“Disruption” is more than just a business buzzword or a marketing trend. For many organizations, it has become a true strategic mindset. Companies jostling in crowded markets, as well as start-ups entering slow-moving industries, are searching for the fresh idea or novel business model that will shake up the status quo — and help…
B2B buyers are more sophisticated than ever. They have access to a wealth of information about every solution to every challenge their business may be facing. Many technology solutions make switching vendors simple — if not entirely painless. Strategically minded and budget-conscious, prospects are juggling decision criteria and competing interests in ever-changing ways.
For…
Successful brands start with honest self-assessment — which may be hard to come by in a large company or an entrenched corporate culture. Enlisting the aid of an outside brand strategist can help, providing a clear-eyed window into the company’s strengths and weaknesses and offering agnostic, professional solutions.
But as in any relationship…
Each year, agencies and research firms publish the rankings of the world’s most valuable brands. More than an ego boost for the listed brands’ marketers, these valuations are important intangible assets, and they become especially pertinent during M&A activity. In fact, a study from Houlihan Lokey showed that among its sample, 70…
Content is king. Content is the new creative. Both true, but this is old news. It’s long been common knowledge that in a crowded, advertisement-saturated environment, content marketing gives companies an opportunity to stand out by providing compelling information or entertainment rather than additional clutter. Best-in-class B2C examples include Netflix’s…
Companies rebrand for myriad reasons, and each resulting brand is — or should be — unique. But there are four essential elements shared by winning B2B brand strategies: authenticity, individuality, cohesion, and adaptability.
1. Authenticity: Stay true to your brand foundations
All brand strategy engagements should result in an authentic brand. And brand strategy is not always…
Brand positioning. It’s a concept pioneered by branding legends Jack Trout and Al Ries in the 1960s that has since become the essential foundation upon which all of an organization’s marketing is based —from print campaigns to digital engagement, sales outreach to recruitment efforts, content strategy to customer journey mapping. Defined as the…
There’s been a fundamental shift in how business is conducted. Businesses can use LinkedIn, blog posts, and social media to reach customers in new, unexpected ways, and the purchasing process itself has become more informal. Rather than relying on the formal pitch and conference call, companies are constantly interacting. They’re looking to form…
Getting the green light to undertake a rebranding project is a moment to savor. You’ve got a mandate and a budget: time to hit the ground running. But you’re going to need an agency partner — even companies with in-house capabilities often go outside for fresh perspectives and expanded resources. So you’re…
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…
In the months and years ahead, what should B2B marketers expect from branding design trends? For better or worse, pretty much what they’ve been seeing in consumer marketing for the past few years.
In early March 2020, New York magazine published an article asking “Will the millennial aesthetic ever end?” Its author, Molly Fisher…
Keeping the world safe from cybercrime is big business. In 2019, the cybersecurity market totaled $112 billion annually. By 2027, the market is expected to swell to more than $282 billion annually, an annual growth rate of over 12 percent, according to Fortune Business Insights. The reasons for this massive growth include the increasing prominence…
To rename or not to rename? Clients often want to answer this question early in the project. And it makes sense. A new corporate or sub-brand name is not only very exciting, it’s also a huge investment. However, for this very reason, it’s may be best to postpone a naming decision until…
Once, “environmentally conscious” could be tossed off as a corporate buzzword. And companies could claim that the cost of sustainability was just too high. But, driven by technological advancement, the price of sustainable technologies and practices has plummeted, and the potential for savings is impressive. A 2018 report by the Global Commission on the Economy…
A comprehensive brand audit — an analysis of the current state of a brand and its position in the marketplace — is the foundation of any new brand or rebranding initiative. By determining the strengths and weaknesses of a brand in relation to its market and competitors, the audit helps navigate a clear path to a differentiated…
Although it seems like just yesterday we were reading about the rise of the millennials, a new generation is hovering outside the threshold of the corporate world. Generation Z is about to hit the workforce, and their unique motivations will force brands to reevaluate their internal and external strategies. While businesses have a few years…
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…
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…