What’s In a (Campaign) Name?
Across all the campaign communications work we do—from case development to branding to materials and strategy—nothing presents quite so much intrigue and unpredictability as choosing a campaign name. When it goes right, it’s a magical moment that galvanizes your leadership and makes the campaign feel both more visionary and more real. When it goes wrong, it feels like trying to get 12 people to agree on a single pizza order (and commit to it for five years).
After a decade-plus of naming campaigns of all sizes and styles, we’ve developed a trusty framework for the why, what, and how of campaign names. It doesn’t take all the magic out of the process, but it does increase your chance for success and help you keep your head on straight at key decision points.
WHY: What does a strong campaign name do for you?
Let’s start with a skeptical take: If Harvard can raise $9.6 billion with “The Harvard Campaign,” does any of this matter at all? Setting aside that there may be more strategy there than meets the eye (is your organizational brand as strong as Harvard’s?), we can still point to no known instance of a donor making a major gift because of the campaign name.
Nevertheless, a strong campaign name does at least three things for you:
- Elevates the campaign as a special effort and sets it apart from day-to-day communications and appeals
- Establishes focus for campaign communications and commits you to specific themes and creative directions that will make the campaign feel cohesive across its countless touchpoints
- Galvanizes leadership, volunteer, and staff at a critical early moment in the campaign, often as one of the earliest “big decisions” in the campaign
All of this doesn’t mean you always need a campaign name (especially for smaller campaigns), but it at least establishes why it might be worth the fuss.
WHAT: What makes a good campaign name?
Four and a half things:
- Sounds good out loud and flows naturally in conversation. If you don’t actually enjoy saying it in a sentence, get ready to hear people just call it “the campaign” for the next five years. This consideration also usually weighs in favor of keeping the name very short. (Gauge the length in syllables, not words, by the way.)
- Sticks in your memory and could realistically transmit word-of-mouth among your volunteers, donors, and other stakeholders who aren’t being paid to remember and repeat it.
- Sets the right tone and feeling for the campaign. This is often more important than conveying information about the campaign (not the name’s primary job), and it sets the table for a successful visual branding of the campaign once the name is approved.
- Creates possibilities for campaign creative and messaging. If it works on multiple levels or gets you thinking about all the things you could do with it, those are good signs. (And if it feels like it locks you into telling the story in only one overly specific way for several long years, that may be a red flag.)
- (Optional) Gives a clue to the substance of the campaign. Again, you really don’t need the name to convey much information – a “pure vibes” name can be just right – but if it does convey something meaningful about the content or impact of the campaign, that’s a nice bonus.
HOW: How should you approach naming your campaign?
- Follow a structured process that invites input but retains clarity on decision-making. Generally, this means engaging a small group of collaborators, brainstorming a list of 100+ terrible concepts (not a bad place to engage AI), building out 3-5 “short list” concepts for core campaign staff to review, then narrowing down to 2-3 concepts for leadership and volunteers to choose between. Be clear from the outset, though, whether staff leadership or volunteers will own the final decision.
- Don’t make a futon. What’s a futon? It’s when you can’t decide between a bed and a couch, so you end up with the worst imaginable version of both. If you’re struggling to choose between two final concepts, resist the urge to combine them into an unholy chimera. Stay focused, pick the one with the best possibilities and strip the other for parts (often your favorite qualities of the runner-up can find a place in messaging or materials).
- Remember that the best name is an approved name. For all that a good name can do for you, be careful of dragging the process out, iterating endlessly, and (especially) sapping volunteer leadership energy at an early-campaign moment when you really need to be building collective momentum.
Even with the most structured process, naming still inevitably feels a bit like catching lightning in a bottle—but with enough clarity about your campaign vision/case, a bit of time for an iterative process, and enough trust among your core collaborators, just about any organization can get to the other side with a powerful name and fresh creative momentum to build on.
We want to hear from you!
We’d love to hear about your favorite fundraising campaign names—those that truly left an impression and inspired you to give, share, or get excited about the cause. Leave a comment below. We’ll review and highlight the most impactful ones!
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