatonal nonprofit, and am also involved in a network of professionals considering new strategies for American public diplomacy. 

Make no mistake, integrated marketing combined with dynamic leadership can transform most any kind of organization.