There is a lot of content out there on customer experience. It can be a bit overwhelming to try and wade through all of it. In an effort to save marketing executives some time (and frustration), here is a short list (and concise summaries) of some of the articles we believe you will find most…
In the past few years, we’ve seen “authenticity” emerge as a theme in branding and design; this year, it has exponentially increased in importance and value. That’s understandable: in a world where “fake” news can dominate the political conversation and Instagram stars turn out to be imposters, consumers have become increasingly cynical.
A…
A brand is a brand is a brand. And then there are technology brands. While other industries face new competitors, technology companies face disruptors – companies that completely alter the competitive landscape and threaten the very survival of legacy players.
Technology companies that embrace their brand as an articulation of the promise that they deliver through…
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 mostly frequently, I live in Word…
Every morning before my coffee hits and my mood improves, I shuffle onto a crowded, Manhattan-bound L train. More often than not, at least one of my fellow passengers is an ad from ConEd bearing its campaign line cum tag line “Everything Matters.” And every time I see “Everything Matters” plastered next to a…
It’s a topic on the mind of every B2B marketer these days: customer experience, that elusive moving target. Specifically, how to meet customer expectations when, as a brand, you are competing against every (predominantly digital) interaction your customers have ever had.
For many B2B marketers, keeping up with customers, not competitors, has become their…
Look around any security technology tradeshow and you’ll feel more like you’re in a national security event than a business technology conference. Military images, dark, ominous colors, and foreboding language from vendors that all convey the same message: You’re not safe, and you need us to protect you.
Be Afraid. Be Very…
There are two assumptions about taglines we often hear during branding initiatives. They go something like this:
#1: To stand out, a company needs a tagline.
#2: When a tagline fails to catch on (and therefore fails to help a company stand out), it’s because it wasn’t very good.
The tagline’s promise…
A leading energy consulting firm had a proprietary methodology for significantly reducing energy costs (think seven-figure savings, each year). Though the company’s proprietary solution was extremely powerful, it was communicated in such a seemingly straightforward manner, that many prospective clients thought – mistakenly –they could build a comparable energy-savings program on their own…
In today’s digitally-driven, increasingly disruptive B2B landscape, creating sustainable advantage is more elusive than ever. In fact, the sheer pace of change has left many B2B marketers feeling like they are in a perpetual state of catch-up (there are entire conferences devoted to this pursuit). And it’s not just the up…
You’ve heard these statements from professional services firms before: “We are committed to meeting client needs,” “We have deep industry expertise,” “We have a culture of transparency and trust,” These statements might be true, but they are also completely forgettable. They do nothing to make the firm stand out.
Finding a unique brand position…
We recently partnered with a fast-growing data analytics company. It had successfully leapfrogged larger, more established competitors by providing hand-on, high-touch, over-the-top customer service. Branding around this level of service was a no-brainer, right? Well, maybe not. The company was preparing to go public. High-touch service is a…
It’s the classic chicken or egg. What comes first: brand or culture? Leadership teams often ask us this very question during rebranding initiatives. While there is no one-size-fits-all answer, there are two critical questions that any leadership team must answer to understand the optimal relationship between brand and culture in their…
This was the question raised in a recent Forbes articles. And it’s an important one, especially for professional services firms for which “thought leadership is one of the most powerful methodologies for generating new business opportunities.” Talk about ROI! It’s no wonder professional services firms have collectively become content powerhouses.
The Content Conundrum…
We are constantly amazed by the power of words, especially when it comes to employee engagement. Seemingly small tweaks in language can lead to meaningful changes in employee perceptions, morale and even behavior. In fact, according the WSJ, new cognitive science studies show that language “profoundly influences how we see the world…It turns out…
“What Does It Stand For?”
This was the question that plagued our client, a global consulting firm that had recently completed a series of transformational acquisitions. It was a question employees received anytime they met a new prospect or told someone where they worked. The company’s name was an acronym that stemmed from the…
One of the best aspects of working in an office as integrated and multidisciplinary as ours is the cross-pollination of ideas and perspectives. From strategists and designers to programmers and producers, no two people think the same way. We asked our eclectic team to share their favorite content from the year. What they came…
If we had to sum up B2B branding in 2015, we would do it with one word: innovation. It has been a recurring theme in almost every one of our conversations with B2B companies in recent months. From the CMO to the CEO, B2B executives have been laser-focused on building brands that convey innovation…