Insperity | DNA of a Great Team
While a proven methodology is critical for a successful project, having the right team in place also plays a huge factor in the fluidity of any branding initiative. The Administaff/Insperity team exhibited all the characteristics of a successful project team, and the entire Addison Whitney organization would like to congratulate them on their passionate engagement in the process, willingness to embrace change, and decision to move forward on its new corporate identity with clear strategic intent.
With almost 20 years experience in managing branding projects, we'd like to offer some key attributes that client teams can adopt to result in a successful project and process, and some key takeaways from our work with Insperity.
Meeting deadlines.
Staying on deadline is imperative for an agency or client partner; our reputation is built on the ability to meet our client's time lines. However, it's important for the client to remain on deadline as well. A delayed process means momentum, energy, and excitement around the project can be lost, and those are difficult to regain after a long period of time.
An open mind.
Sometimes, as leaders of an organization, it can be difficult to be honest and open about the challenges you face. Having an open mind about refreshing your positioning, changing your name, or creating brand new standards is imperative to a successful project. If you expect it to be seamless and without challenges, you're in for a difficult journey. Rely on the experience and expertise of your agency/client partner as a resource for guiding you through the project.
Trust your gut.
Even with all of the time we spend learning about our client companies, there’s no way we’ll know your brand as well as you do. When you see results, trust your gut. Suggest changes to be more reflective of your company culture or organizational plans. Often times, the best outcomes of our projects are from collaborations with our client companies.
Utilizing the research correctly.
Good data was important to the Insperity team before making any decision. There is a difference between market research and good market research. Understanding key goals before creating questionnaires is important to getting the insight you need to make critical decisions. Having a skilled, outside agency interpret the data can be important so that you know exactly what the data is saying and corresponding key insights.
Often times, clients will conduct market research looking for the name. They assume that because a name tested high that it's the best choice for their product/service/company. Using the research or supporting data as a guide, not the final decision maker, is the best path of action.
Engaging senior leadership.
A successful project is also contingent on having a senior leadership team (CEO, SVP Sales & Marketing) that is heavily engaged in the process. Having a plan in place that fosters good communication and aligns with the business strategy and vision for the company is essential. A good process incorporates timely progress updates at key milestones with management leaders, board of directors, etc., and presents these updates as a team.
Consistent project team.
There is no quicker way to derail a project than to have 10 members participate in the initial meetings, and only half of that in attendance during the key milestones and touch points. Create a core team (5-7 team members is ideal), and engage them consistently in the process. Even though the core Insperity team did go through a few changes, key team members were consistent and diligent in communicating about needs and deadlines with other project team members.
Celebrating your success.
Often times, this step is skipped by clients. But, the effort it takes to engage in a branding process and the results of that can be a big change for many organizations. Once you have a result, it's important to celebrate and recognize the internal team that worked so diligently on the project. In addition, make a big splash about the new/re-positioned brand. There’s no better way to show the whole organization how important the results are than to celebrate it – no matter whether that celebration is in your board room or in a major league ballpark.
Again, congratulations to the Insperity team on a successful process, project, re-brand and launch. We have been honored and inspired to be a part of your success!
Made in Detroit
......................................................................................................................................................................
An article in Thursday’s (3/17, 2011) Wall Street Journal by Jeff Bennett, said Chrysler Group filed suit Tuesday to keep a local group from using “Imported from Detroit” on clothing. They want to stop Moda Group LLC from selling T-shirts and other clothing “branded with the words: Imported From Detroit” in their Pure Detroit store chain. The use of “branded with the words” is an interesting choice of words. A quick trademark search shows the phrase is currently Published for Opposition, or pending a final trademark. The mark is filed in multiple product categories covering everything from key chains to eye glasses. No doubt they plan on using the mark on all kinds of chotchki.
Is something like Imported From Detroit trademarkable? There are all kinds of problems with letting a private firm own a public property like a city’s name. The issue has even boiled over into international legal rights to use product descriptors like Champagne and Parmesan, because they do refer to a specific geographical location. So, is "Imported From Detroit" unique enough to be trademarked? Certainly Made In Detroit would not be. It’s a common usage phrase that is mandatory labeling for many products. But since Imported From Detroit is a turn of words based an import not coming from a foreign country, perhaps it is. It is a phrase that would not come about in ordinary language, unless you’re in another country.
Should Chrysler protect their mark from some little tourist store in Detroit or should they promote its use? Surely, they don’t expect proceeds from Imported From Detroit key chains, hats, and coffee mugs to be a real income machine? By simply allowing its use, they give up ownership, so they’ve got to make the effort. But would they be better off allowing its wide-spread use, as it promotes their products indirectly? You would think so – more awareness they do not have to pay for. Brand building is about building awareness and a set of specific associations. Perhaps the T-shirts are Made In China? Maybe the fashion associations of Chrysler and the Pure Detroit store chain clash. But, free publicity for your brand and your ideas? It seems like a no-brainer. Maybe the real problem was the ad agency seeing the free publicity as a threat to THEIR income stream.
There is no doubt that trademarks are an important part of our world of commerce, especially in an Information Economy where we are competing against low cost labor from other parts of the world. On the other hand, Imported From Detroit seems like something we all should have a right to use, if we have a product made in Detroit. Perhaps that’s a big IF? Regardless, it’s just another example of our ever more branded world.
Contributed by Bill Lippincott, Vice President
Insperity | Crafting a New Verbal Brand
Verbal Branding: Corporate Identity
With directives from Market Research and Brand Strategy, the Verbal Branding team embarked on creative for the new identity. With all of our core competencies in house, it was an easy project transition to move from strategy into naming. The Verbal Branding team worked closely with the Brand Strategy team to focus on the key drivers and characteristics from the market research. We also explored which creative cues and concepts should be communicated through the name, and which ones could be messaged through collateral, tagline, or another form of marketing.
The Administaff name had equity ... twenty-five years of awareness and associations to be specific. But according to our research, the messaging behind the name was limiting for future growth and positioned Administaff incorrectly in the minds of prospects. The name didn't capture the 'spirit of the entrepreneur' which we heard in many of our on-site meetings, and was a barrier to new clients who thought of Administaff as simply a 'staffing organization."
Our group began the process of crafting names and sharing those with the Administaff team. We explored a range of name constructions and communications, cognizant of being too descriptive of one particular service. After presenting several iterations of options and narrowing down through feedback, the name Insperity slowly began rising to the top of the list. We utilized our Market Research capabilities once again to validate the name among other candidates, testing each on a variety of marketing criteria. The target audience had a positive first impression of Insperity, and the name conveyed all of the selected attributes and performed well on likeability and preference measures. Using this information as a guide, the Administaff team was well equipped to strategically choose their new identity.
Insperity was coined by fusing two key concepts: inspiration + prosperity. We wanted to hone in on the emotion behind the company's promise of helping business owners achieve their goals and the utmost level of success. The team felt this name was broad enough to allow the company to tell the whole story of their full range of services and their refined positioning as a business performance solution provider. Insperity as a name is active and engaging in its tonality, which complements the emotional connection the company has with its clients and partners.
Verbal Branding: Tagline Development
When it came to the tagline, Addison Whitney wanted to create something that really identified what the business was all about. The new brand name communicates the emotion behind the offering; we wanted to use the tagline to help identify what the company offers, without limiting them in future applications or endeavors. "Inspiring Business Performance" works on two levels: the initial word "inspiring" can perform the role of an adjective, to describe the type of business performance clients can expect; it also serves as a verb, clarifying the functional aspects of what Insperity offers to its partners as a strategic adviser. It is an engaging tagline that provides the opportunity for business owners to define performance in their own individual way.
Next step: Visual Development of the identity and brand standards.
Click here for more information on Addison Whitney's Verbal Branding capabilities.
Insperity | Laying the Strategic Foundation
The extensive market research conducted among internal and external audiences helped provide critical insight to help drive both brand architecture and brand positioning recommendations.
Addison Whitney worked closely with various business units to understand the existing brands, their key challenges, and how each could support the Administaff corporate brand. Like many B2B companies, a mostly master branded strategy was ideal due to the efficiency and ease of managing one main brand versus many standalone brands.
Once the organization of the corporate brand was clearly outlined, Addison Whitney began developing the Administaff brand positioning. It’s important that a brand positioning be believable and compelling. Looking back at the research, Addison Whitney correlated compelling to attribute importance ratings and believable to attribute performance ratings. The recommended positioning strategy defined Administaff as the trusted advisor who provides business performance solutions to guide clients toward success.
To help the Administaff team communicate the brand positioning to target audience groups, Addison Whitney developed targeted messaging for both clients and prospects. These messaging guidelines will ensure consistency in communication – one of the most critical parts of brand management.
In addition to driving the brand architecture and brand positioning, one more finding came from the market research. With minimal brand awareness among prospects and incorrect brand associations, it became clear that a corporate identity change would set Administaff up for future success. This decision was not taken lightly by the Administaff team. Nearly 25 years of hard work had built the Administaff brand, and it was time to set a new, strong foundation for the next 25 years of success.
Next step…corporate name and tagline.
(Please note: Administaff is now Insperity. You can find them on the web at insperity.com)
Insperity | Gathering New Insights
When Administaff first approached Addison Whitney in late 2008, it was experiencing strategic challenges similar to many of our clients. In recent years, the company had grown through acquisitions and product development, creating a need to redefine who it is (brand positioning) and how its brands relate to one another (brand architecture).
Founded in 1986, Administaff pioneered the Professional Employer Organization (PEO) industry. The PEO provides small and medium-sized businesses with HR services, including payroll, benefits and administrative support, so that these businesses can better compete for employees and remain compliant with state and federal regulations. As the company grew so too did the types of services it offered.
Through acquisitions and internal product development, the scope of Administaff’s services expanded. Administaff now had to manage not only its own changing corporate brand, but also to develop a strategy for integrating new product/service brands.
Strong market research is critical to developing a compelling and differentiated brand strategy. Addison Whitney’s market research team worked closely with the Administaff team to develop a thorough research plan that would gather insight from internal and external target audience members.
In-depth interviews are a great way to gather detailed insight. First, in-depth interviews were conducted among key Administaff team members to learn about challenges and to help drive the brand process. Then, in-depth interviews with members of the external audience (customers and prospective customers) were conducted. Both of these studies helped the Addison Whitney team develop the survey instruments for quantitative studies with employees and external audience members, which were both conducted online. The employee and external studies were designed to closely align with one another in order to show perceptual gaps.
Using both qualitative (in-depth interviews) and quantitative (online surveys) methodologies to evaluate external audience perceptions, Addison Whitney was able to identify unmet needs and areas in which Administaff out-performed competition.
Having strong, detailed and quantifiable data is important to drive strategic decision making and to support the proposed brand positioning and architecture. This multi-layered research design was important for the Administaff team and critical to the next step in the process, brand strategy.
(Please note: Administaff is now Insperity. You can find them on the web at insperity.com)
Introducing Insperity
......................................................................................................................................................................
For those of you who have been following our recent tweases (Twitter teases) noted by our hashtag #AW3095, you already know the news. For everyone else, it’s our pleasure to introduce Insperity, formerly Administaff.
Addison Whitney has been working with the Insperity team since February 2009 and is so proud of its team’s hard work throughout the process, and especially at the launch some members of our team were lucky enough to attend.
We are excited to begin our Insperity series to highlight the key steps from throughout our more than two year relationship with the Insperity team. Throughout each post we will give you some insight into things we learned or just fun facts from each phase.
Here are some headlines to get you excited and coming back for a double dip of Brand Salsa.
- Market Research – gathering key insights from current and future customers
- Brand Strategy – who are we and what to do with all of these offerings and brands
- Verbal Branding – farewell Administaff, hello Insperity
- Visual Branding – Insperity’s new look and feel
- Brand Rollout – dancing in the streets of Houston
- What Makes a Great Project Team – we’ll tell you because we worked with a fantastic one at Insperity
Stay tuned!
FDA Approval: Edarbi
FDA approves Edarbi to treat high blood pressure (source: FDA Press Announcement)
On Friday, February 25, 2011, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Edarbi tablets (azilsartan medoxomil) to treat high blood pressure (hypertension) in adults.
Data from clinical studies showed Edarbi to be more effective in lowering 24-hour blood pressure compared with two other FDA-approved hypertension drugs, Diovan (valsartan) and Benicar (olmesartan).
“High blood pressure is often called the 'silent killer' because it usually has no symptoms until it causes damage to the body,” said Norman Stockbridge, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Division of Cardiovascular and Renal Drug Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “High blood pressure remains inadequately controlled in many people diagnosed with the condition, so having a variety of treatment options is important.”
Edarbi will be available in 80 milligram and 40 mg doses, with the recommended dose set at 80 mg once daily. The 40 mg dose will be available for patients who are treated with high-dose diuretics taken to reduce salt in the body.
Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps. If blood pressure rises and stays high over time, it can damage the body in many ways. Nearly 1 in 3 adults in the United States has high blood pressure, which increases the risks of stroke, heart failure, heart attack, kidney failure, and death.
Edarbi is an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) that lowers blood pressure by blocking the action of angiotensin II, a vasopressor hormone.
Adverse reactions reported by patients taking Edarbi in clinical trials were similar to those reported by those taking an inactive drug (placebo).
Edarbi has a boxed warning that says the use of the drug should be avoided in pregnant women because use of the drug during the second or third trimester can cause injury and even death in the developing fetus. If a woman becomes pregnant while using the drug, it should be discontinued as soon as possible.
Edarbi is made by Takeda Pharmaceutical North America of Deerfield, Ill.
For more information on pharmaceutical naming, branding, research or submission documents, please contact Vince Budd at Addison Whitney via email or phone 704.697.4021.
Follow #AW3095
We have some very exciting news here at Addison Whitney. But, we can't tell you yet. And we're having a great time tweasing (Twitter teasing) you.
If you don't already follow @brandsalsa or @addisonwhitney, we would love for you to follow us now.
Each day, we're giving you written or picture clues to where we are headed to celebrate with one of our favorite clients.
Stay tuned to brand salsa to learn more.
EMA Approval: Jonexa
Jonexa (hylastan) is a bacterially fermented product derived from hyaluronan that is indicated for the treatment of pain associated with OA of the knee and administered in one or two injections. Genzyme expects to launch Jonexa in select European Union markets and Hong Kong in 2010 because they believe opportunity exists in those markets for a lower cost, more convenient OA treatment option than locally available multiple injection products.
For more information about recent drug approvals or pharmaceutical branding, please contact Vince Budd at [email protected]
FDA Approval: Viibryd
Clinical Data, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLDA), today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved vilazodone HCl tablets, to be marketed under the brand name Viibryd™, for the treatment of adults with major depressive disorder (MDD). Viibryd is a new molecular entity and the first and only selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and 5HT1A receptor partial agonist. Clinical Data plans to make Viibryd available in U.S. pharmacies in the second quarter of this year.
“It is also the first drug that the Company has developed, and to have received marketing approval from the FDA on its first review is a significant milestone for Clinical Data.”
"When treating MDD, our goal is to offer treatment options that meet the individual needs of each patient," said Stephen M. Stahl, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego. "Viibryd is an important new treatment option with proven efficacy and a demonstrated safety profile."
The mechanism of the antidepressant effect of Viibryd is not fully understood but is thought to be related to its enhancement of serotonergic activity in the central nervous system (CNS) through selective inhibition of serotonin reuptake. Viibryd is also a partial agonist at serotonergic 5HT1A receptors; however, the net result of this action on serotonergic transmission and its role in Viibryd's antidepressant effect are unknown.
For more information about recent drug approvals or pharmaceutical branding, please contact Vince Budd at [email protected]