From a business perspective, few things are as critical to get right as a major merger or acquisition — and few things are as challenging. According to the Harvard Business Review, between 70 and 90% of mergers or acquisitions fail, and on the long list of considerations for the success of any M&A activity…
Today is the age of the customer, where power has shifted from companies to customers and organizations everywhere are rethinking the way they interact with customers to drive engagement, loyalty, and growth. CMOs and marketing leaders are at the helm of this change, charged with adopting more customer-oriented way of operating in order to…
B2B customer experiences are more disjointed than ever. In a poll of brand leaders who participated in our recent webinar about experience design, 72% reported that their customer experience is inconsistent or fragmented across platforms and channels. McKinsey data shows that B2B customer experience index ratings significantly lag behind B2C experiences. And customer expectations continue…
In collaborating closely with our clients – marketing leaders across a range of industries – we have been struck by how much they have in common beyond their shared focus on building and maximizing their brands. Whether it’s making headway in specific functional areas such as lead-generation or digital engagement, influencing corporate strategy, or getting…
Everyone in branding relishes that aha moment when research reveals a point of difference from which a compelling and differentiated brand can be built. It’s the discovery of something unique that the company or product can confidently claim as its own. But what if such a difference doesn’t exist? What if a company…
When large, complex organizations combine – whether through M&A or internal reorganization – a strong new brand can be the essential glue that holds the new entity together, both internally and in the minds of customers.
But a new brand is just one element in the successful integration of two organizations. There are myriad other…
We bring you the latest trending and newsworthy articles in B2B branding and marketing.
This week, we hear from four CMOs who are meeting the challenges of a digital world, dig into the concept of brand voice, and learn about the psychology behind the influence of online reviews.
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Securing internal buy-in is one of the most difficult, and necessary, parts of any branding project. And, as more and more areas of the organization realize the importance and implications of brand, more and more stakeholders’ sign-offs are becoming necessary before a new positioning is embraced.
We’re used to this increased decision…
In professional services, people are the brand. If consultants, accountants and attorneys don’t walk, talk and think their firm’s brand, the brand may never amount to more than a catchy tagline or an attractive logo. But professionals are a tough audience to convert to brand ambassadors. They work long hours, often billing for…
Most of us have at least one closet stuffed with things we’ve forgotten about or rarely use – the pasta machine that was a Christmas gift 10 years ago, mud-encrusted soccer cleats or outgrown toys. The prospect of clearing out this clutter is daunting, so we tend to ignore it, even if the resulting…
We bring you the latest trending and newsworthy articles in B2B branding and marketing.
This week, a fascinating interview tells how Goldman Sachs is using Snapchat in its marketing, a new CMO Council survey offers insights into customer expectations — and Accenture ponders the future of banking.
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Every year, Fortune ranks the world’s top companies across a range of criteria. Looking at the classic Fortune 100, the more recent list of Unicorns (private startups that are valued at $1 billion or more), and other lists, we were curious to see how color was used in the brand identities of these successful…
Millennials. Generation Y. Whatever you call them, consumer brands understand the importance of the huge cohort born between 1980 and 2000. Whether they think millennials are refreshingly confident and engaged, inappropriately self-centered and entitled, or some combination of the two, marketers realize they are critical to the success of consumer businesses, responsible for $600…
While conducting research for our branding project with ICF, a global consulting firm, we did a lot of “typical” research: in-depth interviews with senior leaders in the organization, conversations with current and prospective clients, and an online, all-employee survey. We were getting a lot of good material – insight into the company culture, perspectives…
For decades, law firms went to market with stale messages that did little to create compelling impressions in the minds of their audiences, let alone lasting ones. To a large extent, they got away with it — relying on the strength of their bench, their personal relationships, and the knowledge that big companies had big budgets…
Virtual reality. Artificial intelligence. Drones everywhere. One minute a new technology seems like the stuff of sci-fi. The next minute it’s this year’s hottest Christmas gift. We are inundated with the magic and wonder of innovative technology, even if we aren’t exactly sure how it will ultimately affect our everyday lives…
We bring you the latest trending and newsworthy articles in B2B branding and marketing.
This week, we explore the invisible CEO, this year’s winning entries from the D&AD Awards, and what content creators really think about branded video.
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When we conducted external interviews as part of our work developing the Zelis Healthcare brand, one thing became clear: the healthcare payer and healthcare provider clients who worked with Zelis were obsessed. Not with the healthcare payments technology that got doctors and other providers paid more quickly. Not with the healthcare-claims integrity services that…