Building a Memorable Brand: Jim Moriarty on Why Attention, Trust, & Competency Matter More Than Ever
“I do not believe that nonprofits live in a separate world. I believe that they live in the same world [as every other brand].” –Jim Moriarty
Nonprofits aren’t operating in a separate marketplace than for-profits. They’re competing for the same attention, trust, and loyalty as every other brand.
Jim Moriarty, brand strategist and former CEO of the Surfrider Foundation, believes this is the case—positing that both sectors are after the same consumer attention, and that both are doing real good in the world.
With vast experience in both sectors, Jim thinks nonprofits can learn a thing or two from for-profit brands about evaluating performance, building trust, and clarifying your mission.
In this episode, Jim shares:
- Why the lines are blurry between for-profits and nonprofits for consumers
- Why Nike’s mission to make sports accessible to all is actually a core part of their model
- What nonprofits can learn from brands about building consumer trust and competency in delivering on their promise
- How a clear narrative, real-world activation, and constant feedback can accelerate momentum
Links
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Brand Citizens on Substack
Key Takeaways
1) Acknowledge the increasingly difficult struggle to get attention that both for-profits and nonprofits are facing. Jim pushed the scale at which you may often think about your organization and those who support it. Even when it comes to performance of your programs, a willingness to review effectiveness honestly is crucial to increasing impact and cultivating competency.
2) Clarify your mission. This is how you build a culture of trust and competency. When everyone in your organization has a clear vision of the mission, then everything you do will be in pursuit of that purpose. Your purpose isn’t just a slogan that goes on the wall; it’s a filter for decisions, innovation, and long-term trust.
3) Study others who are excelling, even outside the nonprofit space. In Jim’s words, “Learn from the best. And the best are typically not your competitors. The best are outside your realm.”
Meet the Guest
Jim Moriarty is a brand strategist, consultant, and author of Brand Citizens, a Substack newsletter about the intersection of culture and capitalism. Jim has lived in both for-profit and nonprofit worlds, having directed brand citizenship at the prominent global creative marketing agency 72andsunny as well as serving as CEO of the nonprofit Surfrider Foundation. He’s wired for innovation, challenges the status quo, and writes about the intersection between capitalism and culture.
