The rising influence of neoliberalism in western societies led to a marketization of seemingly non-economic spheres of life. As a result, boundaries between non-profit organisations and state duties on the one hand and economics on the other hand have been blurring.
At the same time, charitable organisations have been facing the problem of Compassion Fatigue and the need of new donor approaches to support their causes. Both challenges are in some extent interrelated with each other and can be dealt with by the use of brand logic.
The aim of this thesis is to analyse how non-profit non-governmental organisation (NPNGOs) perform in a marketised world using their reputation as core of their brand creation. The new requirements NPNGOs have to meet in order to succeed in a marketised environment are worked out theoretically and applied to the example of the radical environment protection organisation Sea Shepherd. Its communication strategies and brand creation are examined through the concepts of Branding and Reputation Management which are used as related theoretical frameworks.
The analysis of Sea Shepherd in terms of the theoretical frameworks, finally, provides an insightful example of how NPNGOs nowadays can act like brands. In a marketised world in which audiences are used to interact with and to project themselves into brands which meet their values, also NPNGOs have to play the game of the marketplace. Sea Shepherd’s YouTube communication, its online shop along with its merchandise production, its official website and finally, its use of the logo, are vital illustrations of NPNGOs’ Branding.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Motivation of the thesis
3. Academic Approaches to Social Movement Branding
4. Research Aim and Questions
5. Disambiguation: Non-Profit Non-Governmental Organisations
6. Communicating and Performing in Neoliberal Environments
6.1 Living in a Marketised World
6.2 A Networked Society – Communication via New Media
6.3 The Branding of Everything
7. Altered Requirements – NPNGOs facing the Neoliberal Reality
7.1 Presenting Suffering is so 1990’s - The Danger of Compassion Fatigue
7.2 Changing Donors’ Generations – Changing Communication?
8. How to Sell the Good Conscience?
8.1 Branding - the Universal Marketing Weapon?
8.2 Reputation Management - Branding 2.0
8.3 The communicative Social Movement Brand
8.3.1 Why Social Movement Brands
8.3.2 How to Manage a Social Movement Brand
9. The Information Ocean of Sea Shepherd
9.1 Conservation Pirates
9.2 Sea Shepherd in the Online World
9.2.1 Sea Shepherd on YouTube
9.2.2 Sea Shepherd’s Home Port – The Website
9.2.3 Sea Shepherd’s Online Shop
10. How Sea Shepherd Communicates via the Internet
10.1 YouTube: Blockbuster Pirates
10.2 Official Website
10.2.1 Structural Analysis
10.2.2 Content Analysis
10.3 Official Online Shop
10.3.1 Structural Analysis
10.3.2 Content Analysis
10.4 Sea Shepherd’s logos
11. Selling the Image
11.1 Sea Shepherd’s Merchandise
11.2 Sea Shepherd’s Business Co-operations
12. Sea Shepherd and Compassion Fatigue
13. Sea Shepherd’s Reputation Management as Branding Effort
14. Summarising Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This thesis investigates how non-profit, non-governmental organisations (NPNGOs) in an increasingly marketized neoliberal environment utilize branding and reputation management to achieve their goals. The central research aim is to understand how such organizations, exemplified by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, can effectively communicate with their audiences, maintain donor loyalty, and overcome the phenomenon of "Compassion Fatigue" by acting as "Social Movement Brands".
- The influence of neoliberalism on the marketization of non-profit sectors.
- The mechanism of Compassion Fatigue and its impact on traditional charitable communication.
- The application of brand logic and reputation management as a tool for NPNGOs.
- The role of merchandise and visual identity as interface for audience bonding.
- Sea Shepherd’s digital communication strategies on YouTube, their official website, and their online shop.
Excerpt from the Book
1. Introduction
During the last two decades, independent non-governmental organisations have experienced an enormous increase in importance in political discourse. The enhanced role NGOs nowadays play became evident in the recent decisions to strip attac’s German section and Sea Shepherd’s Australian section of their status as recipients of tax-deductible donations. Many political commentators contextualised these decisions with the power contemporary NGOs have. These decisions have been seen as attempts to weaken their financial position and consequently, their capacity to act as some of them can get harmful for traditional political and economic elites. “NGOs have reached a point where they can exert a direct impact on the financial performance of companies” (Beaudoin 2004: 366) and especially those who are active in environmental and social causes now have to be considered as an important, influential and active part of social and political discourse creation. Thus, they have now the power to shape decision making in economics and policy (Beaudoin 2004).To explain the development of NGOs’ raising importance, manifold reasons such as “the end of the cold war and the emergence of new communication technologies” (Vestergaard 2008: 471) can be adduced. Their influences possibly have been rising over the last decades due to contemporary opportunities to reach the addressed audiences via traditional and new media. Furthermore, politics is no separated autarchic field (Luhmann 1989) but influenced by the media, the public discourse and the political parties to mention just a few factors.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Discusses the rising importance of NGOs in contemporary political discourse and establishes the thesis's focus on their communication strategies.
6. Communicating and Performing in Neoliberal Environments: Analyzes the impact of neoliberalism and the "marketised world" on how non-profit organizations must communicate.
7. Altered Requirements – NPNGOs facing the Neoliberal Reality: Examines the challenges of Compassion Fatigue and shifting generational attitudes toward donating.
8. How to Sell the Good Conscience?: Introduces the theoretical framework of branding and reputation management adapted for non-profits.
9. The Information Ocean of Sea Shepherd: Provides an overview of Sea Shepherd as an organization and the specific research methods used in the study.
10. How Sea Shepherd Communicates via the Internet: Analyzes the organization's use of YouTube, their website, and their online shop as branding tools.
11. Selling the Image: Discusses the role of merchandise and business cooperations in maintaining Sea Shepherd’s status as a brand.
12. Sea Shepherd and Compassion Fatigue: Evaluates how Sea Shepherd successfully avoids Compassion Fatigue by steering clear of excessive victim-representation in their media.
13. Sea Shepherd’s Reputation Management as Branding Effort: Summarizes the organization's multifaceted approach to reputation management.
14. Summarising Conclusion: Finalizes the research findings, confirming that Sea Shepherd operates as a successful Social Movement Brand.
Keywords
Branding, conservation, Compassion Fatigue, marketization, neoliberalism, NGO, non-profit, Paul Watson, Reputation Management, Sea Shepherd, social movements, Generation Y, digital communication, narrative, visual identity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this thesis?
The thesis explores how modern non-profit, non-governmental organizations (NPNGOs) utilize branding strategies and reputation management to navigate a neoliberal, marketized environment.
What are the primary themes discussed?
Key themes include the shift in NGO communication in a digital age, the phenomenon of Compassion Fatigue, the role of branding in non-profit contexts, and the commercialization of social movements.
What is the ultimate research objective?
The goal is to determine how organizations like Sea Shepherd use their brand potential to foster donor loyalty and public engagement, specifically avoiding the pitfalls of Compassion Fatigue.
Which methodology is employed?
The research adopts a qualitative, in-depth content and textual analysis, focusing on specific communication channels like YouTube clips, website structure, and merchandise sales.
What does the main body analyze?
It provides a deep dive into the practical application of branding by Sea Shepherd, examining their online presence, the "pirate" branding narrative, and their business cooperations.
Which keywords define this work?
Important terms include Branding, Compassion Fatigue, marketization, non-profit, Reputation Management, Sea Shepherd, and social movements.
Why does Sea Shepherd use "pirate" imagery?
The "pirate" branding is a strategic choice, capitalizing on the "cool" and "sympathetic" associations with the pirate trope (e.g., from *Pirates of the Caribbean*) to engage younger, new supporters.
How does Sea Shepherd address Compassion Fatigue?
Sea Shepherd avoids the over-representation of distant suffering, preferring to focus on a narrative of action, heroism, and accomplishment to prevent audience apathy.
- Citation du texte
- Marcel Weigel (Auteur), 2015, Save the Whales - Don't Cry for Them! How the Social Movement Brand ‘Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’ Eludes Compassion Fatigue through Branding, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/312947
