Insight Categories: Brand Strategy

Episode Summary:

A rebrand is more than just a visual refresh. It should also change the way your organization works internally, engages the community, and fundraises. Since rebranding the newly merged Colorectal Cancer Alliance (CCA) several years ago, the organization has been able to double its revenue and build a highly engaged network of supporters that share its dedication to ending colorectal cancer in our lifetime. In this episode, CCA’s Chief Development Officer shares the process behind merging two brands, building an engaged “Nation of Allies” community, and capturing the urgency of the organization’s efforts through a new brand mantra: “Tomorrow Can’t Wait.”

Transcript: 

Clara:

When cancer is found in the colon or rectum, it’s called colorectal cancer. It is the third most common cancer found in the United States, it’s the second leading cause of cancer death, and, contrary to popular belief, it affects men and women of all racial and ethnic groups.

In today’s episode, I sat down with Grafik’s Chief Brand Strategist Hal Swetnam, Lynn Umemoto, Principal, Client Strategy, and Regan Huneycutt, the Chief Development Officer of the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, the oldest and largest cancer nonprofit in the United States.

Grafik and the Alliance have been working together for nearly three years, and together have successfully raised awareness of the dangers and methods of prevention for colorectal cancer.

Our discussion led to some really interesting topics and fun anecdotes surrounding the challenges between agencies and nonprofits. We also talked about how our work over the past three years has not only successfully helped the organization raise awareness, but also raise funds.

So sit back and take a listen.

Hal:

Hi!

Regan:

Hi!

Clara:

Well, first and foremost, Reagan, thank you so much for being here today. We are so thrilled that you were able to join us. As we dive right in, would you mind giving us a little bit of an introduction of who you are and what your role is at the Alliance?

Regan:

Well, I’m the chief Development Officer at the Alliance. I’ve been with organization three years now and I had my three year anniversary just a couple weeks ago.

And you know what is so funny, just reflecting on getting prepared for this interview, my very first week at the Alliance is when we were interviewing all of the firms that we were considering to bring on board for the rebrand. So it’s just kind of fitting that here we are three years later.

But in my role, I am responsible for revenue generation. So I lead the fundraising team. And we have been very, very lucky and very blessed to experience wonderful growth in the couple of years–the organization has almost doubled in revenue in those three years, so we’re about a $13.3 million nonprofit. And we raise money in a couple different ways through our individual giving program. So those are folks who either make major gifts to the organization annual fund donations, do their own third party fundraising events, or unfortunately, a lot of giving from individuals in memory of people. So someone who maybe passed away from colorectal cancer and they give to us in that person’s memory. We also raise money through our own signature special events. So we have a 5K Undie Run Walk series in 20 cities across the country and a Blue Hope Bash that started in DC 10 years ago. I believe that has now replicated to four additional cities. And we’re adding three more next year, we do a couple other signature fundraisers and other zip codes as well. We raise money from corporate and foundation givers. So our industry partners, and quite a few family foundations that believe in our mission and support the good work that we do.

So I sort of lead the high level strategy for how we raise money and am very fortunate to have a great team and to be a part of building this organization and ultimately helping end this disease in our lifetime.

Clara:

That’s incredible. Congratulations on everything that you’re doing. What was your hope in this rebranding initiative and what was most important to you and your team?

Regan:

I think that that really evolved over time. I would say in the beginning, it was really about unity, and us coming together as an organization and as a community.

So the Alliance, previously the Colon Cancer Alliance, had merged with the Chris4Life Colon Cancer Foundation in January of 2016. I joined the team in April, and then we partnered with Grafik. It was early summer…it was, early summer?

Hal:

Yes, it was early summer.

Regan:

Yes, literally when I started. So you know, I had never been through a merger before either in a for profit or nonprofit setting. And it was just an amazing experience. It’s really like bringing two families together. You know, there’s duplications of roles, there’s, we did it this way, but we did it that way. We had a lot of even like visual elements in the brand–not so much branding, but just kind of messaging and language and things that were attached to Chris4Life that there was some energy around hanging on to some of that. And it was the legacy of Michael’s mom (Michaels Sapiensa our CEO), his mom was Chris and the Chris4Life Colon Cancer Cancer Foundation was founded in her memory. So we were in this kind of brainstorming phase of figuring out who’s on first and what stays and what goes.

So the process of exploring this rebranding really helped accelerate that sense of unity and bring those two teams together. And then sort of the backdrop to all of that was the community that we represent. You know, colorectal cancer kills 50,000 people a year, it’s the second leading cause of cancer-related death, and we’re a $13 million nonprofit. And back then we were $6 million nonprofit. I mean, that should not be the case.

So we really talked as a team about, you know, what is it that we can do that helps galvanize this community, that helps bring people together, that helps really kind of put a flag in the ground that says, “We’re going to do something about this disease. And we’re going to help grow awareness for colorectal cancer.”

Like, we’ve seen so many other disease states like breast cancer, and Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s and so many others, and the rebrand really was a great vehicle to do that. So we really honed in on, what is our identity? What is our name? What is our look? What is our feel? How do we talk about ourselves? What is it that we’re committed to doing, and then we were able to launch that to our community as sort of this rally cry, and they completely responded.

And it has been such an important vehicle in the growth trajectory that we’re on, it really did evolve. It was in the beginning, like I said, a lot about the merger and bringing the staffs together and kind of figuring out who’s on first. And then as it developed, it completely shifted to being about our community and what our community wanted. And what it was they felt like they expected from the nonprofit that represents their disease day and just been a really cool evolution to witness.

Hal:

It’s funny, because when you talk about that, I forgot that you were so new to the Alliance when we walked in the door. And, and now that I looked back, it’s like…you were Switzerland, through a lot of the process, right?

I mean, because there was like, wait a second, like you said, “We used to do it this way. Why are we, why are we emerging away from that?”

Regan:

Yes.

Hal:

And it’s so funny you say that, but when you think about that process, there must have been things that you were like, considering, “Are we going to get through this process?” It can seem to be so daunting at first, because there was so much on the table.

Regan:

Yes.

Hal:

What were you most concerned about?

Regan:

I’m a very, like, tactical, right-angle type person. So, I’m thinking about like, in the supply room there’s like boxes and logo letterhead, and, oh my God, like, just the task of reprinting, I just go to things like that. And I felt like, early on in our meeting, it was just like, “We gotta let go of work, it’s going to take time,” it’s not like the day that we launched the new brand, like all the new logo things will be here. It’s going to be an evolution in our process.

And I think you guys helped talk us off the ledge on a lot of those things. But um, yeah, it’s a really interesting process to be in, especially fundraisers, the development team is a lot of Type A personalities, a lot of very kind of confident, self-assured people. And they’re normally like, pretty okay with sharing their opinions. And I will never forget, when we came in here to you all’s office, to see, I think you showed us like three versions of the brand? And I mean, it’s like, you were in front of a firing squad.

**Laughter**

Hal:

Right.

Regan:

Like this, like that, da, da, da!

I think you guys even used the analogy, don’t “Mr. Potato Head” it. Don’t pull this, from this, and this. But I think I made a comment at the end, like, you guys are awesome. You just took all that feedback. But part of why the feedback, I think was so intense, is that we’re working for a nonprofit, many of us have lost loved ones to this disease, we’re insanely passionate, and not to say people that are, you know, working for a for-profit businesses aren’t passionate, but we’re just kind of cut from a different cloth.

We eat, sleep, breathe this. And we were so excited about what this meant for our community that there were a lot of opinions and a lot of really strong-willed people. And we got through it. I mean, there definitely were some times where people had to…I always use that saying, like, “kill your darlings,” you know? You gotta let it go. You got to move on.

But I think that there was so much value in us as a newly merged entity going through that process, like you talked about, like a framework on which we built partnership and collegiality. And, you know, alliances, alliances formed! I mean, it just there–there were really critical conversations that had to be had. And people had to really put their thoughts and their feelings and their opinions and their criticisms on the table. And it really helped move us forward as a merged entity. But there were definitely a lot of moments where I was like, “Wow, this is a lot.”

Clara:

How do you think that the rebrand has changed the way that you work within the organization? Now, looking back?

Regan:

That’s a great question. I think that–and this was, this was very much kind of Michael’s vision and expectation in that–we were not going to be status quo, either as an organization or our new brand. It was about being disruptive, it was about being non-traditional; we wanted to really kind of push the boundaries a little bit.

I think now how we operate as employees, like, we’ve seen how that was a place of discomfort for a lot of us to be kind of cutting edge and to do things differently. And now we’ve seen this great result that’s happened by doing that through the rebrand. And now I think it’s made us all feel a little bit more comfortable doing that in our daily job. So being more willing to take risks, or to do things differently from others, or to, you know, totally throw something out the window and start over.

It’s just really kind of fed this entrepreneurial culture, innovative startup mentality. And I think that really started with going through the rebrand process, because an almost 20-year-old organization changing its name, that’s a big deal.

But you know, what? The building did not burn down because we did that.

**Laughter**

So how can we take that and apply it to other things that we do in our daily work? So it was a great experience.

Hal:

There are two parts of that. And one was, when we came back and said, “Hey, we think we have a mantra.” And then there was like, later on, it was the visual expression. But I remember sitting in that meeting, when we said, “We think this is about you know, ‘Tomorrow Can’t Wait.’” Right? And especially you were like, “Wait, I think we got something here.”

Regan:

That was like a goosebumps moment, for sure, yeah. That was huge. Yeah. We talked a lot about urgency. So, urgency within the community and the people that we work so hard to support pass away, and that’s hard for us, especially as staff and hard for our community. So we have this feeling of urgency to do really good work and to make a difference for people. And for that to pull through in ‘Tomorrow Can’t Wait.” It was such a galvanizing moment. I’m getting goosebumps just talking about it right now. It was like the essence of what we are about as an organization. And amazing that you guys, like, I don’t know what secret sauce is in there to come up with that. But it was very cool to see that you guys—

Hal:

That really came from you guys, I mean that’s really kind of you to say, but that really came from you guys, because it was clear that urgency was in the air, it just had never been put down on paper. Everyone kind of felt that.

Regan:

Yeah.

Hal:

Yeah, and we knew that it was time for that, we just hadn’t really articulated it well.

Regan:

It’s really helped us to separate ourselves from our competition. And that sense of urgency and that kind of freshness and the, “we’re not status quo.” And we’re going to push the envelope a little bit; that has helped separate us from others. And it really gives kind of a great conversation starter, when you’re sitting down and talking to a potential donor, it’s really easy to articulate how we’re different from others. And the visual identity really backs that up as well.

Clara:

So we could diverge a little bit and talk about a Nation of Allies. Part of the effort was to galvanize your network, you know, the survivors and the patients, the volunteers, everybody that was involved. How has the impact been on that effort?

Regan:

You know, it started being about staff and about bringing the two organizations together. And it pretty quickly transitioned to being about the community and the people that we represent and Nation of Allies, like that was, that was that other goosebumps moment. That was like, “yes, that’s what we’re–that’s what we’re talking about.”

You know, we’ve worked really hard to message that and to help understand what it means. And part of why I think it’s so effective is that it–it can mean so many things to so many different people in so many different settings. So there’s a…there’s a really strong connection, I think, between community and fundraising, especially with younger donors.

It’s not about just writing a check and putting it in the mail, people want to feel like they’re a part of something and that they’re doing something and they’re helping facilitate some type of change–that they’re in a community of similar people that share in the same desired outcome or have the same passions or expectations. So that is the Nation of Allies. And so, in the fundraising world, it’s this great kind of vehicle through which we can talk about our donor community, and that you are belonging to something because you’ve given your resources to help advance our mission.

And people like that; it makes them feel good, it makes them feel like they’re part of something bigger, and that they’re in this community with other people that are on the same journey. And like, there’s like catnip in that, like some specialness about being a part of that. And it’s definitely helped us raise money, for sure.

Hal:

I would bet, or I would hope, that there would be some nonprofits listening in, or maybe even some development officers listening in that recognize there’s a need to go in and kind of fine-tune the brand a bit, you know, develop some better language and better messaging. But I remember in the course of those conversations, and it was a long kind of very thoughtful, progressive set of conversations. There were times that I could just tell you were like, “Oh, my gosh, where are you taking us?”

Can you talk about some of the—because clearly there were…there were meetings that I said to Lynn, like, “We’re in big trouble with Regan, she’s not on board here, we’re gonna have a separate conversation.”

Regan:

Oh, I’m…I’m trying to remember anything specific that might have made me react like that. I think at its core, it’s–it’s fear. The fear of change and moving in a different direction. And what you put at risk is people’s willingness to open their wallets to you.

So, you know, I think at some point, we have conversations about like, well, when will people figure out they need to make their checks out to Colorectal Cancer Alliance instead of Colon Cancer Alliance? And like, think of the issues that that creates, and donor confusion, and just some of those practical pieces were just, they were scary, because it was changed. And it was different.

And you know what, if people don’t like that we changed our name, or that we let go of the of the Blue Star ribbon, are they not going to be willing to give to us? We’ve doubled revenue in the last three years. So clearly that was not a problem. I know the rebrand actually helped us attract new donors. And it helped us increase giving levels of current donors and it gave them kind of a peek into where we’re going, and the future and what’s possible, you know, with the vision that we’ve set out at the Alliance. And that translated into dollars, definitely. I think my kind of, like, practical logistical side of my mind freaked out a couple of times, because it is scary, and it’s risky.

And you know, it is already a crowded space. So to make changes to our identity, and our name and our brand and our look and our feel, and that potential risk whether people would come back and support us again. Yeah, definitely kept me up a couple nights.

But we got through it.

Hal:

Yeah, we got there. And you guys are–you guys are awesome at being really surgical at finding, you know, those donors, the right people.

But I’ve gotten a sense from conversations that people are finding you.

Regan:

Yes, readily.

Hal:

Absolutely. It has changed dramatically. What do you see there?

Regan:

Yeah, we’ve gotten amazing feedback about the website, the look, the feel, the messaging, the energy you get from looking at our site is so different from others in the space. I think the fact that we have had a four star rating with Charity Navigator for so many years, we have great financials, we check all the boxes on being good stewards of donors dollars, that certainly helps.

But a website, that first impression for so many donors that are in that kind of research phase of deciding who is it that I’m going to support, we are sending a very compelling message, even through just the homepage, and it translates for people and I’m very grateful for that.

Hal:

We’re excited about it. I gotta tell you that, you know, we have a lot of different kinds of clients and they’re all rewarding in different ways. But you guys have been super rewarding because it has been so neat to be part of the conversation and see the transformation and see people that were so willing to like, you know, in some cases take a risk.

Strategically we know that we have a foundation and a reason to do this. But still, it’s like you said, we have to kind of talk you off the ledge. And you guys were willing to say, “Yes, let’s do this.”

So if someone is listening to this, and they say, “Oh my gosh, I gotta write a check for these people!”

**Laughter**

How do they get a hold of you?

Regan:

ww.ccalliance.org.

Hal:

And ask for Regan, yeah.

Regan:

And click the donate button!

**Laughter**

**Music fade up**

Clara:

Regan Huneycutt is the Chief Development Officer of the Colorectal Cancer Alliance.

I’m Clara Shannon, and you’re listening to Studio G.

Episode Summary:

It can be scary to change anything about a long-established, well-loved brand. But when done right, the rewards far outweigh the risks. Grafik’s recent rebrand of Demosphere, a Virginia-based company with a 30-year track record in sports team management technology, shows that evolved, modern brands resonate with both longtime customers and new ones. In this episode, Demosphere’s President discusses the creative process and the company’s new mantra: “The Team Behind Team Sports.”

Transcript: 

**Sound Effects: whistle, sounds of children playing**

Clara:

Just about everyone can relate to the unbridled joy of playing sports as a kid. Maybe you are your high school soccer star..

**Sound Effect: crowd cheering**

Clara:

…or you dominated the basketball court.

**Sound Effect: shoes on basketball court, intro music fades up**

Clara:

You spent all your mornings in a lap pool, or you just couldn’t wait to get to your after school softball practice.

But as a kid you likely weren’t focused on all the work involved behind the scenes of the sport you were playing – all of the organizational, administrative needs any organized sports team needs to be successful. People need to know where to go, who they’re playing against, when and where their practices are being held, as well as what equipment to bring.

Demosphere has created integrated user friendly tools specifically for the way sports organizations are run. They take the busy work out of sports management…so that players, teachers, parents, and even amateur adults can kick-back and focus on what’s most important: having fun.

What else makes Demosphere so interesting? They’re a family-owned business with over 30 years of experience. And like any family-owned business, they’re a tight crew with a long history.

So how do you go about approaching the rebrand of a client who has such a long and storied history?

We had the pleasure of working with Demosphere on a brand refresh a year ago, and I had the chance to sit down with Kris Baker, Demosphere’s President, along with our creative directors George, Gregg, and our director of client services Esther, to talk about the work we were able to produce together for the team behind team sports. Take a listen and we hope that you enjoy.

**Transition Music**

Clara:

Kris, thanks so much again for being here with us today. We’re super excited about this.

**Music fades down**

Clara:

For our listeners out there, could you give us a quick overview of who you are and just a little bit more about the work you guys do over at Demosphere?

**Fade Down**

Kris:

Sure, yeah. My name is Kris Baker and I’m the President of Demosphere. I’ve been there about 12 years. Our team is really a really tight knit, collaborative group of people and we create and extend web applications that are geared towards sports organizations. So we do things like online registration of players and teams and game scheduling and team building. And we’re really excited about our new product that’s coming out which is geared more towards referees and game assignments and things like that.

Clara:

You guys have been around for over 30 years now. What initially prompted you guys to seek out a brand refresh?

Kris:

Demosphere has a pretty amazing story to tell; as you said, we’ve been around for almost 30 years now [and] we have a lot of history. Going back to our days of working with FIFA and the World Cup technology committee, I think over time, some of that messaging may get lost in the market. And so it was a really good opportunity for us to kind of take a step back, and make sure that we understood what our message was and how we wanted to present ourselves to the rest of the world, and then get some expertise on how to properly present that message to everybody else.

George:

I bet when you first started people were printing out rosters, signing up on sheets…

Kris:

Yeah, hand writing stuff, printing stuff — I think one of the first solutions we ever built was a phone tree calling system where you would call in and you would like, leave the score on a voicemail and then somebody would go back and like transcribe everything and, you know, type it up and disseminate it for the rest of the world. So, obviously, things have changed a lot since then. And especially with, everybody [being] like, mobile first, that’s the way everything has gone. We all have a phone, we don’t always sit stationary at our computer. So this information needs to be accessible on the go, which means more development and really pushing the envelope there.

Gregg:

So for the people listening in, what do you what do you think is your differentiator?

Kris:

I mean, I think a lot of it is the fact that we have the experience and expertise in this space and a true passion for what we’re doing. When you’re building a brand, it’s not about… power, it’s not about money. It’s not about how you’re recognizing in the marketplace, but it’s really about building trust. And that’s what we’re going for is that we want people to trust who we are, and that we’re doing things for the right reasons and that it’s not about the money.

I truly believe that. And I always say that if we build solutions that people want, like, genuinely want, that’s the authenticity part of it. Then the money will come, because they’ll want to use our services and stay with us long term. So, that’s, that’s the key. I think that unfortunately, I think, a lot of businesses out there…miss that point. And it’s the most important thing.

**Transition Music**

Kris:

Our strengths, our experience and our familial aspects of our community, our greater community — I think sometimes that can also be perceived as a detriment because people do think that, “Oh, you’re a family-owned business.” But when we say family, we don’t just mean the Baker family, you know, we mean, our extended family — all of our employees, who we care very deeply about and our customers, many of whom we’ve been working with for 15 years. So it’s a whole…that family aspect is a whole community and not just the little Baker family.

George:

It also speaks to the importance of understanding your brand so that the core values of what you do remain.

Kris:

Yeah, and that’s what was great about going through the process with you guys is that you helped us kind of focus on that. We knew that messaging was there, that internal messaging has always been there since the beginning in 1990, but sitting down with you and your team and going through the exercises of just understanding our brand and who we are, it was a really fun process.

Every time we have a company meeting we always pull up our mission statement and our brand identity and the pillars and, you know, just reminding everybody that this is why we do what we do. And you look around the room and you see a lot of head nods, everyone gets it. And that way, when, you know, I hear my staff, whether it’s our support team or our sales executives when they’re out there in the market, they’re using those words to describe our company and it’s a really good feeling to know that it’s consistent across the organization.

It was a really good process. And then to even like, tack on to that point, it’s not just about what we think or about what you think based on what we’ve told you, but what do our clients think? What do our prospective clients think?  How have we been perceived in the market?

And one of the really good success stories that I can share is…so every year we attend the United Soccer Coaches Convention, which is in January of every year. So we chose that time to really roll out our brand, you know, our new brand, our new branding, new website, and just overall marketing, messaging and so forth and it was really well received. We got a lot of positive compliments, not only from clients, but also prospective clients. But most importantly from people who’ve known us for many, many, years and do know who we are at the core.

And, you know, whether or not it’s 100% corollary or not is questionable, but we walked away from the convention this year with more than double the amount of leads that we got last year. So that was really, really exciting, quite impressive growth. So we’re happy about that.

**Transition Music**

George:

Was there ever any hesitation to the questions we asked?

Kris:

Well, I guess I wasn’t expecting, when we can came in with the management team to kind of have those planned out exercises. And there was one that you guys did, which was really fun and that was the, I forget exactly what it was called, but it was something about like, five years from now, if there was like a headline about Demosphere, what would it be? And just having each one of our management team members come up with, like, what they’re thought of as what the future would be, that was really fun and interesting. And, you know, caught me a little off guard. I was like, “Wow, I don’t know, I don’t know,” but we had some similar concepts to where we thought the company was headed.

Esther:

So you mentioned that the results of the brand has definitely changed the way that you and your team approach a lot of the decisions that Demosphere makes, have you seen it actually make a difference in the company culture as well?

Kris:

I think it has reassured something that was already there. There’s one thing to kind of have this underlying feeling of how things are and how your, you know, everybody feels as being part of the company but having the like, set in stone, pillars of your brand and your tagline and your messaging on point. It’s makes a huge—it’s like the glue that holds everything together so just strengthening what was already there.

It has absolutely impacted the way that our employees interact with the outside world. They’re not afraid to say the things about like, we’re not afraid to say we’re a family owned business. We’re not afraid to say that we’re privately held and that we don’t have investment dollars out. We’re not afraid to say those things because they make us who we are, and we’re proud of it.

It’s fun to watch them like, interact with people when we’re doing trade shows and stuff and just being like, “Yep…that’s exactly on point.”

**Music fade in**

Kris:

If you haven’t done a brand refresh, it’s definitely worth the time and energy and money. It’s — it was a lot of fun. And I think the rewards will continue to pay off over time.

So thank you guys, it’s been fun…

Group:

Thank you!

Clara:

Demosphere is an Information Technology company based in Northern Virginia, catering to the technology needs of sports organizations around the country. For more information, go to  www.demosphere.com, spelled d-e-m-o-s-p-h-e-r-e.

Today’s roundtable discussion featured Kris Baker, President of Demosphere, Grafik’s Creative Directors George Nicholas, and Gregg Glaviano, along with Grafik’s Director of Client Services, Esther Nardone.

I’m Clara Shannon, and you’re listening to Studio G.

 

EPISODE NOTES

June has come and gone, and so has Pride Month–the annual month-long celebration of LGBTQ+ representation and the anniversary of the historic Stonewall Uprising in New York City. This year we saw more brands than ever demonstrate their support of the LGBTQ+ community in the form of pride collections, creative campaigns, and parades. 

These days, showing support for any social cause is popular. But in 2019 it’s not enough to say that you care, you’ve got to prove it. It’s easy to post rainbows all over social media channels, or sell limited-edition Pride-branded swag, but what else are you doing to benefit the community? How is your brand actively trying to make a difference year round?

Over the course of the month, we saw several brands who supported the LGBTQ+ community beyond the use of fancy designs and catchy hashtags. Here are our three favorite brands making a difference. 

Verizon

In partnership with McCann New York and PFLAG, an organization that reunites families and allies with people who identify as LGBTQ+, Verizon created a short film that showcases the hard conversations and tensions between family members surrounding coming out. 

Titled, “Love Calls Back,” the film depicts real parents, brothers, and sisters reconnecting through a phone call facilitated by Verizon. The conversations are raw, emotional, and very real. 

Verizon, “Love Calls Back” from Doug Harrison on Vimeo.

 “When you first called me, I should have told you how much I loved you then,” says a mother to her lesbian daughter. “I never wanted you to feel like I’m not there for you,” says one brother to another. 

The screen fades to white as two lines of text read, “It’s never too late for love to call back. Verizon and PFLAG are committed to connecting and reconnecting families.”

In addition to the film, Verizon has taken big steps towards true allyship with the LGBTQ+ community. For starters, the company vowed to make a monetary donation to PFLAG, as it did last year when it donated $250,000. The company was also the title sponsor of this year’s LA Pride, and hosted the premiere of its documentary 5B, which tells the inspirational stories of everyday heroes who took extraordinary action to care for the patients of the first HIV/AIDS ward unit in the United States at San Francisco General Hospital. Verizon’s LGBTQ employee resource group, Globe, will continue to facilitate volunteer opportunities through chapters as opportunities arise throughout the year.   

LYFT

This year’s Pride was a busy one for Lyft. The ride-sharing app launched a new feature as part of its #TwoIsTooFew campaign to highlight the representation of non-binary, genderqueer and genderfluid identities. Now, passengers and drivers alike can select their preferred pronounces as, “She/Her/Hers,” “He/Him/His,” “They/Them/Theirs,” “Pronoun isn’t listed,” or “Prefer not to say.”  

 

Lyft also partnered with the National Center for Transgender Equality to provide driver assistance with changing the name and gender designation on a driver’s license and provided major support to StoryCorps’ Stonewall OutLoud campaign. 

These recent actions are not the only show of support Lyft has taken towards the LGBTQ+ community. Over the years, the company has also facilitated over $5 million in donations between passengers and organizations such as the ACLU and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) through its “Round Up & Donate” feature. 

Smirnoff

Smirnoff Vodka has been working on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community for decades, and this year enlisted a group of Pride Ambassadors (including Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness, superstar Alyssa Edwards, and Orange Is The New Black actress Laverne Cox) to support its multi-channel campaign, “Welcome Home.” 

Smirnoff: Welcome Home from Ezra Hurwitz on Vimeo.

“Welcome Home” was created on the premise of bringing a sense of “homecoming” to June’s Pride celebrations–cultivating a way in which members of the community can feel safe, secure, and appreciated. The campaign included a digital video series, an immersive pop-up, two limited edition Smirnoff No. 21 Pride bottles (which includes the re-release of its iconic “Love Wins” bottles), a float in the NYC Pride March and a generous ongoing donation to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), estimated to raise over $1.5 million by 2021.  

As a result of their extensive commitment to the equal rights of LGBTQ+ peoples, Smirnoff and its parent company DIAGEO have received a perfect 100% score on the HRC Corporate Equality Index (CEI) for workplace equity, and in February 2018 they were honored with the HRC Corporate Equality Award. 

Audiences know the difference between a genuine sign of support and an empty gesture. Pride month is a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community, and the sooner brands recognize that they are in a position to raise awareness and make a difference, the better. If you really care about Pride, take action every day of the year.

Every marketing team has its strengths and weaknesses. Maybe yours has demand generation down to a science, but struggles to maintain brand consistency. Or perhaps you have brilliant ideas about how to drive brand awareness, but nowhere near enough resources or bandwidth to get it all done. Working with an agency, a freelancer or contractor can help give you a leg up on many different types of projects—but with budgets and timelines always of concern, how do you know when it’s the right time to outsource versus DIY?

Think about it this way: your brand is like a house. No matter how old or new, it’s a structure that’s bound to require upkeep over time. Maybe the front door needs a new paint job, there are a few lightbulbs that need to be replaced, or a faucet is leaking. Many of these are problems you can fix on your own. But bigger projects—rewiring the electric, building an addition, or replacing the floors—almost always require a bigger investment and professional expertise. Skimping on these repairs or attempting to DIY without the right expertise or tools can result in massive consequences, including rework and higher long-term costs.   

During our 40 years in business, here are some of the key situations where we’ve found it best to work with an agency instead of executing a project in-house:

When you need an objective opinion. Need a pair of fresh eyes? Agencies look at your company through a neutral lens, without any of the historical bias or office politics that often impact internal decision-making. This is particularly important during a rebrand, during which we’ll conduct extensive research about your company through internal/external surveys, first-party data, and reviews of your competitive landscape. Often, agencies have access to digital research and analysis tools that are often too expensive for most in-house teams to justify, yielding larger sample sizes and more meaningful conclusions. A partner that can help you take a step back and ask the hard questions will ensure you address any weak spots within your brand and market only your best, most distinctive assets.

When a project requires seasoned or specialized talent. Whether it’s navigating your first merger/acquisition or adding a new technology to the mix, bringing in a team that’s been through the process many times before can ensure better, more predictable outcomes. Your typical staffing needs may not warrant a logo designer or brand strategist, but creative agencies often bring both specialized skills and a depth of experience to the table that means faster turnaround times and better results. Working with an agency means you get access to exceptional talent without having to navigate the competitive labor market or pay a premium to employ them full time.

When you don’t have bandwidth to execute a major project. Your marketing train can’t grind to a halt just because a major initiative like a rebrand or a website redesign is in progress. Outsourcing special projects to an agency ensures your team can continue to manage its existing workload without too much disruption. That said, managing an agency can require a lot of work and coordination on your part. The right partner will take the time to understand your team’s existing workflow, consider budget and resource constraints, and develop an actionable roadmap that extends beyond the signed work order.

When you’re in a creative rut. When you’re consumed by supporting various stakeholder needs and meeting internal deadlines on a daily basis, it can be difficult to think outside the box. Infusing fresh new thinking into a brand’s identity or coming up with the next big idea for an impactful campaign requires taking risks, experimenting and having broader visibility into what will capture your audience’s attention. Because agencies typically have experience across a diverse range of clients and industries, they often bring new and bold ideas that can differentiate your products and cut through the noise.

When you’ve got big, hairy, audacious goals…but aren’t yet sure how to achieve them. A full-service agency partner is accountable for more than just big ideas and beautiful creative. Once they’ve helped you translate your high-level vision and business goals into measurable marketing objectives, a true partner will help you build and implement a plan that generates tangible results. 

If you’re facing any of the challenges above, consider reaching out to an agency like Grafik to see how we can support your needs.

 

The foundation for a national revitalization boom was laid in 2017. That’s when the Investing In Opportunity Act was passed and developers began to laser focus on some of the country’s most economically distressed communities. Over the past two years, more than 8,700 areas across the country have earned the designation of Opportunity Zone, and Forbes reports that revitalization efforts in these communities could impact as many as 35 million residents.

Designed to generate new investment and drive business into forgotten neighborhoods, Opportunity Zones offer developers and investors significant tax benefits. Work must be well underway before the end of 2020 to take full advantage, though. Locally, we see plans rolling out for several communities — plans for destinations designed to attract a new generation of business owners, shoppers, diners, and residents. The potential is great. But so are the challenges.

At Grafik, we’re seeing how some of the issues developers face can be addressed through a strategic effort focused on defining and clearly communicating their intention for the area. Stakeholders need to understand the vision. As Paige Grzelak, one of our clients at Western Development, notes, “To get a deal done, investors have to see the full potential for a project. They’re already doing their due diligence, but to move forward with underwriting, they have to have a clear picture for how a site will be transformed, how it will stand out from other areas, and how it will attract businesses and residents.”

About 18 months ago, Grafik began work on one of the largest opportunity zones in our region. With capacity for 6200 units and approximately 8 million sq. ft. of buildable density, Buzzard Point is at a size and scale that it will be a tremendous addition to the local market. On completion, it will be a true destination neighborhood with new office space, homes, shops, restaurants, and many new entertainment venues.

 

 

Our work with stakeholders at Buzzard Point, and our conversations with developers at other opportunity zones, has helped us identify a number of key steps for establishing a solid foundation for future success — exercises any group might want to consider as it begins to plan and design a new community.

Step 1: Define A Narrative

There must be a consistent storyline that captures the vision for area. At Buzzard Point, we identified foundational messages, and then created a statement every developer could use in marketing and communications efforts. Audiences see that shared narrative as a sign that everyone is united in their approach to the new neighborhood, and is working collaboratively to make that vision a reality.

Step 2: Develop A Name

Oftentimes there’s a lot of value in an area’s current name, but with opportunity zones, it may be necessary to consider the pros and cons. If it’s determined that a new name is needed for the community, it’s essential for the name to map back to the vision. Optimally, the name should help underscore the community’s uniqueness — its features, or landmarks. If, on the other hand, the current name lives on — as it does at Buzzard Point — then the narrative should refer back to the community’s history or heritage.

Step 3: Establish Personas

With narrative set, research helps to identify those who are most likely to be attracted to the new area. In an area the size of Buzzard Point, the initial conversations include civic leaders, commercial brokers, business leaders, and potential residents. Personas were developed according to their current perceptions, communication needs, and digital behaviors — all from research. Additional personas will fuel marketing efforts as construction progresses. For opportunity zones, persona development is critical to ensure clear and consistent communication, PR, and marketing.

Step 4: Create A Consistent Look & Feel

Ultimately, the vision for any opportunity zone must be captured visually. Early on, CGI renderings are de rigueur, but alone, they may not be enough to tell the story. As anticipation builds and interest grows, there’s often a need for additional imagery — photography, illustration, and iconography that can be applied consistently to the new community. At Buzzard Point, we developed a flexible logo system that could be used across a wide variety of materials. From wayfinding and signage to presentations and proposals, developers share a single logo that reflects their shared vision.

Step 5: Roll Out A Digital Presence

A dedicated website and social media presence should be used to centralize information about the community and reflect its evolution in real-time. For Buzzard Point, we developed the web presence, but also set up social listening to monitor mentions of the neighborhood, measure positive and negative sentiment, and identify trending topics.

No doubt, opportunity zones will continue to play a significant role in the redevelopment and revitalization of urban areas around the country. They represent an extraordinary potential for local and national developers alike. The transformation of each area will require investment in thoughtfully communicated vision —  to the people who will work there, play there, and live there.

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Need help developing personas? Our tried-and-true e-book will help you document the right content, channels and tactics needed to reach your ideal customers. Click here for more.

MasterCard recently debuted what it’s calling a sonic brand identity—a “distinct, memorable melody that will serve as a foundation for its sound across the globe,” from point-of-sale chimes to telephone hold music. The announcement (appropriately introduced via audio press release) triggered both interest and eyebrow raises from the brand nerds among us at Grafik. Is the concept of a “sonic identity” really a new one? Or is it just a slicker label for the good ol’ corporate jingle? And during an era in which half the country owns a smart speaker, does every brand need a signature sound?

Let’s start with what distinguishes a sonic brand identity from that of a lowly jingle. In theory, the former is associated with a brand for the long haul (making it as important as the visual logo), while a jingle is just a few notes at the end of a radio or television ad. But through the sustained use of tropes like “I’m Lovin’ It” and “We Are Farmers,” brands like McDonald’s and Farmer’s Insurance have been able to elevate the use of jingles and lodge their tunes deep within the consumer psyche. Whether it’s whistled, tapped out playfully on a keyboard, or crooned by a bunch of Minions, hearing “Ba-da-ba-ba-ba” is sure to conjure a craving for greasy french fries.

The problem with MasterCard’s new sound is that it isn’t all that…memorable. I had to play it over and over again just to write this article because I kept forgetting what it sounded like. There are no accompanying words to commit its meaning to memory. And as some commenters pointed out, the airy string ensemble doesn’t exactly embody MasterCard’s weighty, spherical logo in the way that a more bass-heavy sound could. To be fair, years of aural conditioning could (pardon the pun) change our tune on the matter. MasterCard plans to use this “wherever consumers engage with Mastercard—be it physical, digital or voice environments”—so the true test of success will be whether consumers come to recall/associate the brand with its sound.

Outside the more traditional realm of advertising, digital storefronts, mobile apps and user interfaces all present opportunities for custom audio. Tech products like Facebook, Slack, and Venmo each have distinct sounds, which help users audibly recognize they’ve received a comment, a message or a payment without even having to look at a screen.  Consumer brands are following suit, especially with the rise of smart speaker devices. For example, when I get a push notification from the ESPN app, my device chirps out an abbreviated version of the well-known Sports Center tune. And notifications from Houzz, an app focused on residential architecture and interior design, are announced via a “ding-dong” doorbell sound.

Physical environments have perhaps the most potential to create multi-sensory attachments between consumers and brands. One of our creative directors mentioned the feeling of relief he gets when a United Airlines flight touches down and Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” begins to stream over the loudspeakers. Our marketing specialist, who happens to be a musical scholar, pointed out that the oboe and woodwind instruments used in the piece are considered classically American. United’s decades-long licensing of the piece—and the strategic touch points at which they play it—undoubtedly cast a halo effect over how people experience their brand.

If you’re trying to figure out whether your company needs a sonic brand identity or not, think about where you interact with customers. What sounds may enhance that experience, or create more explicit recognition of what makes you special?

In a recent Nielsen study, 66% of respondents were willing to pay more for products and services from companies committed to positive social and environmental impact. As consumers, shareholders, and employees increasingly demand Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) from brands, companies are realizing that the way they address the environment, human welfare, trade, and stewardship directly impacts their bottom line, as well as the planet.

CSR is nothing new. Rock-solid brands built on financial and operational commitments have been held up as models for corporate success for several decades now. Patagonia’s storied history of Corporate Social Responsibility began in the early ‘70s when they advocated for a local surf break at a Los Angeles city council meeting. By 1986, founder Yvon Chouinard had pledged an “earth tax” to commit either ten percent of profits or one percent of sales (whichever was greater), to environmental activism—donations so far have exceeded $89 million dollars.
Yvon Chouinard, Image: Tom Frost, Aurora Photos

From this pledge grew the 1% For The Planet program which, with its nearly 2,000 partner companies, has generated more than $175 million. And when the recent corporate tax cuts were passed, Patagonia announced that its savings would go directly to the program as an additional contribution above their 1% pledge.

“Instead of putting the money back into our business, we’re responding by putting $10 million back into the planet. Our home planet needs it more than we do,” said Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario.

 

But the commitment goes beyond donations— what makes CSR integral and authentic to a brand’s identity is whether it impacts how its business is run. In addition to sizable financial contributions, Patagonia infused its operations with sustainable business practices. It promotes ethical supply chains and material sourcing (which has a knock-on effect for suppliers) and promotes recycling initiatives through its WornWear program. They even launched a venture capitalist arm, Tin Shed Ventures, which has provided funding for environmentally and socially minded companies to the tune of $75 million so far.

More and more companies are partnering on CSR efforts, creating a halo effect that positively impacts both brands. For instance, in addition to working directly with grassroots environmental groups through Action Works, Patagonia partnered with Walmart in 2009 to establish the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, which now provides standards and indexes for their over 200 established brands and their manufacturers.
Patagonia’s Black Friday Ad, The New York Times, 2011

While a commitment to environmental activism is a difficult feat, the perceived risks and negatives —the “unrealistic expectations” of CSR standards, the expense of changing supply chains and updating labor or trade practices, the use of CSR as “risk management,” or a distraction from a businesses’ economic role— are unfounded, as Patagonia reached an estimated $1 billion in sales in 2018. As their social commitments, responsibilities, and investments grow, so does their revenue.

As you build CSR initiatives authentic to your own brand values, take Patagonia’s humble beginnings to heart. While their environmental focus makes sense for an outdoor clothing brand, what choices do companies in other industries make?  Starbucks focuses on recycled and fair-trade food materials, 100% ethically sourced coffee and tea, food bank donations, funding clean water projects in underdeveloped areas through their Ethos bottled waters, and a Global Farmer Fund that has committed over $50 million towards loans and financing for coffee farmers. Tech giants Microsoft, Intel, and Apple all announced initiatives to source 100% renewable energy for their manufacturing and retail processes.

As a mid-size branding and marketing firm, we aren’t a consumer logo. Yet, the work we do for our clients reaches millions of people. We create concrete deliverables (e.g. conference and sales displays), traditional print materials, websites and digital campaigns, and positioning and marketing strategies for client growth—where does that leave us in our CSR efforts? Besides monetary contributions to, and volunteering for, our non-profit clients, we are actively exploring ways to ensure transparency and data security in all our digital efforts; we also seek to ensure that trolls and bots are not skewing our analyses of our social media campaigns. As the internet continues to outrun 20^th century regulations, Grafik feels a responsibility to use the powerful tools we continuously add to our digital toolbox in ways that promote empathy and understanding.

 

On May 25^th, the  General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)  went into effect, providing European Union residents insight into how their personal information is collected, stored, and used by websites. Just being located outside the EU does not relieve your company from having to comply—the regulation protects any user accessing your website from within the EU.

Under GDPR, personal data is defined as information that can be used to identify someone, directly or indirectly. This includes IP and email addresses, cookies, location data, and names. We recommend you take the following four precautionary measures, and, of course, seek legal counsel.

1. Update Google Analytics’ Data Retention settings to 50 months

Google Analytics users are now required to set the length of time user-level and event-level data is stored on its servers before that data is automatically deleted. This update will not affect aggregated data currently used in dashboards, but will affect components such as “Custom Segments” that rely on advertising user IDs, cookies, etc.

2. Update your website’s Privacy Policy to ensure it addresses the collection and use of all website and customer data 

Inform users how the information your company collects is used, who it is shared with, and how they can act on their right to be forgotten. Privacy Policy Generators, such as Iubenda’s, provide helpful tools for getting started. See this example from AdRoll for reference.

3. Add a pop-up to your website that requires user consent

We recommend intercepting new visitors with a message such as, “We use third-party cookies to improve your experience and to analyze the use of our website. If you continue, we assume that you consent to receiving all cookies on our site. For more information, click here [link to privacy policy].” HubSpot and WordPress offer out-of-the-box GDPR and pop-up plugins for this purpose.

 

Example of a user consent pop-up 

4. Add a disclaimer to any lead capture forms that explain the exact use of a user’s email address and contact information.

This disclaimer can be a one-liner that links to your company’s privacy policy. For example, “Opt-in now to get discounts and exclusive offers. For more information, click here [link to privacy policy].”

If you have questions about GDPR, how to ensure you’re compliant, or want help executing the steps above don’t hesitate to reach out.

Bob Dylan wrote “The times they are a changin” more than 50 years ago. People have listened to it on vinyl, cassette, CD, iPod, and streaming—same song, new delivery system—accepting these changes without question. Few consider what’s required to deliver any new convenience, the complexities and complications beyond fabrication that include finding talent that can make this all happen: the underlying tech stack.

For the non-tech-savvy reader, the tech stack is a combination of different technologies designed to work together to accomplish a unified goal. Typically, each technology performs a specific function within the stack. Think of it as division of labor among a team of workers.

While there are different schools of thought on tech stack size and complexity, I’d like to offer my perspective on how and why keeping your tech stack smaller and more manageable produces better results in the long run.

Plan Ahead
More often than not, your project’s key stakeholders are asking for a solution rolled out, like, yesterday. We’ve all been there. That’s why it’s important to clearly communicate that shooting from the hip will cost the company more money in the long run. Choosing the right technology stack can ensure the extensibility of your project and add dollars to your profit margin—but to do so, you must often negotiate extra time to complete the following planning activities up front:

• Discover what end-users expect and how the project owner wants to provide that experience to them. Keep a list of questions that you can standardize and add to with future experience.

• Understand the product owner’s ultimate vision for the project. Creating short term solutions can get the job done, but you’ll incur considerable technical debt in the long run if future requirements aren’t correctly considered.

• During platform selection, thoroughly audit what any proposed new technology can do, how it will benefit the project, and how it will ultimately bring your project owner’s vision to fruition.

• Socialize the requirements, goals, and strategy with everyone on your team to make sure everyone understands their importance. Addressing any confusion up front can help avoid much larger issues moving forward.

Adopt Later
New technology is exciting, however, experienced developers know to give new platforms and languages time to prove themselves in the wild with smaller, more self-contained projects before integrating those elements into their larger projects. These folks know that sometimes projects lose steam and wither on the vine, as so many have in the past. If viability and high adoption happens, these technologies tend to experience fundamental changes, as Angular experienced between its first and second versions.

Reliable documentation, community forums, long-established product roadmaps with a schedule for when new versions will be made available—all hugely contribute to how likely a new technology is to integrate into the project. Without these, the likely longevity of that technology in your stack will be limited to how long your team is willing to work with it. The more difficult pieces in your stack, the more team frustrations will spread, creating a ripple effect that destroys morale.

Consider Talent
The moment you’ve been dreading has arrived: you need to replace or add people to your team. Finding the right person for the right price is always a challenge, for any position. But if you’ve adopted features based on a flavor-of-the-week technology throughout the course of your product life-cycle, finding that right-price person with the incredibly niched skillset to fit in your stack has increased the degree of difficulty tenfold. In the off chance that you find the skills, you’ll pay an arm and a leg to get them in the door (either because they know their value, or you’ve been working with a recruiter, or both).

Because the talent you are looking for must be specialized exactly for your needs, they will come at a premium. And if you can’t find this talent, you will have to hire someone with gaps in their knowledge, and spend money and company time getting them spun up and on the same page with the rest of your team. Those costs are never completely avoidable, but minimizing skill requirements is best.

Be Critical
In the agency space, it’s pretty common to jump from one project to another without taking time to reflect on completed projects. While this is sometimes unavoidable, taking the time to properly analyze the good and the bad experienced on a project is crucial for making internal pivots. Use these opportunities to refine and improve your processes and approaches to creative problem solving.

We take development seriously at Grafik. We have fun doing what we do, but we’re always looking for ways to improve our own processes and ultimately bring greater value to our clients. Remember to take care of your team, because at the end of the day you can rest assured that a well-cared for team will take greater care of your clients, contributing to your bottom line.

In, “The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying Up,” organizational consultant Marie Kondo introduces her KonMari Method™, “a way of life and state of mind that encourages cherishing the things that spark joy in people’s lives.” It is a step-by-step process to never living in clutter again; everything in your home and life will have a purpose.

While reading this book, I couldn’t stop seeing the parallels between The KonMari Method™ and content strategy. And I started to get excited. Really excited.

Why? Because most people don’t fully understand what a content strategy is, let alone its magic.

A content strategy includes planning for the creation, delivery, and governance of user-friendly content in order to meet the needs of a business and its customers. In the context of tidying up, a content strategy is a lot like cleaning your house.

In the same way that KonMari can bring clarity and purpose to material things in your life, a strategy can bring clarity and purpose to your content, helping you meet both your business goals and your customer’s needs.

Here’s how to get started:

Step 1: Visualize your goals

The first step in Kondo’s method is to visualize the life you wish to have with a clutter-free space. What does that look like? When first conducting a content strategy, you must do the same. What are your business goals? What are the needs of your target audience?

To help answer these questions, I recommend conducting a card sorting workshop. This exercise helps you visualize who you want to be in relation to your audience needs. You’ll need to prepare a deck of about 120-200 cards, each bearing an adjective or succinct phrase that describes how your brand–and other brands–relate to, and are seen by, your industry.

Source: Appropriate, Inc.

To conduct the workshop, sort your cards into the following categories:

Who do you want to be?
Who are you today?
Who are you not?

Once this first sort is complete, discard all the cards that fell into the “who are you not” pile. Now look at the cards in “who you are today” and discard all the ones that don’t align with the vision of your brand moving forward. Then combine “who do you want to be” with what remains in “who are you today.” From that single pile, select only the adjectives that best meet the needs of your customers and your business goals moving forward. Finally, prioritize these in order of importance.

At the end of this exercise, you will have prioritized your brand’s communication goals and outlined a message architecture. This will guide your content planning, design, and delivery process.

Step 2: Only keep content that sparks joy

Marie Kondo asserts, “To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose.” The same goes for your content. To do this, you will need to conduct a content audit. Start by using a web crawler to view all the content on your website. Then start sifting.

If content fails to map back to your message architecture, let it go. Only keep content that will bring your users joy.

More importantly, fight the urge to put content in archives. Most likely, it no longer serves a purpose.

Step 3: Audit one category at a time

Auditing all your content at once can be overwhelming, especially if it has become disorganized (most does over time). I recommend culling content, starting one primary navigation menu category at a time, and creating excel tabs for each bucket.

Step 4: Review content in the right order

Moving left to right, address quantitative factors first, then qualitative. Quantitative factors can include page URLs, Google Analytics metrics, content types by page, character counts, etc. Qualitative factors can include voice and tone, messaging, audiences, and calls-to-action. Only keep content that is current, relevant, and appropriate. Once you’re done, you can start translating this into an information architecture for your website. Your IA will become an outline of where you will put your content.

Step 5: Put back content in a way that makes sense

The strategy you developed in your message architecture and the gaps revealed in your content audit, will help you identify what content to create and by priority. But before you embark on content creation, you must first identify a clear internal workflow for migration and governance. I also recommend creating editorial style guidelines for your staff. If you’re using a content management system, identify who will be reviewing content, who will be editing it, and who will be publishing it. Train all involved stakeholders. Once completed, there will be no frustrations creating content, because you and your team will have clear guidelines on how to move forward.

Creating new forms of content that bring your customers joy spark deeper relationships with your brand that may have never existed in your previous customer journey. When we decide what should and should not be on our website, we are allowing other forms of action to exist. The KonMari Method™ to content strategy is not just a process, but a mind-set. Once you create a comprehensive content strategy, you will never go back to your old ways of content chaos.