RAFI’s emphasis on Branding & Community Identity
RAFI now has a “refreshed and powerful” definition of its soul and purpose as an organization
I was able to attend a re-branding event wherein the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) proudly to relaunched their community identity and its official branding to communication partners. Not only was it for RAFI’s refreshed brand identity but as well as to thank those who supported their community development initiatives.
RAFI’s emphasis on Branding & Community Identity luncheon was held at the Salon de Madrid of Casino Español de Cebu last January 25, 2011. To be honest, this was my 1st actual (I had an idea theoretically, based college) exposure to a corporate branding campaign.
Operating for over more than four decades and touching millions of lives along the way, they had to re-focus and re-project their core values and principles in order to present the organization as what it is. Emphasizing on little things like not really on WHAT THEY DO but WHY THEY DO IT. RAFI is often looked at, in the community as somewhat of a “Mother of Perpetual Help”-type of institution (Not that it is bad), people immediately think that the organization’s thrust is solely for giving out funds and donations but RAFI is not just about that, they have sustainable projects that looks at the long term development of the community.
I definitely learned a lot about branding from the exposures and interactions of Corporate Communication Teams, Public Relations Professionals, and the tri-MEDIA. This may range to standard industry practices to event coverage, to the meticulousness of the standard use of LOGO, Brand Idea/Tagline, Brand Promise, Color, write-up angles, and Brand idea just to name a few.
RAFI’s vision and tagline is “Touching People, Shaping the Future.” RAFI’s brand idea defines the 44-year-old foundation as an “Architect of Change.” RAFI’s brand promise is “elevating lives through a comprehensive approach that champions best practices in community development.”
The Foundation’s brand attributes include collaborative as it continues to work with partners; holistic as it carries out multiple initiatives to address complex issues; and role model as it leads by example.
“In the past, we made use of different logos, colors of uniforms, so it is not surprising that RAFI may be known in different ways. Today, we will begin to change this. Today, we will discipline ourselves to use our logo, our colors and our visual material in a consistent way,” Aboitiz explained.
I also learned from Sir Bobby Aboitiz from some of the things he mentioned about the need for Branding.
“Branding is important because our reputation is our biggest asset, positive behaviour builds brand equity, it is what maintains the trust given to us by our partners. Anything that is contrary to that, eats away at our ‘TRUST’ Account, therefore, outcomes matter.”
“A confident community begins with a strong sense of identity. We prepare and develop ourselves to maintain and deliver our promise. Branding maybe harsh but Discipline in Branding is necessary to have a right identity projection and a drive for consistent outcomes.”
“Our brand shapes everything we do, our behaviour, the way we act, think, do, our culture, products or services, our character and promise; all these are necessary for the long term Big Picture in achieving our goals and objectives.”
Despite these experiences and factual basis, I still don’t get why some people are afraid of branding or may seem to think that it is too harsh, I dunno about them but I think such efforts to have a right projection of an entity should be beneficial in setting the right expectations rather than false ones.
ABOUT RAFI
What are the focus areas of RAFI’s programs and services?
RAFI’s focus areas are:
- Integrated Development
- Micro-finance & Entrepreneurship
- Culture & Heritage
- Leadership & Citizenship
- Education
What are the capabilities of RAFI?
- Grants & Awards
- Institutional Development & Planning
- Knowledge Sharing & Advocacy
- Services & Facilities
What are the facilities available at RAFI?
- Eduardo Aboitiz Development Studies Center
- Eduardo J. Aboitiz Cancer Center
- Casa Gorordo Museum
- Kool Adventure Camp
- School Rehabilitation Program schools
- branches of RAFI Micro-finance (formerly Cebu Micro-Enterprise Development Foundation Inc.)
