Behind the Brand 2026
Insights from charity & nonprofit leaders
Behind the Brand 2026 shines a timely light on the realities of brand leadership across the third sector today. Drawing on a sector-wide survey and in-depth interviews, the report explores the challenges brand leaders face, the factors that help them succeed, and the role organisations can play in enabling more effective, joined-up brand thinking.
For the best viewing experience, use the full-screen option. If you’re viewing on mobile or prefer to read offline, you can download the PDF here (3.4MB).
Five key themes
Insights are grouped around five key themes that emerged from the survey responses and interviews. Some of these are familiar – others, unexpected – but all reflect the pressures brand leaders in this sector continue to face as well as the progress being made:
Insight themes:
- Brand leaders are influential… but influence is fragile
- Capacity, budget and “random acts of branding” are the universal barriers
- Rebrands are common… and often driven by the same three things
- Organisations value evidence in theory… but not always in practice
- Brand leadership is becoming more complex – emotionally as well as structurally
Download a PDF version of the report here.
What shines through is that in complex and uncertain times such as these, developing and maintaining a strong brand has never been more important. It plays a vital role in helping the sector connect with its many audiences – from beneficiaries and supporters, to funders, policymakers and partners.
Brand may be underfunded and vulnerable during periods of economic pressure. Brand leaders may still be under-represented at board level. But at the same time, more organisations are recognising how central brand is to their success.
A clear path forward
With something for everyone involved in this sector – the report concludes with valuable recommendations for trustees, senior leadership teams, agencies and external partners, and for the very brand, marketing and communications teams that responded to our research.
These are tangible ways that will see brand leadership – for too long, unseen and unsung – brought out from behind the brand and better equipped to help build the thriving, resilient organisations that drive lasting change.
Interested in discussing the findings?
If any of the themes in Behind the Brand 2026 resonate with your experience – or raise questions about how brand leadership shows up in your organisation – I’d love to hear from you. Whether you’re a trustee, senior leader or part of a brand, marketing or communications team, this research is intended to spark better conversations.
