How We Answer the Question: "Why Branding?"
I was recently looking through AddisonWhitney.com, and when one of the sliding boxes popped up, what it included caught my eye, talking about who Addison Whitney is and what we do:
“…Helping companies envision their futures – through design, naming, research & brand strategy.”
This phrase stood out to me – and not just because it came from the AW site. The concept of a brand helping to shape a company’s future, along with its ability to put into motion the future they envision, shows the true impact of branding and brand development and drives the case to developing a strong brand.
It’s a question we hear all of the time – “why do I need to create a brand? Why branding?”
To me, the best way to answer this question is with a new question “What is branding?”
Branding is... a researched, thought-out, creative name, one that encapsulates the essence of the brand in verbal form. It’s a name that speaks to the consumer and lets them into what the brand is about while also finding a place in their memory and in their willingness to speak it to others.
Branding is... a logo that jumps out from the competition, and is created with the due diligence required to work on whatever platform it sits. It’s a color palette that keeps your visual brand interesting while also keeping it consistent, building brand equity as consumers walk by and drawing them in with its aesthetically pleasing look.
Branding is... the research behind the decisions made throughout the process. Nothing great is created in a vacuum, and that includes brands. It’s speaking to your target audience to discover that a name candidate you thought would be a home run actually needs some refinement before it can reach its true potential, and finding out what the consumer wants your brand voice to say in order to make the emotional connection necessary to build brand ambassadors.
Branding is... the strategy decisions that drive these elements, creating the road map that will get the brand from nothing to something great. It’s the identification of the target audience, the analysis of the competitive landscape, the positioning and architecture of the brand name and any upcoming brand additions, the brand guidelines that are built to ensure that every usage and interaction of your brand is consistent and powerful.
These reasons, these aspects of branding are why its strong development is so important. Creating and growing any business is a process that can take large amounts of time and energy to achieve – that’s a given. So why not spend some of that time and energy to create something that will work for you even after it is launched?
So go ahead, envision your future. Envision the future you want your company to have – where you want it go and the success you want it to achieve. Then look at it through the lens of what a strong brand can provide. If you do this, then “why branding?” becomes an easy question to answer.
Has your company recently experienced change or growth? Due to changes in business strategies, acquisitions, internal organizational changes or the addition of new products to a portfolio, your brand strategy may need to evolve over time. Click here to download your free copy of “Your Brand’s Guide to Corporate Change” today, and learn how to align your brand and business strategy for success!
AW Capabilities Month Market Research Week in Review
Welcome to Addison Whitney Capabilities Month!
Throughout the month of March, we will be designating one week where we will be highlighting one of Addison Whitney’s capabilities – visual branding, verbal branding, market research and brand strategy – via brand salsa and our social media channels. Make sure to join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #AWCapabilitiesMonth.
This week, we wrapped up with month with a focus on Market Research, which encompasses the research and data analysis of various aspects of your branding portfolio. In this special edition of the AW Rewind, we will take a look back at the market research-focused brand salsa posts from this week!
What is Market Research?
At Addison Whitney, we’re nerdy about data! Effective research and analysis drives and validates your brand vision and gives you confidence in your brand’s future power.
Our research pros guide you through the process that will build your brand’s value, and our global expertise delivers the insight you need to make strategic, data-driven decisions about your brands. Read more...
How to Catch the Eye of the Consumer - Visual Market Research at Work
How often have you scanned the store shelves looking for a product, and a particular one caught your eye, making you stop, do a double-take or spend a few additional seconds focusing on that one product before moving on?
Well, those few seconds and that additional look were not a coincidence – they were largely caused in part because of the work of a market research team, much like the one at Addison Whitney. Among the many roles they fill within the organization, one of them includes research for logo and product design – which yields compelling insight to the visual aspects of a brand.200464106-001
Whether it was the packaging design or the brand’s logo that caused you to stop, the fact is research has ensured that each visual aspect of a brand has been fine-tuned to the consumer’s taste and painstakingly tailored to achieve maximum appeal across the largest base of potential consumers. Read More...
Don’t forget, you can stay up-to-date with everything from Addison Whitney by joining the conversation with us on our social media channels – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.
Want to get exposed to real projects and attain real-life knowledge and skills vital for success in market research? Click here for information about interning with the Addison Whitney market research team!
Visual Market Research at Work - Catching the Consumer's Eye
Welcome to Addison Whitney Capabilities Month! Throughout the month of March, we will be designating one week where we will be highlighting one of Addison Whitney’s capabilities – visual branding, verbal branding, market research and brand strategy - via brand salsa and our social media channels.
This week, we are focusing on Market Research, which encompasses the research and data analysis of various aspects of your branding portfolio. Make sure to join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #AWCapabilitiesMonth.
How often have you scanned the store shelves looking for a product, and a particular one caught your eye, making you stop, do a double-take or spend a few additional seconds focusing on that one product before moving on?
Well, those few seconds and that additional look were not a coincidence – they were largely caused in part because of the work of a market research team, much like the one at Addison Whitney. Among the many roles they fill within the organization, one of them includes research for logo and product design – which yields compelling insight to the visual aspects of a brand.
Whether it was the packaging design or the brand’s logo that caused you to stop, the fact is research has ensured that each visual aspect of a brand has been fine-tuned to the consumer’s taste and painstakingly tailored to achieve maximum appeal across the largest base of potential consumers.
“One of the goals of our research is to see the previously unseen,” said Ben Patton, Market Research Analyst at Addison Whitney. “We want to uncover something that nobody else has seen, or discover the underlying trend in the data that often times comes up as a surprise to all parties. Finding these allows us to crack into the mind of a consumer in such a way that we increase our top-of-mind opportunities.”
How does market research find out what makes the eyes of a consumer stop and remember a certain logo or package design?
Two areas of focus when performing research are color associations and image connotations, said Patton.
When conducting research for visual branding, questions are designed to help the researchers understand what comes to the forefront of a consumer’s mind when they view a potential product. Often, unanticipated associations can open doors down the road with respect to creative that lead to a more granular approach in secondary research, and other times doors can be closed due to the findings of a study.
The most successful brands hit the market only after extensive planning, research and data analysis to ensure that the brand is set up on the right path from the beginning. Research is the driver behind properly preparing a brand, especially its visual aspects. Those few seconds might not seem like much, but to a brand and to a company, they are the reward for proper preparation.
Addison Whitney is a global branding firm with a passion for building strong brands.
To learn more about Addison Whitney, visit our website at AddisonWhitney.com, or contact us here.
Want to get exposed to real projects and attain real-life knowledge and skills vital for success in market research? Click here for information about interning with the Addison Whitney market research team!
AW Capabilities Month: What is Market Research?
Welcome to Addison Whitney Capabilities Month! Throughout the month of March, we will be designating one week where we will be highlighting one of Addison Whitney’s capabilities – visual branding, verbal branding, market research and brand strategy - via brand salsa and our social media channels.
This week, we are focusing on Market Research, which encompasses the research and data analysis of various aspects of your branding portfolio.
But what is Market Research? What does it mean to you? Make sure to join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #AWCapabilitiesMonth.
At Addison Whitney, we’re nerdy about data!
Effective research and analysis drives and validates your brand vision and gives you confidence in your brand’s future power.
Our research pros guide you through the process that will build your brand’s value, and our global expertise delivers the insight you need to make strategic, data-driven decisions about your brands.
We provide customized survey design and sample selection, along with fielding and data analysis, and we work closely with you to tailor our process to your needs. The result is a research plan that addresses your specific challenges. Our process combines both qualitative and quantitative research elements to reveal the opinions of your target audience.
Here’s what our research team can do for you:
- Name and Tagline Validation
- Design Validation
- Brand Assessment
- Positioning and Messaging Validation
Click here for a sampling of our research case study stories, and here for our comprehensive research client list.
Addison Whitney is a global branding firm with a passion for building strong brands.
To learn more about Addison Whitney, visit our website at AddisonWhitney.com, or contact us here.
Want to get exposed to real projects and attain real-life knowledge and skills vital for success in market research? Click here for information about interning with the Addison Whitney market research team!
Is Your Brand Prepared to Capitalize on Recent Growth?
Is Your Brand Prepared to Capitalize on Recent Growth?
By Matthew Harris
Congratulations! For your company, 2014 was a banner year. From revenue and profits to number of employees and offerings, growth was the theme. The company is set up for continued success in 2015 and beyond… if you can continue making the right choices, specifically when it comes to your brand.
For companies that are coming off of a year in which they experienced their first true taste of success, the following year’s brand strategy actions and decisions can go a long way to determining how far the company can capitalize and continue to grow. One factor in this is understanding the power of your brand.
This growth has almost certainly increased your brand awareness and impacted your brand positioning. A company on the rise is likely to pique a heightened interest among its target audience compared to a company that has seen a growth plateau. Now, the challenge is to continue to increase your brand awareness and evolve your brand positioning with the goal of building a brand while not forgetting what got it to this point.
Long-lasting, successful brands are built on a foundation of meaningful brand strategy, one that provides a strong framework for what the brand is and what it represents. A successful brand strategy serves as a roadmap for where a brand should go in the future, and how to take it there, without wasting time or money going down the wrong path.
Additionally, strong brands know the benefit of not only focusing on externally-facing touch points, but also putting in the time and resources necessary to build brand awareness and strengthen the brand with internal audiences. For an employee of a growing company, the feeling of ownership and pride for the brand is a valuable asset to have for motivation and self-satisfaction in their role within the company.
Because your company has experienced success, there is a good chance that your brand is in a strong place and has some of the tools in place that can continue its success, so a complete brand strategy overhaul is likely unnecessary. However, the market is constantly evolving, and the risk of complacency for a growing company can quickly halt any momentum gained in the past. A company’s brand positioning needs to evolve as it does, following the growth from where the brand is today to where it wants to be tomorrow.
Before you begin to create your brand strategy, you should take stock of where you are. You will have many questions regarding your business on a number of important topics, including whether you are communicating the right thing to your target audiences, what brands in your portfolio hold the most potential for continued growth, and whether a rebrand would be a successful step to take. When faced with organizing and recognizing where you are as a brand, it is a good idea to bring in a third party to handle the research and analysis, who can provide objective results that cannot be reached when the work is done internally.
There are a few areas where many growing companies can find benefit in setting a strategy of evolution, including product and service lines, social media strategies, and how you position your company to your consumers. The main focus should be on ensuring that your brand can adapt and excel in an ever-changing business environment, without compromising your core characteristics.
Set yourself up for future growth – plan and strategize with the mindset that your past success was just the beginning and soon, your brand equity will carry enough weight to begin driving a portion of your business.
Follow us on Twitter @AddisonWhitney or join the conversation on Facebook and Google+
The Good, The Bad & The Bizarre of Brand Extensions
Once upon a time Coca-Cola had only soft drinks, Burger King only had burgers, and Nokia had rubber boots…
Yes, you read that correctly. The same Nokia that has been a telecommunications company and long time mobile phone manufacturer started out as an industrial conglomerate that produced galoshes and other rubber products.
Other than having strong and highly recognizable names these companies along with many others have tried their hand at extending their brand beyond their individual flagship products. Brand extensions are a complex venture and run the chance of being either highly successful or horribly awful.
Unlike product extensions which are the use of a brand's name for a new item in the same product category, a brand extension is a strategy deployed when a company uses their brand name and attaches it to a new product in a different product category from the original established product. Much like Starbucks did when they introduced their liquor line in addition to their signature coffee.
Attaching a brand name to a new product category allows marketers to capitalize on the brand equity of the original brand and attach it to something new in hopes that consumers will associate the same experience and knowledge they have of the brand to the new product. But attaching a brand name to a new product is not always easy, it can be costly for both the brand extension and original brand because a poor choice for brand extensions may dilute and deteriorate the core brand and damage its brand equity.
When a brand extension is successful it can prove to be a lucrative move for brands, and in some instances like Nokia the brand extension becomes more successful than the original venture. But sometimes brand extensions are just flat out weird. So, which are which? Take a look at the graph below and see some brand extensions I've laid out as the good, the bad, and the bizarre.
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!
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
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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!