Episode 189: How can you get more out of your rebrand?

Summary

The Smart Communications Podcast: Episode 189 – How Can You Get More Out of Your Rebrand?

Released on June 25, 2025 | Host: Farah Trumpeter | Guest: Sandy Zimmerman, Design Director at Big Duck

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Introduction

In Episode 189 of The Smart Communications Podcast, host Farah Trumpeter engages in an insightful conversation with Sandy Zimmerman, the Design Director at Big Duck, to explore strategies for maximizing the benefits of a rebranding initiative for nonprofit organizations. With over 12 years at Big Duck and extensive experience in nonprofit branding, Sandy shares invaluable advice drawn from her recent blog post, "Get More out of Your Rebrand: Tips for Working with Agencies."

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The Importance of Effective Rebranding for Nonprofits

Sandy Zimmerman begins by reflecting on the motivations behind her blog post. “We like to follow our organizations on social media and other places, and when we see that they're executing their brand really well, it's just so awesome,” she shares [02:01]. This enthusiasm for successful branding efforts is tempered by observations of organizations struggling to maintain their new brand identities over time. Sandy emphasizes the need for nonprofits to be well-prepared when embarking on a rebranding journey to ensure lasting impact.

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Understanding and Utilizing the Brand Guide

A central focus of the discussion is the brand guide, a comprehensive document provided by the agency detailing the new brand's elements and guidelines. Sandy underscores the importance of thoroughly reviewing the brand guide while still collaborating with the agency. “Make sure to take time to understand it, give it a really thorough read through,” she advises [03:24]. By immersing themselves in the brand guide early on, nonprofit teams can better envision how to apply the brand across various materials, setting the stage for consistent and effective communication.

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The Role of Templates in Branding

Transitioning from the overarching brand guidelines to practical applications, Sandy highlights the significance of templates in maintaining brand consistency. “Most organizations will likely need digital templates like slide decks, docs, templates for social media or email,” she explains [05:04]. These templates serve as practical tools that integrate the brand’s visual elements, making it easier for nonprofit staff to produce branded materials without compromising on consistency.

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Maximizing Template Utilization

To ensure templates are effectively serving their purpose, Sandy recommends periodic check-ins with the team. “You might think about coordinating a monthly or quarterly or just periodic check in with your team… and just see how those templates are working in real life,” she suggests [06:24]. These reviews allow organizations to refine existing templates and identify the need for new ones, ensuring that the tools evolve alongside the organization’s needs. Farah adds, “You might also surface new templates that you need to,” reinforcing the idea of continuous improvement [07:13].

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Beyond the Brand Guide: Ongoing Brand Management

Sandy discusses the importance of developing key rollout materials as a way to test and showcase the new brand. This includes large-scale projects like anniversary campaigns, website launches, and everyday communications such as social media posts and office signage [07:23]. Additionally, Sandy introduces the concept of brand checkups, periodic evaluations conducted by agencies like Big Duck to assess how well the brand is being maintained. “We typically look at whether materials are looking consistent across the board,” she notes [08:24]. These checkups help organizations identify areas for improvement, such as overused brand elements or accessibility issues with color combinations.

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Branding as a Continuous Practice

One of the episode’s key takeaways is the idea that “branding is a practice rather than a one time activity” [09:37]. Sandy elaborates that a brand requires ongoing attention to maintain both consistency and freshness. “Your brand should give you a strong set of tools, but there will always be decisions to make about how to apply it,” she explains [09:52]. She advises nonprofits to establish a clear plan for executing the new brand, whether through in-house staff or freelance designers, and to designate responsibility for brand-related decisions. This ensures that the brand remains dynamic and responsive to the organization’s evolving needs.

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Final Tips and Conclusion

In her concluding remarks, Sandy emphasizes the importance of having a dedicated individual who possesses both aesthetic judgment and attention to detail. “Find that person who can help you keep your materials aligned,” she advises [11:27]. Tools like Canva are highlighted as accessible options that empower team members to maintain brand consistency even without formal design training. Farah echoes this sentiment, encouraging nonprofits to “bring thought and care to your brands and your communications” [12:14].

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Key Quotes and Timestamps

• “We like to follow our organizations on social media and other places, and when we see that they're executing their brand really well, it's just so awesome.” – Sandy Zimmerman [02:01]
• “Make sure to take time to understand it, give it a really thorough read through.” – Sandy Zimmerman [03:24]
• “Most organizations will likely need digital templates like slide decks, docs, templates for social media or email.” – Sandy Zimmerman [05:04]
• “You might think about coordinating a monthly or quarterly or just periodic check in with your team… and just see how those templates are working in real life.” – Sandy Zimmerman [06:24]
• “We typically look at whether materials are looking consistent across the board.” – Sandy Zimmerman [08:24]
• “Your brand should give you a strong set of tools, but there will always be decisions to make about how to apply it.” – Sandy Zimmerman [09:52]
• “Find that person who can help you keep your materials aligned.” – Sandy Zimmerman [11:27]
• “Bring thought and care to your brands and your communications.” – Farah Trumpeter [12:14]

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Conclusion

Episode 189 of The Smart Communications Podcast offers a comprehensive look into the strategic process of rebranding for nonprofits. Through Sandy Zimmerman’s expert insights, listeners gain a deeper understanding of how to effectively collaborate with agencies, utilize brand guides and templates, and maintain their brand as a living, evolving asset. By treating branding as an ongoing practice, nonprofits can ensure that their communications remain consistent, engaging, and aligned with their mission.

For more resources and insights on nonprofit communications, visit Big Duck’s website or contact them directly at [e-mail].

Transcript

[A]

This is the Smart Communications Smart Communications.

[B]

Smart Communications Podcast Developing the Voices Voices Developing the voices of determined nonprofits brought to you by Big Duck.

[C]

Welcome to the Smart Communications Podcast. This is Farah, trumpeter, co director and worker owner at Big Duck. On today's episode, we're going to ask the question, how can you get more out of your rebrand? And I am delighted to be joined by our design director, Sandy Zimmerman. Sandy uses she her pronouns and has been at big duck for 12 years. Outside of Big Duck, you might find Sandy biking around Brooklyn mending old clothes or cooking meals at home with her husband. She is also the chair of Big Duck's Board of Directors, and you may recognize her from previous podcasts. Though it's been a minute, she was on the podcast back on episode 44 talking about how you should work with freelancers and on episode 59 exploring should your logo stand out or fit in. So be sure to listen to those gems. But Sandy, welcome back to the podcast.

[A]

Thanks, Farrah. I'm excited to be back on.

[C]

Well, the inspiration for today's conversation actually connects to a blog that Sandy wrote earlier this year. The post is called Get More out of youf Rebrand Tips for Working with Agencies. You can read that post on our website in the same place we actually store transcripts for this [e-mail] insights but Sandy, let's get into it. Nonprofits hire agencies like Big Doc often because they seek fresh perspectives and may not have the expertise or time to do this work in house. I love how your post offers guidance for organizations who may be working with an agency or just are really thinking about going through a branding process. But were there any particular experiences that led you to write this post?

[A]

Yeah, so I don't want to name any favorite clients here, but it's really exciting and really gratifying to check back with our organizations after we finished our branding work together, which we like to do. We like to follow them on social media and other places, and when we see that they're executing their brand really well, it's just so awesome to see that they're looking sharp and they're communicating consistently. At the same time, over the years of doing this work, we've also seen some organizations that were a little less prepared for managing a new brand and cases where the branding seems to have gotten a little lost over time. So this is what prompted us to think about things that organizations might keep in mind, keep on their radar to better prepare for that moment of working with an agency and then kind of taking that brand off on their own.

[C]

Great. And you focus on the branding process and offer ways nonprofit staff can leverage working with an agency, particularly on logos and visual systems. Right. Because we're talking about branding. And in the post you offer six actions that folks can take, and I'd love to talk about a few of them. Let's start with the first one, the treasured brand guide. What should folks do when their agency shares the brand guide with them while they're still working together? Maybe that first draft.

[A]

Yeah. So it's super important that when you're at that moment that you gain familiarity with the brand guide while you're still working in collaboration with your agency. Make sure to take time to understand it, give it a really thorough read through. You can try to imagine the materials that you'll be creating both for your launch and later on, and how you might apply the brand elements to all of those materials. We know there is a lot of pieces to hold together throughout a rebrand process that nonprofit staff are navigating. So it can be fatiguing by the time you get to this moment. But it's really essential to be thorough and to do it to set up your team for the future and make your work easier in the future for your future selves and your future team.

[C]

Yeah. One of the things I love about a brand guide is not only does it give you the guidelines, the do's, the don'ts, the sort of rules of the brand, but it also gives you the tools you need to build the brand, like you said, and think about those materials where you're applying the brand. And one of the things that I know we incorporate in our brand guides and try to also supply organizations with are templates. So I want to talk about the value of templates. We're going to go from big picture brand guide to real tactical templates. What are the typical set of templates folks might need when it comes to being able to build upon and activate the brand after you've been given the tools, tools from an agency, you know, the actual, the logo files, the colors, the fonts, the, you know, the approach to imagery. The brand guide. What about these templates? What should folks focus on?

[A]

Yeah, the templates are kind of the place where we get to put all of those elements together that you just mentioned. And most organizations will likely need digital templates like slide decks, docs, templates for social media or email. And then there's the traditional print materials like 1 sheets or brochures, a stationary suite, things like that. And when we think about templates, it's important to think about who will be working in the templates because there are different tools that we can utilize to create templates. So if you have designers on your staff or freelancers that you work with, they'll probably use professional design software like Adobe InDesign or Illustrator, and that can be a really easy and seamless way to pass off from your branding partner because those are the professional tools that we're using. However, we know in the nonprofit world, staff are often wearing many hats and are not always trained designers, but are still tasked with creating materials. So a suite of Canva templates can be really useful for your team, and that's a really powerful tool that makes design accessible.

[C]

Well, let's say you've got these templates. How do you make the most out of them? Do you have any tips or ideas for that?

[A]

Yeah, so one tip I would recommend is that especially in the first year of the new brand, you might think about coordinating a monthly or quarterly or just periodic check in with your team, with whoever on staff are creating materials, and just see how those templates are working in real life. And you might need to make adjustments. And that's, you know, totally expected and healthy thing to do to just kind of update your templates as needed to suit the real world needs of your staff.

[C]

Yeah, I love that idea of a periodic check in because you might also surface new templates that you need to. Right. We've noticed people keep, you know, making our agendas and putting them on different things. They're not clear which letterhead to use or how our logo should fit in. Maybe we should make an agenda template. Right, right. That can be really helpful in those check ins too.

[A]

Exactly.

[C]

Well, are there ways nonprofits should work with agencies beyond the handoff of the brand guide and initial templates? Other ideas that you have that nonprofits should be thinking about?

[A]

Yeah, developing some key rollout materials in your new brand can be a great way to test out how it's all coming to life and start you off with some great starting points for future materials. You can think about anything from large scale projects like launching a big anniversary campaign, if that's relevant. A new website, of course, goes with a new brand to everyday communications like social media, posts, office signage, presentation templates, all that good stuff.

[C]

We sometimes at Big Duck conduct a brand checkup anywhere from six months to six years after developing a brand for a nonprofit. In that process, we take a look at how consistently the brand is applied as well as if there may be new elements they need to build and amend their visual vocabulary. What are some ways you evaluate how well a brand is being maintained post launch Downstream?

[A]

Well, we love check ins because of kind of what we were just talking about. It's an opportunity to fine tune the details. So you might be doing that in house, but it's also helpful to have an outside perspective so you know, it's, it's a great opportunity to do that. And we typically look at whether materials are looking consistent across the board. Are there elements of the brand that are being overused or underused? Are there colors that are being combined in ways that aren't working or maybe aren't accessible that you can tweak? Maybe there's some graphic elements that are kind of looking a little awkward or that you're team is having a challenging time getting right. We would also ask your team how smooth is the process of creating materials using the new brand? Those template questions that we talked about. And maybe there are rules that could be made more clear or additional guidance to be added that you know, questions that have come up. And then also how are you using imagery in your brand like photography or illustration and thinking about do you need to bolster your image libraries in order to keep things fresh and dynamic?

[C]

Great. Well, I'd love to wrap up with a phrase you note at the end of the blog post, which is quote, unquote, branding is a practice rather than a one time activity. What does that mean to you and what advice would you offer nonprofits?

[A]

It means that a brand needs to be attended to and cared for to maintain consistency, but also to keep it fresh because you need it to be consistent so that people recognize you. But you also want to inject energy into your brand too. So your brand should give you a strong set of tools, but there will always be decisions to make about how to apply it. So my advice to nonprofits is to have a plan for how you will execute your new brand, whether it's relying on in house staff or freelance designers or whatever it is. And also to identify who will be responsible for making the calls as those questions and challenges come up around using the brand.

[C]

Great. I love that. And there's been a lot we've been talking about here with visuals, obviously since you are one of our lead designers here, but also in these conversations and questions, also looking at the words, sometimes things are changing around us where phrases need to be updated and need to be added. Or maybe our brand is looking great visually, but we might need an new tagline or a new way to really express an association with us. So these are all good things to pause and look at in the ongoing practice of branding. Well, Sandy, thanks again for being here. If you are listening and you're curious about Big Duck's approach to branding and how we might help your team build brands that it can evolve and last, be sure to reach out to [e-mail] Sandy before we go, anything else you'd like to share?

[A]

Yeah, just I'd like to say, you know, we know an engaging and identifiably unique brand will help you attract and retain your supporters. So my final tip is that even if, even if you don't have designers on your staff to try to find that person on your team who has a good eye. And that's both for aesthetics but also for consistency and detail orientation. So find that person who can help you keep your materials aligned. And even with all the great tools we have these days, like Canva that we talked about, that make designing more accessible, all the really beautiful brands that we see out in the world and admire, those are not maintained without great.

[C]

So bring thought and care to your brands and your communications, my friends. Sandy, thanks again for joining us today. Everyone be well.

[B]

Are you a fan of this podcast or Big Duck's other resources on nonprofit communications? If you are, we'd love to hear from you. Please drop us a line by writing to helloigduck.com to tell us what you're working on and what topics you need help with. We also welcome getting your feedback via reviews. You can review this podcast wherever you listen. We'd love to hear from you. This is the Smart Community Communications Podcast, Developing the Voices of Determined Nonprofits, brought to you by Big Duck. Big Duck is an agency that puts smart communications in the hands of nonprofits. We help our nonprofit clients develop strong brands, strong campaigns, and strong teams, and advance their missions and achieve their goals. Connect with [e-mail].