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…
Hospitals today are investing billions of dollars: purchasing, acquiring, merging, integrating, upgrading, all with the goal of improving patient care at an affordable cost. But to get the most out of these investments – to connect with patients, healthcare professionals, and the communities they serve – hospitals must invest in, and leverage, one of their most important business assets: their brand.
Two regional banks’ futures are on the line, and all stakeholders await the decisions of the top brass: will a merger-of-equals result in lay-offs? At large firms today, most communication happens through email, and that’s how a lot of news is delivered (hopefully employees never have to learn company news via…
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…
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…
With M&A activity at record levels, marketing thought leadership is abuzz with tips and tricks for maximizing the effectiveness of brand mergers. Such pieces often center on how to align corporate cultures and boost internal engagement. Without a doubt, these are vital issues that demand consideration. But is today’s culture craze sidestepping…
Influencer marketing is gaining momentum across the marketing landscape, but rapid growth sometimes comes with growing pains. Consumer influencer marketing in particular has often nabbed the wrong kind of earned media.
One of the more notorious episodes: a 2017 video spot featuring influencer Kendall Jenner handing a Pepsi to a police officer at a staged…
A lot has been written about the ‘prolonged demise’ of Yahoo, which is still puttering along, despite its purchase by Verizon Media in 2017. The internet company has suffered a tumultuous and tiring 25-year identity crisis. This was perhaps most famously crystalized in the leaked “Peanut Butter Manifesto,”an internal memo from 2006 that…
Frank Sinatra is quoted as saying, “Orange is the happiest color.” And he isn’t alone in thinking that, as brands often choose to incorporate orange into their logos as a way of infusing a sense of fun, cheeriness, warm exuberance, and approachability.
Indeed, it is energetic and positive, uplifting and cheerful. The color orange…
A brand is many things. More than a tagline, logo, or color palette, it’s an ethos built on multiple higher-concept elements, purpose chief among them. But while a compelling “why we exist” is appealing both internally and externally, to effectively build loyalty (and boost business), it must be translated into a stellar customer…
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.
What’s the difference between a brand refresh and a wholesale rebrand? How do you know which you need? Read on for a demystification of the difference — and tips for determining which approach is right for you.
A tricky distinction
In most people’s minds, a brand refresh is a surface-level makeover, one that…
They are the holy grail of B2B marketing: C-suite executives who open the doors, make the decisions and write the checks. And they are increasingly difficult to reach through conventional marketing channels. The key to getting inside is providing executives with something they need but can’t get elsewhere: relevant content.
Innovation. It’s been a recurring theme in almost every one of our conversations with B2B companies looking to refresh their brands. From the CMO to the CEO, B2B executives have been laser-focused on building brands that convey innovation.
When did this word become so ingrained in our lexicon? According to Google Ngram, the…
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…
As we approach 2020, the role of the B2B CMO is changing dramatically. How can brand and marketing agencies evolve to better serve them?
DeSantis Breindel is proud to host Huddle, an annual educational and networking opportunity for select B2B marketing leaders. Each year, to ensure that our programming is compelling for our guests, we…
From a business perspective, few things are as critical to get right as a major merger or acquisition — and few things are as challenging. On the long list of considerations during M&A activity, merger branding is one of the most crucial. Not getting brand right is a key reason that, according to the…