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.
