Pp Mar Comm Philosphy 06.11

The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story

Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications

JoAnn Riley BeckmanMARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS ManagementMarketing Strategist + Creative Leader + Project | Product | People Champion

[email protected]/in/JoAnnRileyBeckman

PhilosophyPhilosophy

The first piece of the puzzle focuses on strategy —

defining a clear industry position — and considers three of the traditional 4Ps of marketing [product, price, place].

To me, overseeing an organization’s marketing communication efforts is like putting together a puzzle.

The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND

Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications

Overview

The fourth component — promotion — focuses on sharing the company’s story in a way that reaches the target audience by their preferred channel of communication and motivates the target audience to act.

When all the pieces fit —

the synergistic effort is reflected in an organization’s bottom line.



Overview

I have drawn on my versatile writing style and keen sense of design to develop branded communication strategies . . .

for a full range of media types and platforms for both business-to-business and consumer product and professional services organizations.



Overview

While the product sectors and go-to-strategies varied,

the objective – to leverage an organization’s strengths to

pursue opportunities for further growth – remained consistent.

This effort often began with reinforcing,

repositioning or reinventing the brand.



Overview

The samples that I am sharing illustrate two very different approaches to brand development based on the divergent customer drivers of each industry.

An earlier stint on the agency side, provided me with a comprehensive understanding of the intricacies of the creative process and a hands-on lesson on how to best manage creative resources to maximize output.



Overview

Vitronic Promotional GroupCorporate Gifts Wholesaler

VPG | Brand Story

BRAND Integration | Positioning

PRODUCT Development

INTEGRATED Channel Marketing Communications



In this position, I reorganized, refocused and spearheaded the marketing communication, product development and sales support function for a corporate gifts wholesaler.

I joined the organization, which I later re-named Vitronic Promotional Group, after it acquired a competitor of equal size.

Both companies were well-established players in the industry, but were complacent and lacked solid industry identities and out-dated product offerings.

VPG | Brand StoryThe Art of Sharing

a Company’s BRAND Story


After attending my first industry trade show soon after joining, I determined the message driver of the distributor base – new products or product INNOVATION.

VPG | Brand Story

I kept this insight in mind, when I began integrating the two organizations.

In addition, I drew upon a wealth of information published by the industry’s trade associations, including a yearly state of the industry report, which ranked sales by market type.



VPG | Brand Story

Once I established a solid industry position for the new entity – low cost, design leader – I needed to translate it – both visually and verbally – to create a personality for the new identity.



I used this information, combined with results from extensive industry, competitive and sales historyanalysis to determine the organization’s strengths

and where it could best compete in this industry.

In this industry, the keys to success were multi-fold:

Break through the industry clutter . . .characterized by countless promotional offers

Establish and build the company’s new position Simplify the product selection process




Establishing a new brand personality or identity proved paramount to turning commodity items into fashion-forward accessories

I developed a branded communication strategy — encompassing messaging and visual look – transforming it from an image of your grandfather’s promotional products to a leading supplier of low-cost, fashion-inspired design

VPG | Brand Story



VPG | Brand StoryThe distributor audience took notice – sales grew by 25%, while profitability grew by 40%. With a focus on continuous product innovation, the contribution of new products to the bottom line grew from negligible to over 40% in less than three years.

The distributor audience took notice. Sales grew over 25%, while profitability grew by 40%.

With a focus on continuous product innovation, the contribution of new products to the bottom line grew from negligible to over 40% in less than three years.


Story Through INTEGRATED

Marketing Communications

In the corporate gifts industry, print catalogs remained the preferred channel to receive information and served as a year-long reference source.

The company’s transformation occurred over a period of two plus years, beginning with visually integrating the two organizations.

VPG | Brand Story

VPG | Catalog and Accompanying Collateral



VPG | Brand Story


I drove the annual catalog project — including . . .

• Established a memorable theme [clutter breaker]• Depicted that theme graphically • Wrote copy to build upon the company’s position• Determined page by page layout • Oversaw photography and graphic design• Coordinated printing and fulfillment



Finalized new products for inclusion Developed accompanying collateral Planned for major trade exhibitions Kept associates in the loop of activities

VPG | Brand Story


As with all INTEGRATED marketing communication initiatives, I juggled a multitude of projects, including:



2005 Vitronic & Four Seasons

Prior to acquiring a competitor and undergoing BRAND INTEGRATION and TRANSFORMATION.

The acquired company’s brand image looked similar.




VPG | Brand Story

2006 Vitronic | Four Seasons & Admanco

YEAR 1 | Visual Integration[This stage completed in less than 4 months] VISUAL IntegrationTwo BRANDS | Corporate IDENTITIES [Two 90+ page catalogs]

THEME | Expect the Unexpected



2007Vitronic Promotional Group[Shows 200+ page catalog with a few coordinating sales collateral pieces]

Year 2 | One BRAND and Corporate IDENTITY[new name and visual look]

POSITIONING STATEMENT|New Name. Same Trusted Brands.

THEME | New Leader in Real Cool Stuff

PRODUCT FOCUS Change|Lead with TOTE and BAG Lines




2008Vitronic Promotional GroupJoined the ranks of Top 40 Supplier of Promotional Products

Year 3 | Full BRAND and Corporate IDENTITY Integration

THEME | Discover the Seven Wonders of the Promotional Products World

VPG | Brand StoryThis 200+ page catalog earned the top industry honor as BEST Full-Line CATALOG.


Story Through INTEGRATED

Marketing Communications

2009 Vitronic Promotional GroupMaintained position as Top 40 Supplier of Promotional Products

YEAR 4 | Full BRAND and Corporate IDENTITY Integration

THEME | There’s no place like Vitronic!COLORS and FABRICS and FRINTS, oh my!







2009 Vitronic Promotional Group

Accompanying cover letterfor catalog mailing

Communication channel development




VPG | E-COMMERCE → Web Site and Email Strategy

Proved vital to creating the perception of freshness in an industry driven by new products.

A comprehensive, user-friendly web site which resulted in a 30% increase in e-commerce sales

A cost-effective email strategy which enabled me to distribute sales collateral electronically, reducing the print budget by 30%.




To maximize promotional spend, I added a strong digital presence, which was more cost-effective and measurable than print or paid media.

Once again, copy and graphics, which I refreshed constantly to reinforce the company’s brand value of continuous product innovation, took a light-hearted, story-telling approach.




Web Site |HOME PAGE

THEME | Explore the Seven Wonders of the Promotional Products World. The Journey Resumes in Quest of Striking . . .




Email Program

I developed a content schedule, which focused on time relevant ideas such as seasonal products, promotions, new products and gift ideas.

SAMPLES | Product-focused emails

Distributor Newsletter | Blog To position the company as the industry leader in value-priced, retail-inspired design, I developed a newsletter | blog that featured industry relevant topics and promotional ideas



Through INTEGRATED Marketing

Communications

ERG | Brand StoryThe Art of Sharing



Eagle Realty GroupFull Service Commercial Real Estate Provider

CORPORATE | BRAND Identity

CREATIVE SERVICES Management

INTEGRATED Marketing | Corporate Communications




Previously, it handled real estate investment, development, leasing and management needs for its parent, Western & Southern Financial Group.

Once again, I joined this company at a time of transition in its history. Eagle Realty Group made a strategic decision to acquire a company as a means to expand its property management and brokerage services to third-party accounts.

My directive was to position this multi-disciplined real estate company for third-party business development. In this role, I served in a consulting capacity on three levels:



ERG | Brand Story

Core Business With three primary areas

Executive Management Corporate | Employee Communications

Enterprise or Parent Company Cross Communications Team United Way

To facilitate the business development effort, I immediately scheduled a series of meetings with the department heads to learn about their operations.




I soon learned that the business areas operated as silos. This discovery prompted me to form a cross-discipline team, comprised of representatives of the primary business areas to:

Facilitate communication Share marketplace activities and contacts Build possible synergies

ERG | Brand Story

This team effort enabled me to gain consensus as to how to:

• Best position the company in its defined markets• Develop a visual branding program• Formulate messaging• Develop key business tools such as:

o a universal capabilities brochure - which could be customized for each business area

o a web presence



The much higher sophistication level of the commercial real estate industry required that a provider support its claims with empirical evidence such as:




• number of transactions, • proof of assets under management• references and results from satisfied clients

I supported three distinct business areas:

Brokerage and Commercial Property Management Residential Property Management Investment Management

The business development and sales process in each area differed greatly, but the bottom line was the same — the client wanted proof of success.







1997 Eagle Realty Group

Executive management developed a capabilities brochure without input from the core businesses.

When I joined the company, the department heads voiced concerns that the brochure took a one size fits all approach and did not contain the information relevant to their business areas.

At that point, the company had selected a logo design and corporate colors.

1998 Eagle Realty Group

The cross-discipline team approach enabled me gain consensus as to how to best position the company in its defined markets, develop a visual branding program and develop key business tools such as a universal capabilities brochure, which could be tailored to each business area, and a web presence.




Corporate Level |Visual IDENTITY Program

VISUAL BRANDING Focused On:

A look that conveyed conservative and worldly, but progressive

A messaging platform based on empirical proof of performance,

in addition to sharing the benefits of being backed by a financial power house

and the synergies gained by employing a full-service operation




Semi-Annual Market Report | PERSPECTIVE

MESSAGE DRIVER | Local Market Expert To position the company as the local market expert, I published a semi-annual market report which chronicled key transactions in the specialties of office, retail and industrial leasing, in addition to the sales of investment properties.

In this industry sector, keeping a pulse on the marketplace is second only to strong client relationships.

Brokerage Services

SAMPLE Proposal Cover Letter

MESSAGE DRIVER | Local Market Expert

I tailored each proposal and accompanying cover letter to address concerns of the owner — whether they were a result of a national event or property specific. The average proposal ran 20 to 30 pages.




Residential Property Management

Web Site Home Page |Office Tower Development

[Now gracing the Cincinnati skyline and known as the Great American Tower at Queen City Square] The project took 15 to 20 years of planning before it rose from the banks of the Ohio River.

During my tenure with Eagle, I developed many sales tools — including a web site, numerous brochures and proposals — before the development even broke ground.




Investment Management | Development

Community Involvement United Way

Communications Chair2001 – 2004Western & Southern Financial Group During my tenure chairing the communications aspect of this fundraiser, I developed a unified graphic look based on each year’s theme and then applied it to an integrated 4-level associate campaign, which utilized the company intranet, email and print.

In addition to championing the project, I wrote copy for the various communication tools.




Corporate Communications

Pp Mar Comm Philosphy 06.11

Documents

companys brand story

companys story

industry trade

clear industry position

outdated product offerings

solid industry identities

creative resources

synergistic effort