We’ve been attending a variety of info sessions over the last few days. One of the most interesting was a session entitled “The Science of Sharing” that explored the different cultural and emotional triggers that cause us to distribute certain videos, and not others, and how the results you want can be emulated to maximize sharing potential. They conducted an intriguing experiment during the session. Audience members were asked to watch three different types of branded video content and choose which video they would be most likely to share.

One video, which featured cats with opposable thumbs, was the unanimous winner. In fact, according to viralvideochart.com when the video was launched at the end of April 2012, it went viral with 5,638,900 views to date and 573,248 Facebook shares — a success by any stretch of the word. But the question explored during the panel was why? Why did the video featuring cats with opposable thumbs go viral?

There are a number of factors that contribute to our perception of images and the composition of video. One of the reasons the cat video went viral was the use of cats in and of itself. Everyone loves a good cat video, and regardless of the content of the other two videos, most people would respond most positively to the video containing cute animals. But more than that, this video contained a storyline—cats with opposable thumbs playing card games, drinking in bars and dancing. In other words, they were engaging in activities almost all of us can relate to and are familiar with, but the story had a slight twist in that these were cats — not people – doing all of this normal human stuff.

The discovery was made that videos with higher sharing rates are the ones which provoke a physiological response; whether it is laughter, tears, anger or disgust. high arousal responses are a big reason why people share certain videos and not others. Videos with positive high arousal responses have higher share rates than videos with negative high arousal responses, however the bottom line is that stirring up an emotion in the viewer makes for more shareable content. Viewers that are engaged on an emotional and cultural level — rather than, say, in the product benefits and attributes realm — want to share that video with others. What does sharing do? It makes for higher enjoyment because people are sharing with friends, colleagues, family members, and sharing encourages brand association as well as higher recall. The key take away here is that videos are more likely to go viral if they possess those emotional triggers that make us human.

DeSantis Breindel Offices

B2B firms are historically more conservative in their corporate practices due to the gravity of their client responsibilities, and the professional nature they hope to promote in their offices to ensure that business is being conducted in the most productive and proficient manner possible. This is part of the reason why even with increasingly laid-back work attire that can be seen in offices in the last decade, suits and ties are still a standard practice among accounting, consulting, and financial services firms. The wearing of a suit conjures an image of professionalism and order in the workspace, in the same way that the design and layout of a workspace does. Cubicles, conference rooms, file drawers, personal photos and coffee mugs with your brand’s logo all scream “office space” to anyone familiar with the corporate world.

This begs the question, what happens when corporate giants change the dynamic of their workspaces by creating an “officeless office.” The Wall Street Journal recently published an article on the implementation of open workspaces that is trending among companies like American Express, GlaxoSmithKline, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.  An open workspace is just that; no cubicles, no private secluded areas– just open space with plenty of tables which employees share, and they can easily converse with one another simply by turning their head. Not only is the initiative more environmentally friendly because it reduces the footprint building big and separated offices spaces can produce, it also cuts down real estate costs and saves companies millions in rent and energy costs because employees are working closer together, which facilitates sharing.

However, the most valuable outcome of the innovative open office structure is that it actually encourages workers to converse with one another face to face more often than through email, making it easier to come to conclusions instead of going back and forth via email. The article reads, “In surveys of employees who switched from assigned cubicles and offices, Glaxo found email traffic dropped by more than 50%, while decision making accelerated by some 25% because workers were able to meet informally instead of volleying emails from offices and cubes.”

Robert Nash, Glaxo’s director of U.S. environment health and safety says of the change, “I am spending less time emailing with colleagues and more time instead in brief, casual meetings, which lead to quicker decisions.” Employee engagement is a key contributor to the building of a strong corporate culture. The implementation of open workspaces seems to facilitate a work environment where collaboration is valued, opinions and viewpoints are shared,  and discussions  take place in person rather than behind computer screens and 4 foot tall walls which tend to create a feeling of inaccessibility and separation with individuals who are supposed to be your colleagues.

So, if tearing down the cubicle walls is enough to spark collaboration and a sense of community, then perhaps a key element of any culture building program should be providing employees with a work space that connects them on a human level, rather than on an incessantly digital level. An employee at PricewaterhouseCoopers says she appreciates being able to have a more interactive setting at work, stating that she learned a lot about her colleagues by sitting at their desks, surrounded by their personal items. “I like looking at everyone else’s kids…I think it makes us all feel closer to each other.”

DeSantis Breindel Offices

At DeSantis Breindel, we recently moved to a new office with open workspaces, and often find that it not only makes for an airier and more pleasant environment, but also fosters productivity. Employees meet at each other’s desks for small discussions and are able to ask quick questions or opinions without sending an email or instant message. It makes for a less stuffy environment, where ideas and thoughts are exchanged face to face, creating more effective, faster, and productive decision making processes. Business does not need to be personal, but perhaps adding an element of openness that fosters communication and free thinking could be the key to creating not only a more enjoyable and productive workspace, but an engaged and collaborative workforce.

As strategists and designers, we are always curious about the applications of color in culture and business. Earlier this year, we examined the prevalence of the color blue in financial services brands and weren’t surprised to find that these firms were eager to associate themselves with all that blue represents – stability, integrity and trust.

Recently, we did a similar study with B2B technology brands. Not surprisingly, we found that of the top 100 technology firms today, more than half had elements of strong, bold, and authoritative blue and black in their logos. However, we were intrigued to find that technology brands diverge from their financial services counterparts in a very interesting way- they combine colors to differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace. By using a mixture of colors, two ideas can be put forth at once. Tech companies look to be forward thinking and futuristic, one step ahead at all times. What better way to position themselves as visionaries than by utilizing color to send multiple messages at once?

For example, the color black implies a sense of seriousness and professionalism. It is classic and bold. Conversely, red connotes aggression, passion, energy, vitality, strength. The combination of these two colors send us a certain message, this being ‘we are not only serious about our business, we’re passionate about it.’ This may seem like a lot of information to derive from a few color combinations. However, color can put forth immense psychological associations that influence our opinion and perception of certain brands, without our even realizing its importance.

Using color to send a particular message about a brand is not only effective, but allows companies to constantly innovate and set themselves apart. Tech companies want to appear cutting edge, innovative, and original, but also authentic, trustworthy and stable.

Black and yellow is also a common color combination. Yellow signifies positivity, sunshine, friendliness. The combination of black and yellow is one that says ‘we’re steadfast and professional about our business, but we are accessible.’ Similar concepts can be associated with the juxtaposition of orange and blue. Blue connotes authority, dignity, security, and faithfulness while orange implies warm exuberance, fun, cheeriness. Together, they send a message of trustworthiness and approachability.

By using black or blue as a foundation, tech companies are positioning themselves as strong and dependable, but infusing a vibrant accent color allows them to also appear energetic, approachable, and friendly. There is a reason why many tech companies are following this trend; it’s because logos act as more than just an appealing representation of your company on a website or business card. It’s a way of sending key audiences a strong message about their brand and what it represents through a visual form we are all familiar with.

It is impossible to ignore the increasingly important role that content is playing in B2B marketing, especially for professional services brands. In a world inundated with information, professional services firms that are able to deliver valuable, relevant content in compelling, engaging and even entertaining communications platforms that make their prospects smarter and also hold the key to industry-dominating thought-leadership status.

For classic media companies, content production is directly correlated with monetary profit. But for non-media companies, content is created to attract new customers and keep existing customers engaged and interested. Professional services firms are especially challenged because the content they produce not only competes with other consultants in the field, but with the plethora of information provided on the Internet as a whole. 

Creating quality content takes patience and commitment but more than that, when you’re in competition with the World Wide Web (literally), the real opportunity to stand out is by producing content that others are not. To do this, firms must make sure their content strategy aligns closely with their brand. This means finding that content niche that is truest to the brand, with content that is most credible and unique coming from the firm. That is what will make clients and prospects pay attention.

One thing you can guarantee your competitors don’t have: your people. Professional services firms are essentially information gold mines; they’re full of highly capable and experienced professionals in a range of subjects who have dealt with varying clients and have been exposed to best and worst practices as they occur in actual business situations. Opportunity is the key word to remember here—the opportunity to leverage this amazing depth of human capital to create truly unique content and deliver it to B2B buyers in a synchronized fashion across all touch points.

Professional services firms that have had the most successful in content marketing are the ones that have been able to utilize their most valuable resource — top executives and employees. Insights made by executives are based upon their daily business interactions in their fields of expertise. Therefore, their insights make for an effective way of not only creating original content, but creating content that has real time value for prospects and customers.

Of course, content can come in many forms; podcasts, videos, whitepapers, blog posts, webinars, and even infographics; and all are viable and engaging when done efficiently and effectively. For example, Accenture, has separate, specialized blogs for every industry they serve as well as newsletter subscriptions and podcasts for consumption — all prominently featuring the industry expert (and member of the Accenture team) that developed the content. In addition to ‘classic’ forms of content though, Accenture promotes online events that showcase live debates on current issues between industry leaders. PwC lists global monthly highlights on their site as they relate to their different business sectors, and they provide a series of video interviews with the companies top executives, covering varying topics from managing talent to building competitiveness. The executives interviewed in this series oversee PwC businesses in countries all over the world, so the interviews showcase their varying perceptions and assessments on current issues as they occur on a monthly or even weekly basis.

The fact is professional services firms must become storytellers, not simply content producers, in order to get noticed. To do this, firms must turn to their most treasured assets — people! Executive knowledge can be used as a way of providing real-world insights from professionals who have experienced the business first hand. What better storyteller is there than the professional services executive who has just returned from an international conference on the state of affairs in the world of accounting, real estate, or some related field?

No matter what size your firm is, the key to identifying your content niche is by looking internally. Here lies a deep pool of credible sources, valuable and relevant content, and insights that cannot be found elsewhere because they are entirely unique to your firm. Thus, allowing your company’s content to be truly original.

One of the more interesting findings was that, while CSR professionals typically enjoy their work, they don’t always see a future in it. This is largely because there is no clearly established CSR career ladder. The article explains, “The CSR field is barely 30 years old, and what, exactly, a corporate responsibility professional does it still up for debate.” This begs the question, how can companies ensure their CSR professionals are continually motivated, and, in turn, boost the impact and reach of their CSR efforts?

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce report suggests that companies make it clear to future business leaders and jobseekers that “CR knowledge and skills are valuable and part of what they want to see in future employees.” However, there is more to invigorating CSR professionals than just instilling a sense of need. There are obvious benefits for large companies that pursue CSR programs, but achieving the right relationship between a company’s brand and its philanthropic efforts is a delicate balancing act.

In The Halo Effect, we examined the difficult task of balancing authenticity and reputation in CSR efforts. In the spirit of this whitepaper, we’ve found that there are no easy answers when it comes to proper CSR practices. While developing CSR as an academic field of study may help to make it a more credible and concrete career path for future generations of business professionals, a more tangible solution involves raising the profile of CSR within the organization itself.

After all, what better way to rejuvenate a CSR initiative then by galvanizing the people who make the company function successfully and flourish? Employees represent the most powerful brand communications channel, and keeping them informed and engaged in CSR activities can not only add a sense of excitement and commitment among the workforce, but also authenticity and validity to the good works being done. As we examined in a recent article, finding out what motivates employees to get involved in CSR activities and then building a communications campaign around those inspirations can go a long way in driving participation.

If CSR professionals are able to renew enthusiasm in a cause on behalf of the company, then the entire workforce will feel more pride in the work they have accomplished together, as well as the company itself. In addition, CSR professionals will feel increasingly valued and appreciated because their company supports them in the initiatives they’ve implemented. While this may not solve the problem of validating the CSR profession itself, it is certainly a win-win for the organization.

We recently published a whitepaper that examines why video is such a powerful storytelling tool: simultaneous use of imagery, voices, and music create an instant emotional connection between subject and viewer — a breath of fresh air in what is often a technical and complex B2B world. Video also requires little effort on the part of the audience yet delivers a huge impact. And now thanks to portable technology and social media, the ability to create, view, and share video is in everyone’s hands—literally.

Little wonder, then, that firms are increasingly using video in addition to–or even instead of–text to communicate on the Web. Emarketer.com predicts that online video will be the fastest growing ad format in 2012, with 55% growth expected this year. They also state that nearly 87% of US brands and agencies leveraged videos for their content marketing programs due to its ‘dynamic, visual content format.’ Stats like this prove that video is quickly becoming the most popular medium in the B2B marketer’s digital toolkit.

While we are enthusiastic advocates of the power of online video, we caution B2B marketers to avoid a “jump on the bandwagon” mentality when developing their digital marketing strategy.  Just like any type of content, a video is only an effective marketing tool if it aligns with a company’s overall brand strategy. For example, we recently developed a video series for a client in the energy conservation consulting industry. Their brand is all about empowering their customers – superintendents of public schools across the U.S – through cost savings associated with energy reduction. The video series showcases testimonials directly from customers, highlighting their positive experiences with the firm and how they have been able to leverage those cost savings to improve their school district. Having the testimonials in video format allows prospects to see themselves in the shoes of their peers in a way that written testimonials could not. And, importantly, the firm’s key brand message of empowerment through savings is clearly communicated in a compelling and emotional way.

Video can also be a powerful tool for explaining a complex or confusing concept. For example, when one of our clients was having a hard time explaining their unique business model to investors, we produced a video aimed at showing how the business strategy, although unconventional, had the potential to deliver shareholder value. The corporate video gave investors an inside look at the company’s locations across the country, where they could see how economies of scale and a commitment to innovation were driving value creation. Through the video, investors were also able to “meet” the industry-experienced executives by offering a personal look at the company and its people. Investors could literally hear their voices, see their faces and have a first hand view of their commitment to the company and its goals. As a result, investors were assured that company had the infrastructure, the business strategy – and the executive talent – needed to deliver value to shareholders. Watch the video below:

In a similar vein, Deloitte facilitated much publicity and acclaim for their employee-generated video competition, where employees were asked, “What’s Your Deloitte?” This initiative was meant to give employees an opportunity to represent on video what life is like inside Deloitte, and what their work experience meant to them, so recruitment efforts could have a more candid and personalized aspect to it. Brian Fugere, partner at Deloitte Consulting responsible for special projects relating to brand, strategy, and communication, discusses the campaign in a report from Internalcommshub.com. He speaks to the natural impact video has, “There’s something about video that’s so engaging to generation Y- and I felt that was something [Deloitte] could take advantage of.”

Before engaging in a video campaign, Deloitte marketers were careful in deciding exactly what approach they wanted to take, in order to be consistent with their brand message, make the content strategic, and have a viral impact not only internally but also externally, as to drive interest around their brand through their most valuable assets—their employees. Fugere explains the core mission behind the video competition; “It was a simple enough concept not to be too prescriptive or propagandist. But it was also descriptive enough to encourage people to produce the kind of things we had in mind. All that we wanted, really, was for our people to get to the heart of what Deloitte meant to them, and to show that feeling to people who might want to join us. And that’s what they did.”

As added incentive, the first prize of the video competition was a free trip to Sundance Film Festival for their team. The response was massive: over 2000 employees participated in the competition, over 30,000 people viewed and voted on the entries which generated over 400,000 hits to the internal website. For a relatively low cost, Deloitte was able to make a big (positive) impact on their brand perception.

A key factor for marketers to remember is that video is most effective when it is one component of an effective synchronized marketing initiative. The ability to connect with customers, prospects, and recruits through a variety of channels ultimately maximizes reach and emphasizes the core brand message. Don’t just jump on the bandwagon, though —develop and plan a strategic and relevant online video campaign that aligns with your brand. Doing this will ensure your marketing program is fully benefiting from the impact of this innovative, immediate, and impactful content sharing platform.

Check out Deloitte’s YouTube Channel below to watch some of the employee-produced videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/DeloitteFilmFest

Clearly, there are plenty of perks associated with working for companies like Google and Salesforce: free food, childcare and doctors on site, places to take naps during the work day, and lavish holiday parties with acrobats serving champagne. It’s easy to assume that these companies are successful because extravagant perks motivate their employees. However, it’s important to remember that the companies on this list not only have deep pockets, but also boast brands that employees and customers alike are proud to be associated with. Their names hold a certain caché. When you say “I work for Google” or “I work for Salesforce,” you’re revealing a lot more than who writes your paycheck. You’re saying “I’m cutting edge, I’m tech savvy, I’m in the know, I’m innovative.” It’s not the incentives alone—it’s the brand being built around these companies, and their associations, that make them the “best companies to work for.”

How can a company build a strong brand from the inside-out in an effort to galvanize employees? Companies must invest the time and effort in communicating with their employees, converting them into brand ambassadors. By developing a deep understanding of the brand, what it stands for, and how it impacts their behavior, employees can live the brand at every internal and external touch point.  As a result, this communication will further their perception of the brand and enable them to advocate for it. After all, a brand is not what you say about yourself; it’s what your most important audiences say about you. This includes customers, investors, prospects, and shareholders; but equally essential are the employees.

Perks are great, but a strong brand that employees are proud to be associated with is even more important to creating an environment that inspires and motivates employees. Most companies will never be able to compete with Google and Salesforce and other giants when it comes to incentives, but they can compete by creating a strong brand that instills pride in their employees and promotes a happier and more unified workforce.

We recently put what we like to call “the LCD Principle” to use for a client in the financial services sector during the development of an ad campaign involving a tremendous media integration effort, especially within the digital space. The campaign was to be deployed across nearly 100 different publications through a variety of channels including web, mobile, print, and radio. During the preliminary creative stages, we tested concepts by focusing first on how they played out in the smallest ad spaces. This strategy helped us identify which concepts were the most effective in communicating the core message of the campaign in the most engaging way. The result was the creation of a distinctive campaign that grabbed attention and delivered the message.

Not only does following the LCD Principle deliver a more effective, concise and easy-to-deploy campaign, it also has the potential to attract an audience of more interested buyers. A recent post from Compete.com highlighted a kitchen-appliance campaign from Kohl’s that ran in both small and large ad sizes. The post notes that “As you might expect the larger ad got many more clickthroughs….What you might not expect, is that the small ad actually performed 1.7 percentage points better in driving purchase…the larger ad drew the attention of more would-be shoppers, but the smaller ad found a greater concentration of motivated buyers.” The key insight here for B2B marketers: when considering concepts for your next ad campaign, treat the smallest ad as a litmus test. This will help the entire campaign to be more effective and make better use of the advertising spend.

Another essential factor for success: make sure media planners are involved even in the earliest steps of design and concept so the agency is fully informed of all the details of the small ad size, i.e. what the dimensions are, as well as how it will be deployed, and what kinds of patterns they have seen in the past. It may seem obvious but its important to keep in mind that consistent contact between agency and media planner is vital for campaign fluidity and success.

By focusing on the essential message of a campaign, capitalizing on the potential of the smallest ad spaces, and maintaining coordination between all parties, B2B marketers can maximize the effectiveness of every ad placement.

But there have been tech revolutions before, i.e. the introduction of the mini and personal computers of the 70s and 80s. How is this revolution different?

A good indicator of this change can be seen with stats like this: 81% of agencies and firms have adopted a form of BYOD: Bring Your Own Device. Many workers are so adamant about using their own digital devices in the workplace that they are willing to foot the bill.  For example, almost 44% of federal employees use a personal device for work purposes. If any stat should suggest a shift in thinking, it would be this, as the government industry is historically more conservative in its practices.

The consumerization phenomenon has major implications for B2B technology companies. As the shift continues towards consumerization, the individual, not the enterprise, will become a key influencer in the buying process, if not the final decision maker.

For B2B tech marketers, this means they will need to consider the possibility of incorporating the end user into their next marketing campaign. After all, it’s no longer just the professional buyer they are trying to please– it’s the consumer behind the professional buyer with an increasingly critical eye for value and strong influence over the tools they use in the workplace. Finding the right balance between enterprise marketing and consumer outreach will be critical to achieving success within this changing landscape.

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.

There’s no question that analyzing your brand’s image and current positioning is a challenging undertaking. Creating a mental model of your company that meshes with customer perception is a process heavy on abstract thought, made even more difficult by being on the inside looking out. How can you compare your brand to your competitors’ when your priorities seem different or when you are striving at different goals? How can you assess and understand your own brand’s outward-facing image when you’re positioned squarely on the inside?

If you have trouble expressing the strengths and weaknesses of your brand, there’s a good chance your customers will too. Or worse, they’ll ignore you.

Oftentimes, clients will enter the brand-building process knowing only that their brand is underperforming and needs improvement. They see a company image that they’re unhappy with without being able to pinpoint the root causes of that dissatisfaction. Sometimes they’re reluctant to even acknowledge that there are root causes, not because they avoid accepting fault, but because they view their brand in terms and ideas that are simply too abstract to investigate and act upon.

Being able to view a brand as a concrete entity, a vessel that can carry attributes, aspirations, and identity is the first step in coming up with an actionable plan to improve it and better define it for the customer. Without developing meaningful anchors and associations for one’s brand or image, it simply floats around, impossible to fully grasp. Fixing such an untethered brand is like trying to throw darts into the mist.

When presented thoughtfully, visual cues, the process of using visual rather than intellectual elements to uncover deep-seated opinion and insights, can be invaluable tools for brand analysis and planning. Not only can they help unearth hidden assumptions and essential truths about your brand’s image and communications, they can also help paint a clearer picture 0f the market’s perception of your product or services compared to that of your competitors.

Visual cues can also serve as a collaborative tool that encourages teamwork and unifies groups around shared notions. As such, the ability to gain insights through concrete visual cues and metaphors can be critically helpful at this early, but pivotal, stage of brand assessment.

Oftentimes, it’s easier for a group to agree on a symbol (and what that symbol represents) than a set of abstract, personalized thoughts that ultimately stand for that same idea.

Visual thinking can be an effective brand-building tool in a number of ways. Though you may initially have difficulty expressing perceived strengths and weaknesses of your brand, visual metaphors can bring them to the fore. Instead of focusing on the abstract elements of your brand strategy, focus instead on how your brand is alike or different from symbols and objects you can readily see, grasp and feel.

One method that has proven to be incredibly effective is free association. In this process, small groups of internal stakeholders (employees, management) are shown a group of related images, such as six types of beverages or six different tools, and asked to identify which image reflects the corporate brand today and which image the brand should be in the future. The real insight comes, not from the image that is chosen, but the honest, unfiltered explanation of why.

For example, during a recent rebranding project with a client in the energy industry, we conducted this free association method to uncover key insights about the client’s existing brand. A dozen employees were asked to pick the beverage image that best represented their brand today. Five employees chose the same image – a bottle of water. Interestingly, when asked why they chose this image, the answers greatly varied. One employee picked the bottle of water because it represented something important, necessary for survival, but often overlooked. Another saw the bottle of water as plain and boring, not sexy. When we asked the same group to choose the image that best reflected where the brand needed to be in the future, many employees were drawn to an image of a cup of coffee, because it represented a habit, a wake-up call, something that could not be ignored.

As this example demonstrates, working through a set of connected but unique symbols can lead to specific and productive insight about where the brand is today and where it needs to go in the future. The transference, symbolism and consensus building that occurs in such an exercise are akin to what you hope to accomplish with your brand out in the marketplace. The strength of connection needs to be just as strong.

Visual metaphors not only enable companies to think of their brand with increased clarity and depth, but they also provide brand strategists with information that is far more insightful than assumptions from less anchored conversations. As a company works through set after set of images, it maps its positions on key aspirational qualities. Scores of otherwise inaccessible data are collected, analyzed, compared with market research, and finally assembled into a comprehensive dossier exploring the brand at its core and offering concrete guidance on how to improve the brand moving forward.

Leveraging the power of the image, when going through any rebranding project, can be an incredibly effective way to uncover deep-seated opinion and insight about where your brand is today and where it needs to go in the future. The knowledge uncovered from free association and other activities that incorporate visual cues is very different than the knowledge you gain through a survey or standard Q&A session – it is inherently emotional rather than intellectual. Understanding how a brand is perceived on both levels is a critical step in developing a truly successful brand strategy.