No Logo

St John Ambulance logo is a registered trademark. The charity says it may not be reproduced in any way whatsoever without the prior consent and written permission of St. John Ambulance National Headquarters. Fair enough, I have taken it off this site although there were at least 20 copies available on the internet.

St John Ambulance Supplies is the part of the organisation that offers a wide range of first aid products for sale. A worthwhile extension of the brand that deserves wider exposure.

Scope

Do we want more charity shops on our high streets? Do our existing shops want anymore competition from ‘subsidised’ organisations?

Scope is a charity that supports disabled people and their families but is planning to increase its investment in it’s charity shops by borrowing £20,000,000! They already have 250 shops that get tax, rent and council tax breaks.

Charities have managed their brands into becoming pressure groups and activists rather than providers of last resort. (Where are all the schools that Scopes predecessor, The Spastics Society ran?)
Brand repositioning by charities may have boosted employment and management career satisfaction but what about the core purpose of a Charity. What proportion of a charities resources should be expended directly on it’s core purpose.

These are questions for the ‘Big Society’ and in our opinion involve stopping charities becoming ‘Big Business’

Age Concern

Merging two well known brandsand respected charities, Age Concern and Help the Aged seems like a great idea. Better campaigning and use of resources are now unified under one banner or ribbon.

50-Plus Marketing regularly comments on the process of naming and branding this new Charity together with other issues pertinent to their chosen niche.

Beware mergers and renaming do not always go smoothly but happily Age UK seems to be catching on via the Charities Shops.

Sally Army

Charity begins at home but what about those without a home. For 2009 the Salvation Army will be our selected charity and any income from Bonbrand.co.uk will be donated. They can bank on it.

New Chancers on the Block

An 8 page glossy, personalised plastic card and a long letter arrived today, addressed to someone who no longer lives here. The name was inaccurate and mis-spelt into the bargain. The data base needs cleansing and cross referencing to avoid this waste of Charity money.

Merge, purge and deduplicate your address files and maintain your database assets.