What is BrandOutLoud’s story?
BrandOutLoud was established in 2006 by Judith Madigan and Mark van Luyk after they had spent a year volunteering for various NGOs. During their work, Madigan and Van Luyk came to realise that customised branding and professional communication could really make a difference for those organisations, improving their efforts in every aspect.
After a trial project in Indonesia, Madigan and Van Luyk set up non-profit BrandOutLoud from their laptops with assistance from contacts in the Netherlands. And so, BrandOutLoud was born, on location, in Southeast Asia so they could start working on further projects straightaway.
The team has since grown with professionals in marketing, communication, graphic design, copywriting and web development - all proud to volunteer their expertise.
What kind of projects has BrandOutLoud worked on?
So far, we have done branding projects as well as workshops, photo- and video-productions in Indonesia and Cambodia. Projects varied in theme from childcare, healthcare and community based rehabilitation. While each organisation aims to increase its funds, each of them has its own starting point and needs a custom approach, whether the organisation is new or already well-known nationally.
BrandOutLoud is always looking forward to new projects.
How does BrandOutLoud experience projects?
Each project is special to us and we continue to enjoy every single aspect: the theme and development, the fruitful cooperation which optimises creativity and even the cross cultural challenges which projects bring.
If we had to choose one favourite project we would always go for the last one because we, as BrandOutLoud, also aim to evolve, improving our work and learning something new every time. Using the experience in the next project.
Does development aid need a new approach?
Definitely. Nowadays, many local aid organisations rely on only one major funding partner but the climate for fundraising is toughening and public budgets for development aid are shrinking. This puts the financial sustainability of local partners at risk, and that is why development aid needs a new approach: empowering by branding. Equally important, we want to raise a discussion within the field of development aid about the effects of negative versus positive imagery in non-profit marketing.
'Empowering by branding', what does it mean?
'Empowering' is what a strong brand and profile do to local aid organisations. With a unified sense of identity, the right knowledge and professional communication tools, the organisations are able to promote themselves more effectively. By actively reaching out, they can attract new partners, create alliances, diversify their funding, become more financially sustainable and be able to grow and continue their good work.
Does BrandOutLoud work with or for aid organisations?
While our work is clearly for them, we always work with them. We consider our projects to be a partnership between BrandOutLoud and the aid organisation: without their input, efforts and commitment, projects would never reach their full potential. After all, the aim is to assist the organisations in becoming self reliant. BrandOutLoud offers them the tools and support so they can become sustainable and independent to ensure their future.
These partnerships do not end with the projects. We keep in touch with the aid organisations for years to come, monitoring their progress, helping where we can and stimulating them to become more and more independent.
When is a project succesful?
Milestones can be a developed sense of identity, stakeholders understanding and sharing common goals, effective application of new knowledge and tools and pro-activity from all parties. These are all essential for promoting your cause and fundraising. In terms of results, the project is successful when certain objectives such as expanding networks of partners and supporters, increase of annual budgets etc are achieved. The long-term potential, however, also depends on the organisations’ and partners’ own responsibility and capacity to account finances and analyse data- a relatively new way of working for many smaller organisations.
How does BrandOutLoud work?
Our approach to branding is from a positive, realistic and aesthetic point of view. We choose to display successes instead of failures, the powerful and resilient side of people instead of the suffering. We are committed to respectfully portray the impact that local aid can have while simultaneously showing the beauty in every situation, of every adult or child.
Is imagery art?
BrandOutLoud approaches branding this way. Powerful imagery is the core of our work and we make a clear distinction between corporate imagery and documentation. Just as professional, commercial organisations often do.
Within the sector, pictures are often used to document activities and casework. We see that as good material to complement annual reports or presentations, but these images do not always portray the core and values of the organisation itself. This is where we believe corporate imagery comes in, visualising the key message of the organisation. We ‘paint’ with lenses, light, environment and a strong reference to fashion photography. Through professional set-ups and always with the focus on people. We believe that this is a unique innovation in visualised marketing within the non-profit scene.
