freshbrands

freshbrands
2011 annual review
Nothing pleases our senses more than fresh-cut brands. But what does fresh mean these days? To us fresh brands are:
this year’s brandscape
interactive.
Something to sink your digits into with left-brain metrics. Yes, interactive means great websites,
social campaigns, SEO/SEM and email alongside usability, click-through and rankings. But
interactive also has the right-brain responsibility to deliver the power of engagement, likeability
and memorability. Interactive is a two-edged blade.
clear cut.
o the point, easy to grasp, respectful of your audience’s time and preferences. Today, we have
T
seconds at best to communicate a clear promise of value. Fresh brands do this best. Remember,
many communicate; few cut through.
different.Even if your offering isn’t wildly so. A brand is a unique identity based on a promise of value
different than others. In our clients’ worlds, the core difference is often a handful of degrees.
That’s where personality shines. As Mr. Warhol said: “Yes, I’m superficial, but I’m deeply
superficial.”
purposeful.
eant to solve marketing problems and help well-maintained businesses grow. Fresh brands,
M
paired with smart marketing and sales programs, rise to the challenge. They undo perceptions,
generate awareness, drive preference and create opportunities.
breathtaking.Okay, we’re designers so we pay attention to infinite aesthetic details because “beautiful” is
simply easier on the eyes. However, fresh brands do more than look good; they stop traffic,
which takes courage. If your brand doesn’t leave you a little short of breath, it’s not fresh.
nurturing.
ost of our clients are in the relationship business selling intangibles like trust and confidence
M
alongside expertise and results. Fresh brands make a connection on those two levels, appealing
to the mind and the heart. When reason meets emotion, relationships blossom.
So that’s our take. Inside you’ll find the stories of nine client brands built in 2011—ranging from one of the world’s leading
providers of management education to professional service leaders in the consulting, law and accounting markets. These
client stories certainly meet our measure of freshness. And if you agree, spread the word—online and off.
— Joe Walsh, Erika Ritzer, Burkey Belser and Kim Proxmire
AMA
T
he American Management
Association is the largest
training organization in
the world by far. We’ll bet
there’s not a reader who
hasn’t benefited from one
of their courses on project
management or the basic
principles of accounting. In
fact, it’s that very success
that has made it difficult for
AMA to grab the upper end
of the market. HR directors
and C-suite executives trust
AMA to train the rank and
file, but the connection often
breaks when more complex,
company-wide leadership
education is considered.
Unfair! No organization
is better qualified to create
a comprehensive, catalytic,
company-changing learning
strategy than AMA. They’ve
got the faculty, the programs
and the ability to scale
worldwide.
We were asked to redefine
a strong corporate learning
services division under new
leadership. We created a new
name and defined the talent
transformation process for
corporate executives into
six simple steps. But simple
is as simple does; adding
drama to each step makes
them memorable.
FOR BOSTON SCIENTIFIC
TALENT TRANSFORMATION
Boston Scientific
Developing Leadership Talent
Sandra L. Edwards
Senior Vice President
American Management
Association
1601 Broadway
New York, NY 10019-7420
203.421.3213 Tel
203.314.8030 Cell
203.421.4848 Fax
[email protected]
www.amaenterprise.org
Six Steps to Transform Talent
became the banner under which other
messages marched. Naturally, we then
touched the AMA website, reworking the
primary and secondary navigation as
well as the presentation of the landing
pages. We also jumped in to help clarify
and humanize the sales pitch.
Confidential
FOR BOSTON SCIENTIFIC
TALENT TRANSFORMATION
Depth and Breadth in 20 Fields of Study
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Business Writing
Communication Skills*
Customer Service
Finance and Accounting*
Human Resource
Management
Information Technology
Mgt
Interpersonal Skills*
Leadership*
Management &
Supervisory Skills*
Marketing*
* Subject areas which feature a Blended Learning Course
FOR BOSTON SCIENTIFIC
• O"ce and
Administrative Support*
• Presentation Skills
• Project Management*
• Purchasing and Supply
Management
• Sales*
• Strategic Alliance
Management*
• Strategic Planning*
• Thinking and
Innovation*
• Time Management*
• Training and
Development
TALENT TRANSFORMATION
Tailoring and Customization
Level One
Minor
Modifications
Level Two
Adjustments to
Existing Content
2 2011 ANNUAL REVIEW
Level Three
New Content
American Management Association 3
Cultural vistas
NICOLSON LAW GROUP
T
S
he Association for International Practical
Training and CDS International merged to
become Cultural Vistas (our second naming
project in 2011). Cultural Vistas is a nonprofit organization serving students and
professionals both inbound (to the U.S.) and
outbound (overseas). It gives individuals the
experience of day-to-day working life in other
countries. And it connects employers with
the emerging talent they need to succeed
now and in the future. We helped define the
new organization’s identity, in words, online
and in the voluminous materials required for
participants, partners and sponsors in print.
Do we fall in love with all of our clients? We’re
afraid so. There’s something about the trust
they place in us and our desire to do the best
work that makes us so sentimental. Great
clients know how to squeeze heart and soul
out of us. And vice versa.
Images Courtesy of University of New Hampshire
everal attributes make Nicolson
Law Group different from
your average “corporate” law firm.
There’s its size (five lawyers),
focus (commercial litigation) and
demographics (all woman partners),
to name three. But the firm’s biggest
difference is in its unique blend of
experience and efficiency. It’s size
and approach delivers a highly prized
combination as corporate counsel work
to do more with less. To this point,
Nicolson positions itself as important,
confident and a leader, taking on the
big guys with a strong comparative
pitch that is uniquely Nicolson’s. Their
big-firm experience coupled with their
small firm efficiencies makes them a
great value alternative.
The use of a contemporary color
scheme and arresting images helps
convey Nicolson’s strength, confidence
and entrepreneurial spirit as highperformance litigators who aren’t
willing to take a back seat. The firm’s
new brand is an integrated package
of identity, web, ads and a trade
show booth. Speaking of efficiencies,
this work was delivered through our
smaller-firm initiative, which helps
small to mid-sized firms build sharp
brands on scale and at a price that fits.
Nicolson Law Group LLC
Rose Tree Corporate Center II
1400 N. Providence Road
Suite 4045 Media, PA 19063
P. 610.891.0300
F. 610.891.0333
Cheryl M.
NiColsoN
Attorney at Law
D. 610.480.6081
[email protected]
the big firm
alternative.
Nicolson Law Group LLC is a sophisticated litigation boutique concentrating on product liability, retail liability, insurance
coverage and litigation, employment law and school law. A small firm that packs a punch.
Rose Tree Corporate Center II
1400 N. Providence Road Suite 4045 Media, PA 19063
P. 610.891.0300 F. 610.891.0333
nicolsonlawgroup.com
4 2011 ANNUAL REVIEW
Cultural Vistas / Nicolson Law Group 5
APEX
A
pex is a fast-growing environmental
consulting and engineering firm with
expansion plans. They are ready to challenge
the nation’s leaders in the field and sit at
the apex of the profession. While other firms
simply adopt a name, Apex is earning theirs.
Sometimes the shift from “before” to “after”
is unimpressive. The re-imagining of Apex
as seen in their logo, website, brochure and
other materials matches their ambition and
represents a remarkable departure from the
hunton & williams
past. Not every firm fits as comfortably in their
new clothes as Apex.
Note that the brand program was built
around “business elements” that, in their
business, are water, land, air and facilities.
Government regulations and economic
conditions are weighing heavily on businesses.
Apex scientists and engineers play a key
role in solving business challenges to not
only meet regulatory requirements, but also
accelerate business growth.
H
unton & Williams has grown
to be one of the 50 largest
law firms in the United States
but, like many fast-growing firms,
its name recognition lags behind
its reach. As the new look and
feel of the brand took shape, we
designed the homepage marquee
to celebrate the firm’s remarkable
rankings. Clearly, greater name
recognition is well-deserved.
To the right of the website is
a timeline of the firm’s history
told in decades. This type of firm
history is much more likely to
engage the reader than the shelf
of 400-page historical tomes the
firm has in its library archive.
The firm takes its internal
reputation as seriously as
it does its reputation in the
world. For three years, the
firm has focused on the
categories that make an
organization one of Fortune’s
Best Places to Work.
Some entries to Fortune’s
competition are over the top.
This entry is simple, honest
and elegant.
6 2011 ANNUAL REVIEW
Apex / Hunton & Williams 7
BerryDUNN
W
hat’s with the shoes? You might ask
that exact question as you take in
BerryDunn’s stylish new brand, launched
earlier this year with a new logo, identity
system, brochures, pitch documents, website
and more. Berr yDunn’s CPAs and advisors
are entrepreneurial types by nature—working
with clients throughout New England and in
industry pockets across the country.
The shoes—from a wing tip on roller blades
to a flip-flop skateboard—are a metaphor
for advancing with control: two things every
driven business leader tries to accomplish.
The firm delivers this two-step promise by
pairing technical know-how with a clear
understanding of their client’s business and
what it takes to keep clients on a roll.
With its rebranding, BerryDunn introduces a
contemporary, vital and engaging look and
feel that begins with a new firm logo. They
also apply good old-fashioned New England
practicality by investing in good creative
and then extracting the most out of that
investment with repeat use. Smart.
8 2011 ANNUAL REVIEW
BerryDunn
9
LB3/TC2
plante moran
I
S
f the LB3 and TC2 law and consulting monikers
have a high-tech or telecom ring to them, that’s a
good thing—advising on and negotiating large-scale
corporate tele- and data communications purchases
is all these two firms do. And they do it exceptionally
well. We like to say the best professional services
marketing efforts teach, they don’t (overtly) sell. LB3
and TC2 do this in spades. And like the best teachers,
they don’t bore you with drills. They engage the
scanning reader—the only kind we have. The sister
firms’ websites, along with companion brochures,
share lessons learned in hundreds of engagements.
Visitors dial up those insights on a faux-telephonic
touchpad, reinforcing the firm’s focus.
10 2011 ANNUAL REVIEW
ome firms need to dig to articulate their
difference. Others like Plante Moran,
the nation’s 12th largest audit, tax and
consulting firm, simply have different DNA.
Plante Moran’s difference tracks back to a
philosophical founder who believed deeply
in the golden rule. That simple proposition
has led to an award-winning culture (13 years
running as one of Fortune’s 100 Best Places
to Work). That core value also led to the rapid
ascension of the firm as a national player in
its field. Plante Moran delivers a remarkable
mix of performance and caring. The firm’s
new branding effort is equal parts empathetic
and confident. Through countless successful
engagements, Plante Moran professionals
have seen the problems and opportunities
clients face, and they promise a higher return
on that experience. New ads, collateral and
a web refresh share life lessons as business
lessons—all with an up-close and very human
acknowledgment that no business is perfect,
even when perfection drives us!
Levine, Blaszak, Block & Boothby LLP / TechCaliber Consulting LLC / Plante Moran 11
Stewart McKelvey
R
esearch shows that this
nationally admired Atlantic
Canadian law firm earns accolades
for its clear understanding of what
matters most to clients. That’s why
the challenging goals clients face are
at the core of the firm’s fresh new
brand—logo, identity, advertising,
website, collateral and virtually all of
its other communications. Stewart
McKelvey’s message is that the firm
delivers the experience, guidance
and can-do attitude clients need to
get where they want to go… even
when the goals are a bit of a stretch.
The arresting images central to the brand program were chosen and reworked to
represent these difficult, often outsized client challenges. They are paired with
motivational headlines that twist some old business maxims. As you peruse the
firm’s completely redesigned and developed website, these key messages follow
you sitewide. New attorney bios break with precedent to share more about the
firm’s professionals and their personalities—previewing what it is like to work
with a let’s-get-it-done leader like Stewart McKelvey.
12 2011 ANNUAL REVIEW
Stewart McKelvey 13
show me yours,
I’ll show you mine.
CONTACT
Joe Walsh
Principal
I5 Monument Square
Portland, ME 04I0I
207.553.9030
[email protected]
Erika Ritzer
Principal
I8I8 N Street NW
Suite II0
Washington, DC 20036
202.420.7542
[email protected]
seasoned
by any measure
Burkey Belser
President
I8I8 N Street NW
Suite II0
Washington, DC 20036
202.775.0333
[email protected]
Over half of the practice group leaders named
‘Best in America’.
-Best Lawyers
Kim Proxmire
Senior Strategist
708I Violet Veil Court
Dublin, OH 430I6
6I4.873.3I0I
[email protected]
It may be elegant or playful.
tsullivan
CHOATE HALL & From:
STEWART
LLP
Hello, I’m looking at your site from
my mobile and you look great!
home page
© 2011 by Choate Hall & Stewart LLP | All Rights Reserved.
Same here. I’m looking at yours.
Cool! Or, maybe, I should say hot!
We think you both look good. But
then, we know you inside and out.
Greenfield/Belser Ltd. is a national leader in brand strategy and design for professional
services firms. For over 30 years, our designers, copywriters, account executives, web
developers and media strategists have tapped the latest research to create integrated
branding and marketing campaigns to make over 400 professional services clients unique.
greenfieldbelser.com