GLC Virtual Day 4
October 26, 2023
The global JA brand is so much more than fonts, colors, and our organization’s logo. Our brand enables JA locations around the world to demonstrate impact collectively and create unity throughout the network while also enabling customization for each local area.
Today, on the final day of our virtual Global Leadership Conference (GLC), JA staff will dive into the JA brand, talking about everything from AI in marketing to thought leadership to risk management, and so much more.
Day 4 Sessions
Brand: Collateral, Translations, and Updates
We're at the halfway point in our three-year transition from our 35-year beloved brand to our new more youthful, modern brand. Whether JA staffers and locations have been sporting the new brand from day one or are still planning to switch over—or anywhere in between—attendees discovered what's new in branded collateral, messaging and translations, and a few of the 2024 updates to the JA Brand Guidelines.
Youth Voices at the Center of Global Discussions
When youthvoices.org launched in 2022, the initiative sparked an idea: that no other youth-serving organization is better suited than JA to ensure that youth voices, ideas, and concerns are heard. In this session, JA’s CMO Tere Stouffer and Director of People and Alumni Sarah Rapp discussed the ways that every JA location can invite youth to important convenings, avoid "youthwashing," and use our reputation and influence to give young people a platform for their voices.
Minimizing Our Brand Risk
Public opinion can change in an instant, damaging our reputation and ability to serve youth. This session discussed ways to develop brand risk-management practices, anticipate the sorts of behaviors and statements that are likely to backfire, monitor and listen so that you catch problems early, and have a solid crisis communications plan in place that allows for quick response to negative events.
The Pros and Cons of Youth Influencers
When JA locations collaborate with an influencer, that person's behavior may come to be identified with JA. And the younger the influencer, the greater the odds of a misstep or miscommunication. So, is it worth having youth influencers representing our brand? This panel discussed the pros and cons of youth influencers and how JA locations can minimize brand risk.
AI as Your Marketing Assistant
Looking for a brainstorming partner to develop taglines, campaigns, graphics, or thought leadership articles? Make artificial intelligence (AI) your first stop! In this session, we discussed which AI platforms are best at which tasks, how to sort the good ideas that AI generates from the terrible ones, and how to use AI ethically and legally.
Optimizing Paid Digital Advertising
Google Ad Grants offer up to $10,000 in free advertising to nonprofits, but implementation of those Google ads can be challenging at best and baffling at worst. JA offices may also be partnering with social-media companies and aren't sure how to spend the ad credits they offer. This session showed us the way.
Building Your Vision Board with Lilla
One of JA’s marketing and communications team, designer Lilla, walked JA staff through how to design their own vision board and why they can be helpful.
Fundamentals of Thought Leadership
What role does thought leadership play in JA’s social media and web content? How do JA leaders develop ideas for thought leadership . . . and who writes it? And then, how do we get it published? This session answers all these questions and more!
Awards Speak Louder than Words: Finding Opportunities for Recognition
If you're buying a new blender, are you more likely to believe claims made by the blender company or trust reviews left by actual users of the blender? Having others speak highly of the JA brand will always be more powerful than saying the same words ourselves. Each time we get a respected person, organization, or jury to discuss JA's impact, we gain significant credibility. In this session, we discussed how to apply for awards, lists, and other recognitions and approaches that enable others to speak about the power of JA.
Yes, You Need a Great Website
In 2010, a Wired magazine cover declared "the Web is dead." But less than a decade later, the same magazine announced that they had been wrong and that websites are alive and well, thanks in large part to social media's prioritizing of web links. The bottom line? You need a great website! But "great" doesn't have to mean "complex" or "expensive." This session explains how JA staff can build fast, inexpensive, easy-to-maintain sites for their JA locations.
Check out all our blog posts this week to find out what JA staff learned on Days 1, 2, and 3 of GLC Virtual. Thanks for following along!