Cone Launches Nonprofit Marketing Discipline

BOSTON, June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of creating and successfully launching the American Cancer Society's first Cause Branding(SM) initiative, the Choose You movement, Cone is pleased to announce the formal launch of its Nonprofit Marketing discipline, with services designed to help nonprofit organizations strengthen their brands and raise funds. This is Cone's fifth discipline; the agency also helps organizations build trusted brands through the execution of Cause Branding, Brand Marketing, Corporate Responsibility and Crisis Prevention and Management.

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The newest discipline capitalizes on the breadth of expertise across all of Cone's capabilities and tailors them specifically for the nonprofit market. Cone's suite of nonprofit marketing services will help nonprofit organizations align their communications resources, development activities and mission-based services with the interests of their target audiences to improve brand equity, raise funds and gain significant social impacts.

"Formalizing our Nonprofit Marketing discipline and services enables Cone to better respond to the needs of nonprofits today and leverages our decades of experience in the Cause Branding arena," says Jens Bang, Cone chief executive officer. "Over the years, we have been fortunate to work with the nation's leading nonprofits, such as the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society and Boys & Girls Clubs of America, to create and activate some of the most memorable campaigns in the marketplace."

Cone provides the following results-driven solutions:

Strategy Development & Activation

• Fundraising and Awareness Platform and Campaign
• Strategic Partnership Assessment and Development
• Organizational Development and Policy Refinement
• Capacity Building and Internal Trainings
• Risk Assessment and Mitigation

Integrated Marketing Communications

• Brand Positioning and Strategy
• Cause-Related Marketing Promotions
• Media Relations
• New Media and Social Networking
• Celebrity Engagement
• Events
• Creative Services
• Market Testing and Consumer Research

"With nearly 1.5 million organizations competing for shrinking dollars and share-of-mind, it is important for nonprofit organizations to have a compelling brand and call-to-action to engage their diverse stakeholders," says Alison DaSilva, executive vice president and acting head of Cone's Cause Branding and Nonprofit Marketing disciplines. "Cone has unparalleled experience in understanding the challenges and opportunities for nonprofits in creating brands that capture the hearts and wallets of companies, consumers and media."

Cone's roster of nonprofit clients includes the American Heart Association, for whom Cone created four Cause Branding programs: Go Red for Women, Alliance for a Healthier Generation, Power to End Stroke and Start!; the American Cancer Society and its Choose You movement; Feeding America; Boys & Girls Clubs of America; the American Kidney Fund; Paralyzed Veterans of America, for whom Cone created its Mission: ABLE initiative; Lemelson-MIT Program; FIRST; EF Foundation and Goodwill International.

Past clients include Safe Horizon, for whom Cone created its Hope Shining program; National Wildlife Federation; United Cerebral Palsy; Make-A-Wish, City Year and Jumpstart.

Cone has also conducted proprietary nonprofit research since 2006, including the first-of-its-kind Cone Nonprofit Power Brand 100 and the 2010 Nonprofit Marketing Trend Tracker.

Cone (www.coneinc.com) is a strategy and communications agency engaged in building brand trust. Cone creates stakeholder loyalty and long-term relationships through the development and execution of Cause Branding, Brand Marketing, Nonprofit Marketing, Corporate Responsibility and Crisis Prevention and Management initiatives. Cone is a part of the Omnicom Group (NYSE: OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com).

SOURCE Cone