Case Studies - Global Reputation and Branding
By Raha Naddaf, Staff Writer
The collection of all case studies from the 2004 Gold Quill
Awards program, titled, "Best Practices in Communication Planning
and Implementation, Volume 19," is scheduled for release in
October. The new softcover book will feature more than 100 case
studies of what's working in communication right now. Online preordering
will be available soon at www.iabc.com/knowledge.
"Our Future is Wide Open Campaign," Saskatchewan
Industry and Resources
Our Future is Wide Open is a multimedia campaign to improve optimism
within Saskatchewan, Canada, and raise awareness outside the province
that Saskatchewan is a good place to live, invest and do business.
The Government of Saskatchewan launched the three-year awareness
campaign in November 2002 to build optimism in the future of the
province and awareness of Saskatchewan’s economic and cultural
strengths.
The preliminary campaign was organized in three phrases. Phase
1 was intended to create a province of “brand ambassadors”
more willing to promote Saskatchewan to their contacts inside and
outside the province. Phase 2 shifted the focus to an out-of-province
business audience. In-province, sub-campaigns were targeted at the
youth and business, while continuing the general "Our Future
is Wide Open" television advertising. Phase 3 saw the launch
of partnership initiatives.
Results and feedback from the campaign attest to its success. In
a national poll conducted in June 2003 of 1,639 senior business
people across the country, 43 percent recalled seeing the campaign’s
advertising. Out of that number, 38 percent were more interested
in conducting business in the province and 47 percent said their
attitude toward the province became more positive after viewing
the ads. Analysis of similar national campaigns showed the latter
result to be well above industry standards of 27 percent positively
affected by advertising.
“How Do I Become a Great Master,” Studio Kernel
To be a baker by profession is no longer popular these days. Even
if the very popular Grosuplje Bakery is offering scholarships, there
were no young people to apply for it. Therefore the company decided
to challenge the prejudice through a convincing, experience-based
communication strategy. After three years, the bakery gained long-awaited
young baker candidates.
Studio Kernel saw the need to eradicate the primary audience’s
prejudice that the baker’s profession is obsolete. The profession
is connected to the typical image of a hot bakery and sleepless
nights. The team wanted to achieve an image that the baker’s
profession is something contemporary and useful for the community.
In addition to increasing interest in working at the bakery, the
team also wanted to provide their scholarship awards to deserving
individuals, a task they were unable to do in the past two years
due to a lack of interest. In order to achieve their goals, the
bakery cooperated with the school where their primary audience is
still studying, and high schools, where they will continue their
education. The bakery realized the need to increase awareness in
the local community about their successful financial performance.
The bakery also shifted the idea of the “baker” into
the “master,” and started publishing stories about “Masters
from the Bakery” in the two local printed media, which presented
young and more experienced bakers and their modern lifestyles. Their
many efforts paid off, as the bakery was able to gain exposure,
reach their primary audiences who developed an overwhelming interest
to work in the store.
"Hanson Brick: Launching North America’s Largest Brick
Manufacturer," Argyle Rowland Communications
In 1999, Hanson plc, one of the world’s largest building
materials companies, bought seven brick companies across North America—in
Texas, Kentucky, Michigan, the Carolinas, Ontario and Québec.
After letting the companies retain their traditional identities
for several years, Hanson decided that by April 2003, they would
be consolidated into one company, with one brand—“Hanson
Brick.”
Richard Manning, president and CEO of the new Hanson Brick, led
the largest brick maker in North America—but a big company
isn’t necessarily a big brand. He still had to integrate 2,000
employees who spoke three different languages, worked in seven different
cultures, and had personal relationships with thousands of customers.
Some of the companies had a hundred years or more of history behind
them, and many employees and customers had mixed feelings about
the acquisition.
In late 2002, Mr. Manning and his team engaged Argyle Rowland Communications
to develop and implement a strategy to launch the new company to
multiple audiences, with the most critical being customers and employees.
The stakes were high. Protecting the company’s US$300 million
in revenue meant transferring the brand equity from the seven former
companies to the new one and positioning the new Hanson Brick for
future success in a very competitive market.
After recognizing key employee perceptions, the Argyle Rowland
Communications team developed the following strategies: rebrand
through relationships; create a national brand with regional dimensions;
use direct and indirect channels to reach audiences; deliver the
message: Great products, great people; and establish the “launch
month.” In terms of its objectives, the launch of Hanson Brick
was a success. The campaign’s achievements included increased
employee participation, satisfaction and retention. Among Hanson’s
“top-tier” customers, more than 75 percent attended
launch events.
"Brand Building: Vanguard’s Plain Talk Education,"
The Vanguard Group
Vanguard has always obtained a loyal following among do-it-yourselfers
who enjoy financial planning. But once they grew to be the largest
no-load mutual fund company, their audience included many who find
financial planning a chore—or a bore. Audience research revealed
that the in-depth education welcomed by “planners” could
bury many of the 2.7 million workers participating in 401(k) plans
administered by Vanguard. Most don’t want an education—they
just want to know what to do. Vanguard created each of its 401(k)
education kits in isolation. While each of these individual efforts
had merit, collectively they were a hodgepodge of discordant designs
and one-shot slogans. In sales meetings with prospective clients,
it was hard to summarize their education approach. Afterwards, they
heard that their education wasn’t memorable, or that it looked
like it came from several different companies.
In 2003, Vanguard unified its 401(k) education under a colorful,
streamlined, and emotionally inviting brand called Plain Talk. Analysis
of competitors’ education detected homogeneity to their materials.
They tended to use subdued hues. By contrast, Plain Talk was designed
to look contemporary and feel friendly. Natural, candid photos capture
fleeting moments of everyday life. The text is streamlined, focusing
from the start on the decision at hand and moving quickly to “how
to” solutions. At-a-glance summaries and plenty of white space
make the pieces easy reading, avoiding the “homework”
feeling of dense text.
In order to gain exposure to the new brand, the Vanguard Group
prominently posted wall-sized montages of Plain Talk imagery in
Vanguard offices so that employees could see the new brand first-hand.
The team also created an online style guide for use by their in-house
designers to ensure that the Plain Talk design would retain its
distinctive look as the brand expanded with new programs later on.
A 2003 telephone survey of 946 participants who received Vanguard’s
“core” education (which includes Plain Talk) found they
were significantly more satisfied than those who received other
Vanguard education materials. In particular, Plain Talk scored a
significant success for a 401(k) plan in Morgantown, Pa. Four weeks
after the Plain Talk materials were introduced, the percentage of
workers enrolled in the plan rose from 45 percent to 61 percent—a
35 percent gain in participation.
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