As the world struggles to rebound from the global pandemic, one lasting trend has emerged: a talent shortage of historic scale. According to ManPowerGroup, 75% of companies have reported talent shortages and difficulty hiring – a 16-year high. Companies with more than 250 employees are struggling the most to recruit and retain talent; those with…
No brand lasts forever, no matter how strong or well-known it might be. Every brand needs to evolve – or even be replaced – as the organization it represents changes over time. It must also adapt to external developments, such as new competitive threats, demographic shifts, or technology disruptions.
How can you determine if it’s…
We are strong believers that the best brands are built collaboratively through a partnership between branding firm and client. By listening to our clients, understanding what motivates them – and what worries them – we are able to co-create brands that really help grow their business. And there’s a side benefit to this approach: listening…
A strong brand creates a concise and motivational narrative that inspires the workforce, unites external stakeholders, and supports key business priorities. By harnessing the power of brand, CEOs can help to ensure that their vision is communicated consistently … and executed effectively.
Defining Brand
While you can’t control market trends and competitive dynamics within your…
The need for powerful storytelling has become a common refrain among marketers as they think about how to better connect with audiences. With ever-increasing opportunities for brands and audiences to interact digitally, marketers know they need to find ways to cut through the noise and engage with audiences at a deeper level – and film…
Marketers should never assume their clients or prospects are aware of all the products and services that fall under their corporate umbrella — even with those clients for which there are long-term, established relationships. By developing marketing and sales strategies that incorporate opportunities for clients to learn more about a company’s offerings, marketers can…
The lowest common denominator (LCD) can be defined as “the broadest or most widely applicable requirement or circumstance.” It’s often difficult to acknowledge, but LCD can be a valuable tool for marketers when selecting what format their online advertisements should take. Larger ad sizes allow for more images and more text for the viewer…
Mergers and acquisitions are most often viewed from a financial perspective. However, as brand strategists, we have seen firsthand that success often relies on less tangible factors. The “fit” may look great on paper, but achieving that promise requires more than a rationalized product portfolio. Success requires a rationalized workforce that understands the how’s…
The legendary management consultant, educator, and author Peter Drucker liked to say that “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” The best-laid strategic plans invariably hit a wall if they are not aligned with the organization’s culture — the beliefs and behaviors that determine how a company’s employees and management interact and handle business transactions…
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.
While a comprehensive verbal and visual system forms the foundation of a brand, it’s only the beginning of executing an effective branding strategy. To be successful, a brand needs to be expressed consistently across all internal and external touchpoints. Consistency is critical to establish a well-defined brand and eliminate confusion in the marketplace…
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, hoping to create synergies across a diverse array of practice areas that would lead to…
When QR codes were introduced in 1997, many people assumed they’d be as transformative as the internet, a ubiquitous tool for seamlessly connecting companies and products with consumers. Seemingly overnight, these strange-looking black cubes began appearing on ads, posters, and packaging. And just like that, consumer acceptance was … well, almost non-existent. As…
We published a whitepaper that examines how professional services firms can leverage the power of branding to stand out in an increasingly competitive industry. It’s a fairly comprehensive look at the process of building a solid and differentiated brand, from conducting internal and extensive research to identifying core brand attributes and developing a positioning…
What is brand behavior? Simply put, brand behavior is how your brand interacts and reacts with real customers in the real marketplace. While your positioning statement may say one thing about your values and strengths, truly demonstrating them is another matter.
A missed opportunity
Picture this. You’re sitting at your desk flipping through a…
As strategists and designers, we are always curious about the use of color in culture and business. Recently, we took a look at brand colors in the top 100 technology firms. While the range of colors and combinations is varied, we noted a few intriguing themes.
For tech company colors, blue is always true
Not…
Dear Google, Apple, Adobe and Microsoft,
You may not know me, but I was created with great care and purpose. Every image, hue and letter. I am special. I have meaning.
I live in hearts and minds, in words and actions, in websites and ad campaigns and brochures. But frequently, I live in Word and…
Technology has been a business game-changer at every level — revolutionizing customer experience, enabling groundbreaking innovations, and accelerating the speed of business. Technology giants are expanding their reach while companies with decidedly non-tech histories like Maersk and even McDonald’s have reinvented themselves to excel in the digital era.
B2B tech companies need to…