From Many Voices to a Single Story: Global Brand Launch
Organization: $100M Software-as-a-Service Company, privately held
Industry: Technology, Education
Result: Create a unified voice to capture enterprise deal
Category: Brand Voice, Marketing Investment
Like many B2B technology companies, this client made multiple acquisitions, large and small, resulting in a global presence with multiple brands and multiple voices. Working closely with company executives, we developed a global brand identity that enabled Sales to capture enterprise deals with a polished, unified story. With a new corporate website as a centerpiece, our marketing team delivered a brand rollout that included training for every employee in the company to enable mastery of the new image and message on a global scale.
Small Company, Big Story to Big Targets
Organization: Small Consulting and Marketing Business
Industry: Consulting, Technology, B2B
Result: Strategy pivot to capture global brands as clients
Category: Brand Voice, Marketing Investment
When small companies want to target big brands, they need a story that is simple, clear and immediately understood by the buyer. Sounds basic, but in a competitive world, our client found itself balancing stories that were “all things to all people” against proof points that required too much customer effort to deliver. At the same time, market trends were beginning to signal a commoditization of the client’s services, prompting the development of more productized offerings and repositioned services.
Enter their new story, “We connect engagement to demand.” Armed with this simple message, the company is now able to expand into new product and service areas with a story that captures the buyer’s attention.
From Support Staff to Strategic Campaigns: Building a Marketing Team in One Year
Organization: $100M Software-as-a-Service Company, privately held
Industry: Technology, Education
Result: In-house marketing team capable of managing campaigns and measuring performance
Category: Marketing Capability, Marketing Investment
Our client, after growing by acquisition, had marketing support staff in multiple offices managing multiple tactics with little focus on goals or performance measurement. We performed an assessment of current staff competencies, an analysis of the programs required to take the business forward, and determined that a campaign engine was needed to effectively drive the sales pipeline. We developed a capability plan that included four marketing functions: Brand, Communications, Events and Marketing Automation.
We worked closely with the executive team to craft and approve an investment that was appropriate for the company’s growth stage. For each function, we recommended insourcing or outsourcing teams to deliver against corporate goals most efficiently, on-boarded staff and agencies, selected and implemented a technology solution (Eloqua), and developed processes to align with, and ultimately drive, sales pipeline. Our first test of the team and the processes was an internal campaign to support a global brand rollout. The campaign won an external creative award, and the campaign metrics presented to the executive team pronounced the brand rollout a success.
From Capture Management to Lead Generation: Establishing a Pipeline Process
Organization: Newly acquired division of a $1B professional services firm, publicly traded
Industry: Technology, Professional Services
Result: Pipeline development and visibility
Category: Marketing Capability
Our client, seeking a balanced portfolio, acquired small, growing commercial firms to complement its established federal contracting business. While most the client’s corporate functions were able to quickly absorb and support new acquisitions, marketing and sales capability presented a gap. The practice of pursuing formal RFPs, so effective in the federal market, could not be adapted to these new commercial acquisitions. We worked with a small B2B division focused on selling technology implementations via partners such as Rackspace, Adobe and Microsoft, to establish a campaign capability. Our work included content development, alignment with the buyer’s journey and lead generation, which enabled the client to populate and manage the pipeline.
Tell the Strongest Story to Investors: Maximizing Acquisitions at a Global Firm
Organization: $1B Professional Services Firm, Publicly Traded
Industry: Federal Contracting, Professional Services, Healthcare, Energy, Technology
Result: Maximize Acquisitions in Investor Story
Category: Brand Voice, Marketing Capability
Our client, a $1B professional services firm, looked like a collection of small brands and niche offerings from the outside. Although the investor community responded positively to each acquisition, there was an additional opportunity to communicate a more compelling global story across the Healthcare, Energy and Technology markets. We conducted stakeholder interviews with every member of the executive team to create a brand and communications architecture. That architecture served as a clear, concise map of “Who we are and what we do.” The SVP of Strategy utilized the architecture to strategically frame the content and format for investor days and analyst briefings.
Building a B2B Social Strategy from Scratch at a B2C Company
Organization: $100M division at a $1B Media Services Company, publicly traded
Industry: B2C, B2B, Federal Contracting, Human Resources, Technology, Professional Services
Result: New vertical marketing channel
Category: Marketing Capability, Marketing Investment
We created the first B2B social media function and campaign at a global B2C media services company with a big television advertising budget and a limited, irregular focus on B2B marketing. Our client, the government solutions group, was a $100M division dedicated to the federal, state and local and education markets.
Our program included the assessment of customer activity on multiple social media channels, the selection of a blog and Twitter feed, and the launch of a blog dedicated to the government audience. To support the program, we assembled and managed an internal cross-functional team and also recruited outside resources to build the site and distribute the content. Our campaign to promote the blog resulted in a 300% increase in readership year-over-year, and $10M in pipeline development.
Cultivating a Sales and Marketing Culture at a Small Consulting Firm
Organization: $10M Consulting Firm
Industry: Federal Contracting, Human Resources, Technology, Professional Services
Result: Move from a subcontractor to a prime contractor
Category: Brand Voice, Marketing Capability
Our client, a small consulting firm selling HR services to federal clients, was profitable and growing as a subcontractor. To get to the next growth tier, however, they needed to get out from behind the prime contractor brands and establish a voice and a process to develop their own opportunities. We developed a visual brand identity and message, a sales database and a business development process that connected all of the interactions the consultants had with clients and prospects. By incorporating the new message and methodology into the proposal process, the client won a competitive defense contract that nearly doubled their annual sales.