This is a shout out to one of our clients who we think is doing an incredible job of using their brand.
J Street, a lobbying 501(c)4 organization in Washington DC, provides a political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans. The organization gives political voice to mainstream American Jews and other supporters of Israel who, informed by their progressive and Jewish values, believe that a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is essential to Israel’s survival as the national home of the Jewish people and as a vibrant democracy.
Since Empax created a brand for J Street, they have been wearing it proudly and loudly. They are the poster child of extending and applying their brand consistently, and it has greatly worked to their advantage. As we often talk about here, a brand is about identity. It’s not a logo. It’s not what your organization does or the benefits it offers. It’s the barely tangible, gets under you skin feeling that all organizations posses. J Street has acquired a comprehensive understanding of the potential that brands have to speak to stakeholders, and has managed to create a solid, unified community around the work they do putting this to practice.
The brand extension that J Street has been living out makes us smile like proud parents over here. Just today at lunch we were checking in on their site (they have some great new press related to Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent visit to DC) and were pleasantly surprised to notice a few details of how their brand continues to permeate their day-to-day work. Of course their website and print communications are spot on (wonder who helped with that?) but they are so tuned in to creating a comprehensive experience for their stakeholders that it trickles down to the smallest particulars. Here’s an example:
Jeremy Ben-Ami, founder of J Street, was interviewed by PBS for a news piece a few days ago. During his close up, it becomes very clear that he’s wearing a pin. And what do you know, it’s a pin with the J Street logo. Short of wearing a J Street t-shirt (which, let’s be honest, would be a bit tacky) he’s using his own, physical self to extend the organization’s brand. Some people might think, “What’s the big deal about wearing a pin?” The pin in and of itself is not that big of a deal – fine – but the thought process that went into producing and wearing the pin are what’s notable. Jeremy, and the rest of his staff, are living the J Street brand, and if that’s not authenticity, then I don’t know what is. (You can see some more ways in which they breath the brand from their photos on Flickr.)
I would venture to say that people who come in contact with J Street – both new users and seasoned veterans – have an instant and clear understanding of what the organization is all about. They get a feeling about who the organization is, and in increasing instances these days, they want to be a part of it.
So here’s a nod to J Street. Let them be the example whose lead we all can follow. Now go on, go live your brand.
*Note: J Street is not a 501(c)3 nonprofit. As such, the work Empax executed for them was done by our commercial, sister company The Bakunin Brothers International Corporation.