Perceptions of Brand Management in

The non-profit sector faces a myriad of challenges. Non Profit Organisations(NPOs) operate in a highly competitive market for financial support, skilledemployees and volunteers. They are thus often driven to adopt commercialpractices to improve their strategic performance and differentiate themselves inan environment that has experienced significant growth and currently hasvibrant and active NPO sectors across the various continents.The study reviewed the application of brand management within the SouthAfrican NPO sector and aimed to establish the understanding of the brandingconstruct, the main drivers of a brand and the objectives of branding within thissector. The research paradigm was qualitative and the study was exploratory innature applying input from thirteen in-depth interviews with respondents fromthe NPO sector. A thematic approach to qualitative data analysis was appliedand the themes that arose included the terminology in use in the NPO sector,how the brand construct is understood, the elements of a brand, challenges inbranding, the management and ownership of NPO brands and the results ofundertaking branding.The study established that South African NPOs have different goals in brandingwith the majority seeking to increase visibility and credibility and garner supportfor their cause. There are varying understandings of the concept of a brand andit is deduced that branding is still in its infancy in the sector. NPOs also offereda variety of drivers that are deemed to be important for the development andmaintenance of a brand supporting the notion that branding is multifaceted andcomplex. Furthermore, funding was overwhelmingly highlighted as the majorconstraint for brand management activities followed closely by access to theright skills and knowledge in this area. These key issues highlighted the needfor a branding approach that is both relevant and accessible to the NPO sectorbearing in mind their daily challenges. The study includes recommendations forkey stakeholders and proposes a structure for an NPO branding informationsource. Proposals for future research are also highlighted.