One logo does not always translate to one cohesive brand. One of our clients, a global management consulting firm, learned this first hand. After a series of acquisitions and internal restructuring, management was focused on creating a “one firm” mentality, More
There’s growing consensus that buying power is shifting away from the CIO. Recently, there’s been a lot of attention given to the changing profile of the B2B technology buyer. According to new survey results from Forrester Research, more than 40 More
Does your corporate brand translate effectively to recruits? This is something we always encourage clients to think about when going through a branding initiative. After all, the best talent has choices. If your company hasn’t thought about how this important More
Pwc recently released the results of their 16th Annual US CEO Survey. It’s an interesting report with a focus on how the 167 US-based CEOs surveyed plan to create value an uncertain economy. There were three findings in particular that More
We’ve written before about a common trap many challenger brands fall into: to compete with the Goliath in the industry, they feel the need to focus on the ways in which their offering is “just as good” as the big More
It’s no secret that Bank of America has suffered some reputation hits since the financial crisis – from high-profile lawsuits blaming the bank’s lending practices for the housing bust to public outcry over plans to charge new fees to checking More
The visual aspects of a brand are what creates the overall “brand identity,” a way for audiences to create perceptions about your brand based on the consistency of images, language, font, design, and of course, colors. Color plays a crucial More
We recently found ourselves in the following conversation: Client: We need to engage employees in our company’s new mission. We need your help with the execution of the communications campaign. We already have the positioning and messaging. The CEO wrote More
There’s a lot of buzz around the term ‘Big Data’ right now. For the most part, B2B marketers know it’s something that should be on their radar, but it’s very easy to get stuck in the weeds. So, what is More
Last year we published a whitepaper that examined how professional services firms can leverage the power of branding to stand out in an increasingly competitive industry. It’s fairly comprehensive in covering the process of building a solid and differentiated brand, More
Banking is no longer a place you go, but something you do. This is the underlying argument in Brett King’s new book, Bank 3.0 (an update to 2010’s Bank 2.0), which examines the widening gap between how customers choose and More
It’s been a little over a year since we launched our BrandEd blog. In that time we have focused on a range of topics specific to B2B branding and marketing – from advertising and online video to employee engagement, mobile More
This year, the University of California debuted a new logo, meant to “project a forward looking spirit” and act as an adaptable image for the university in an increasingly digital world. Unexpectedly, the rebranding resulted in widespread backlash from the More
The “Best Content” series brings you a handful of the most thought-provoking and informative articles and webinars related to B2B marketing and branding published over the last year, broken down into bite-size pieces for your convenience. 1. Content Marketing Trends: More
LinkedIn’s newly redesigned company pages allow for a much more visually engaging, interactive, and personalized interface—a welcomed upgrade we were eager to take advantage of! Using our own company page as an example, we’ve highlighted some of the things we More
When it comes to customer relations and CSR, many companies are finding that a small group of customers are making their voices heard louder and louder through every forum available to them—which are abundant is today’s digital age. An article More
Recently, two members of the DeSantis Breindel team led an AIGA/NY Breakfast Club discussion entitled “An Office Romance” which provided attendees with insider tips and tricks for working smarter with colors, fonts, templates, master pages, and style sheets in the More
Despite the development of digital platforms that offer compliance protection, there still seems to be hesitation and skepticism among financial advisors when it comes to social media. According to an SEI quick poll surveying 185 financial advisors, nearly 56% said More
We recently went through a branding project with a client in the tech industry, whose tablet-based application boasted extreme ease of use and accessibility. The client was adamant about establishing ‘usability’ as a core component of its brand. We’ve heard More
It goes without saying that the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy will be felt by many for months to come. Last week, we saw first hand how businesses and individuals acted (and reacted) to the devastation and destruction, many going above More
Language is a critical component of any brand. The words you use to describe your company, your offering, your clients and even your own people can have a profound impact on how key audiences think about your firm. We were More
Is our firm’s brand (still) working? This was a key concern voiced by bank marketing executives at the recent American Bankers Association Marketing Conference in San Diego. Seth Margolis, our fearless leader in all things brand strategy, led a discussion More
Often, when mid-size companies compete with their industry’s larger, global power players, they overcompensate by highlighting the ways in which their offerings are just as broad and deep as their multi-national competitors’. As a result, these companies – the challenger More
Last week at the PRSA-NY chapter “Town Hall Lunch Meeting, PR strategist and co-author of “World Class Communication,” Virgil Scudder, led an intriguing discussion on how to be a best-in-class communicator. The focus of the talk was how great communication More
Can the choice of a particular font include political and ideological implications? This is precisely what attendees tried to uncover at Typography and Power, a two-day conference where participants examined how type and print influence the political realm. Inspired by More
Social media channels represent a great way for companies to connect with customers, prospects, shareholders, employees, and the public as a whole on a more human level. Social media is a forum that encourages the sharing of opinions and individual More
Mitt Romney’s recent VP pick, Paul Ryan, has the media buzzing, devoting all their time and effort to dissecting the true identity of the Congressman from Wisconsin. The media is attempting to answer an important question for this election: what More
As part of a recent rebranding project for a client, we recommended developing a recruitment video – a 2-3 minute film featuring interns and employees talking about what it was like to work at the firm. The client, an investment More
Much has been written about ‘key man’ risk — the danger for corporations that rely on one or a few individuals — and its impact on business value. Fashion firms with a celebrity designer, for example, or asset management firms More
Consolidation is nothing new in the professional services industry. The pace of M&A activity has not slowed down in recent years. Many firms, still recovering from recessionary woes, look to mergers to achieve growth goals. As designers and strategists, we More
Last week, IBM released the results of their 2012 Global Survey of Marketers, an annual report that surveyed over 350 marketing professionals across the globe, offering a wealth of new data from a balanced mix of B2B and B2C companies. More
The banking industry is at a decisive inflection point. And recent events have only sustained a feeling of unfairness and disillusionment with big banks in particular. The result: trust in banks at an all time low, and more people are More
Last week, we attended the Business Marketing Association’s Annual Conference in Chicago. It was 48 hours of intensive discussion with B2B leaders who are making their companies grow – marketing heaven! While many of the presentations provided important insights, there More
A tagline is an expression of your brand, an effective way to concisely communicate its unique value proposition with impact. Recently, Accounting Today put together a list of their favorite accounting firm taglines, identifying sixteen that they felt went “beyond More
Recently, Fortune Magazine published its annual list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For. It’s impossible to ignore the fact that the majority of companies that land a spot on the list are big corporations with very deep pockets. More
The ironic thing about your brand’s image is that you can’t actually see it. Image as it relates to your brand is a metaphor, an idea meant to conjure up the assured sense of truth that comes with witnessing something concrete (and hopefully positive) with your own eyes. Your customers can’t see loyalty, trust, or any other quality, but an effective brand strategy can help them make the connection. First though, you’ll need to learn to see these qualities yourself. More
We recently came across an interesting article in Accounting Today that examined the expansion of accounting firms, noting specifically the growing trend of “expanding any way you can” across vertical and geographical markets. The industry as a whole seems to More
Pharma companies are especially active when it comes to corporate social responsibility (CSR). According to The Foundation Center’s “Key Facts on Corporate Foundations” Report, the pharmaceutical industry held the second largest share of corporate foundation giving (at 15.2%) in 2009, More
Visual icons are deeply engrained in our culture, recognizable in an instant and possessing powerful connotations. To someone from a different culture or time, modern images would mean very little, yet images of a classic Coca-Cola bottle or Che Guevara More
A digital world, one that is highly social and intricately connected, is based on transparency: everyone knows everything at all times. Fast-paced communication means that news, information, and opinions are exchanged constantly. At a moment in time when everyone is More
Recently, we did some research into how investment managers brand themselves. Specifically, we wanted to identify the brand positioning and key messages of industry leaders. In compiling these core brand assets, we were struck by how generically and blandly investment More
Corporate breakups are the new black. And Wall Street is buzzing as company after company looks to spin-off to create greater value for shareholders, despite the weak economy. With all the commotion, it can be easy to forget that breaking More
In today’s connected marketing environment, where the conversation never ends and every message can link across platforms, the static Integrated Marketing model that has guided marketers for nearly 20 years needs to be upgraded to a less linear approach. Smart business marketers with high stakes riding on the success of their singular brand message reaching customers at all touch points ought to synchronize, not integrate, their marketing plans. More
Achieving the right relationship between a company’s brand and its philanthropic or volunteer efforts is a delicate balancing act. But it’s well worth the effort. This whitepaper identifies four overarching principles that can guide a company in aligning corporate social responsibility activities with the corporate brand for authenticity and impact. More
Me-too brands just don’t cut it anymore in the professional services arena. This whitepaper examines best practices for creating a distinctive and compelling brand position in professional services. More
Picture this. You’re sitting at your desk flipping through a small stack of mail. Most of it is publications, but there are a few direct mail letters, and one is from a bank. You recognize the name: they’ve just bought More
When it comes to maximizing the impact of corporate volunteer programs, a well thought-out branding and communications strategy can be your most powerful tool. This whitepaper shares seven principles for leveraging communications to enhance the long-term success and impact of your employee volunteer program. More
The recent, and arguably hasty, announcement of Meg Whitman taking the reins as HP’s new CEO, ignited a firestorm in the press with everyone weighing in on Whitman’s ability to succeed in turning the ailing technology company around. So much More
The recent market turmoil forced many organizations, including one of our clients, an established association serving the banking industry, to reexamine their brands. The weak economy had hit our client’s members — banks of all sizes — particularly hard, and More
The Wall Street Journal recently published an article about AT&T’s D.C. advertising campaign aimed at convincing regulators and lawmakers of the merits of the proposed T-Mobile USA takeover. The ads focus on how merging the two companies will result in More
Every week, we are publishing new content to BrandEd, our thought leadership series on branding and marketing. Sign up to get the most relevant updates sent directly to your inbox.