The secret to good PR – follow the money?

The organisation I am interning with is currently undergoing a rebranding process from the name iVEC, to Pawsey Supercomputing Centre, as a means of aligning the project's recognised title, with the services and facilities. The overall goal of a rebranding process is to change the brand’s image, which can be done through accumulative changes to the brand identity and the brand experience. Ordinarily, rebranding processes are tailored towards consumers and patrons within a profitable business model, as a means of meeting personal stakeholder goals that emphasise the continuation of profitable business practises. For example, the process of rebranding a profitable business must be undergone with stakeholder considerations in mind, to ensure that business will not suffer through consequential branding confusion or dislike. Subsequently, it makes sense to follow the rebranding trends and preferences of consumers, as they are the profitable driving force. Keep them happy, and the money will continue to flow. My boss refers to this process of consideration, as “following the money”.

However, when undergoing a rebranding process for a not-for-profit organisation, the obvious flaw in the plan is that following the preferential user trends of consumers is not as straight forward, as they are not the organisation’s primary financial stakeholders. Those who utilise the facility within which I am interning will continue to do so, regardless of how well designed the new website is, or how well the interface integrates with the their mobile devises. From a user perspective, the rebranding process does not change the scientific gain from our facility.

So in light of that fact, the question is, who do you tailor the trends of rebranding towards? One would think that you “follow the money”. The financial stakeholders, including investors, both public and private, are the people to tailor the re-branding process towards, right? But you see the problem then faced is then that there are only a handful of individuals that actually sign their names on the checks. So, do you design your entire rebranding template based on those few, in the hope that firstly they remain in their career position, and secondly that you’ve researched their particular tastes and preferences enough to be able to hit their nail on the head? I have since learnt that this particular avenue is both risky and redundant, because the real stakeholder group that holds the most investment within the rebranding process is the facilities employees.

A large number of the employees showcase their research achievements and progressions across the project’s digital presence and physical facility. The process of branding involves cohesively updating, changing and editing existing information to align with the new brand. Understandably, each member of staff has their own investment in public information relating to their work and the facility, and it would appear that meeting the personal goals of each employee, within each department proves, to be the most challenging task within relations to this particular group. One of the most important lessons that I am learning within this role is that diplomacy is everything, and that following the money will not always lead you to profitable outcomes, as people relations is a necessary skill required for successful public relations.