Nick Sutherland, strategy director, Heavenly discussed the importance of brand:

• Branding is a tool for increasing engagement
• With social media there are news ways of engaging people - it's a two-way conversation.
• The internet has moved people away from passive consumption to active participation.
• Your brand is important in the digital landscape as it distills your values and is easily shareable.

Nick's top tips for brand development:

• Perspective - how are you perceived? Write an obitiuary for your organisation and see what values and actions come up. 
• Purpose - what to you do? how do you do it? Belief-led ideas are the most appealing to today's consumers. 
• Focus - map your brand. Pin down a set of values that people can connect with.
• Story - what stories does your organisation tell? Your brand tells your story concisely.
• Signpost - people like to identify with a set of values or archetypes.  Look at who you are today, and who you want to be in the future.

Download Nick's presentation as a PDF

Gareth Hyde, head of editorial, BBC Children in Need talked about how to make the crucial 'ask' to your fundraisers:

• Think about your brand all the time - give it care and attention.
• Pudsey Bear is the cheerleader for fundraisers and he says 'thank you' - but he is equally at home with the beneficiaries of funds, at a children's hospice, for example.
• Know who your brand is representing AND talking to, for example, Pudsey didn't work on Twitter but BBCIN does.
• If you can, ask your supporters what they they think of your brand and how it could be improved.
• Always tell a story:  where a child is, how Children in Need can help, what happened - positive outcome.

Download Gareth's presentation as a PDF