{"id":3096,"date":"2023-09-19T15:18:59","date_gmt":"2023-09-19T15:18:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.allisonworldwide.com\/?p=3096"},"modified":"2023-09-20T14:43:22","modified_gmt":"2023-09-20T14:43:22","slug":"through-the-looking-glass-behind-the-scenes-of-the-allison-brand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allisonworldwide.com\/through-the-looking-glass-behind-the-scenes-of-the-allison-brand\/","title":{"rendered":"Through The Looking Glass: Behind the Scenes of the Allison Brand"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Paul Sears<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A friend and senior marketer recently thanked me for serving as a mirror in which her team could truly see themselves as an organization. It helped them identify what mattered most, so they could imagine a bold new future. I certainly appreciated her gracious feedback, and I thought it was a great way to frame the idea of transforming a brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fair to say, transforming brands takes one through the looking glass. Especially when the client is one\u2019s own company. It\u2019s a chance to innovate \u2013 bringing forward all the ideas from years in the trenches. Yet it can be daunting when bosses and peers are part of the workgroup evaluating not only the path forward, but also the process itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like every company we have our own unique dynamics. As we\u2019ve grown, our team became even more distributed. We\u2019re a matrixed organization whose dozens of leaders offer diverse viewpoints, goals and business objectives. We combine marketing and comms functions with different expectations for timing and workflow. And yet somehow, we managed to land somewhere wonderful with strong buy-in across the global organization. It\u2019s fun to pause and reflect on how we got there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brand is a Team Sport \u2013 It Only Works When All The Players Believe <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is our mantra when it comes to brand transformation. The players are employees and those who aspire to join. They are suppliers, partners and the members of our Stagwell agency network. They are current clients and everyone who knows us for our roots in PR. And they are newer customers: marketing and business leaders whom this rebrand helps us reach.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our first task was to find out what they currently believe, and what they\u2019d be willing to believe. We used a lot of data in this endeavor. We started with client satisfaction and employee experience surveys. We audited a long list of competitors and delved into market trends. And we fielded new studies to supplement our body of knowledge.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One valuable exercise was having our office GM\u2019s facilitate stop\/start\/continue discussions with their local teams: grass-roots SWOT analysis. Another came in the form of small-group workshops to learn how employees perceived the meaning of our core values and how those should translate into day-to-day behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We fielded two perception studies with our partners at HarrisX, which helped us build our proprietary V.I.T.A.L. research methodology (Vision, Inspiration, Trust, Alignment and Leadership \u2013 five pillars that give brands their strength). The framework gives us an understanding of what our clients want from an agency partner and how we and our competitors do against those expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We learned a lot about our perceptions in the market. Our founders\u2019 vision is felt in the client relationship. Our teams deliver a passionate, engaged humility in the day-to-day. Our people are equally as creative as they are invested. Yet there were opportunities to make the vision feel bolder, push boundaries further and ensure we integrate the work top-to-bottom.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The quantitative study gave us a chance to validate our learnings at scale. We learned that as our capabilities expand, so does our competitive set. We\u2019re expected to be at the table with top-tier creative agencies and consultancies. What matters most is exceptional work, delivered with integrity, that achieves measurable business results. It all boils down to Trust: our promises must be sincere and credible, and we must deliver consistently. This body of work was time well spent, giving the team clarity on how to achieve our ambitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belief Requires Inclusive Co-Creation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a brand strategy leader, my job is to create lean-in and buy-in. They\u2019re equally crucial to a successful transformation. Once we created a level playing field of knowledge across our working group, it was time to come together for ideation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We pulled together more than 25 stakeholders for three virtual workshops. In large groups and smaller breakouts, we picked through the strategy: who we are, what we believe, what it means for our visual and verbal language, and how we express ourselves in behavior. In our work sessions, we flatten the room and cater to all communication styles, so everyone\u2019s voices are heard and everyone has a stake in the outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, we used our V.I.T.A.L. framework. It\u2019s not only for research, but also a scaffolding for the strategy. Vision reflects our end goal and the path to achieving it. Inspiration is the DNA that connects us emotionally with others. Trust reflects our positioning and promises. Alignment is achieved when our values manifest in behavior. Leadership is defined by examples of our promises in action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the process, we broke some exciting new ground.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding a Hidden North Star<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The breakthrough was like that scene in \u201cMoana\u201d when she realizes \u201cwe were voyagers!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBe An Entrepreneur\u201d has always been a core value, albeit last in a list of six. It\u2019s a broad concept; the hardest one for people to unpack. It\u2019s used a bit too much, and has too many overlapping meanings, making it hard to focus. But hiding within, there was a kernel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ideas bundled into entrepreneurship are the things we prize: insight, experimentation, invention, collaboration, tenacity and growth. And they are exactly the same things our clients prize. We were on to something. But how can it be uniquely ours? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was on a call with our APAC leadership when one of our founders shared his interpretation.  There it was: the builder\u2019s mindset, limitless and open to everyone. Take a space where nothing exists and create value for clients, colleagues and communities. Our North Star was hiding in front of us all along. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Codifying Strategy <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a strong Brand Concept, we brought the strategy together. It was a process of finding the right words and pictures, ensuring the right associations and evoking emotion at every turn while also reinforcing credibility. It was bringing together belief, behavior and expression all in one place. We again turn to our V.I.T.A.L. framework as the organizing principle for the brand strategy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n