Cabinetworks Group is the largest privately held cabinetmaker in the U.S. Formed in 2020 after several rounds of acquisitions, Cabinetworksâ creation brought 16 distinct brands â and former competitors â under one roof. Fragmented by the pandemic and a mixture of company cultures, Cabinetworks tasked us with a unique challenge: unifying their 8000+ employees with a clear sense of identity, purpose and direction. With laser focus on people and positioning, our extensive interviews and thorough competitive analysis revealed the missing link. Cabinetworks needed a higher calling â one that could harness the optimism of their employees and differentiate them within the market. We helped them develop this calling into a brand promise, core narrative and brand strategy that would define their purpose and unify their workforce in over 25 locations nationwide....
A series of mergers left Cabinetworks Group struggling to define its culture and identity. Seeking to motivate its newly combined workforce, the company took a talent brand approach â holding workshops for employees to reflect on their jobs and perspectives. These revealed talented craftspeople passionate about quality, as well as other insights that would help both differentiate and improve the employee experience. And a key insight rose to the top: Cabinetworksâ own employees were the ones bringing kitchens to life daily with their hands-on work. Putting these craftspeople at the heart of the employer brand promise would give them ownership and motivate them as the embodiment of Cabinetworksâ reason for being.
With Cabinetworksâ newly defined Brand Promise and EVP in hand, we crafted a launch and ongoing comms plan focused on three human-centered goals: boost awareness and understanding of the new Cabinetworks identity, enhance employee involvement and foster advocacy. Our strategy? A year-long, 360-degree program blending events, tactics, and activities to embed a new culture across all facilities. Hitting on seven key activation strategies, our multi-channel approach aimed to make every employee a champion for authentically living the brand....
In late 2018, our long-standing client Johnson Controls announced the sale of its Power Solutions division to Brookfield Business Partners for $13 billion. We were asked to create the communications strategy and launch plan for the new global brand, establishing strategic narrative, brand identity, company name and messaging architecture. We created all foundational assets, including the new company name Clarios, ready for worldwide rollout on 1 May, 2019. This toolkit positioned the new company for all audiences â from business strategy through the internal culture to brand differentiation â informing communications across all touchpoints....
As part of our engagement to help Ford form a fully integrated communications platform, we were asked by the Chief Communications Officer to create a Communications Manifesto for his global teams. âAre you ready? Communicating in a New Worldâ addresses the wholesale disruption of media and messaging, and the importance for brands of bringing human value to the evolving social conversation. This is best done through principled behavior that builds value at every touchpoint. And, it reflects the changing responsibility of corporate brands to convey purpose in a clearly transparent way, in order to earn a position of trust. Ford, as a company, lives a fundamental truth â that freedom of movement drives human progress â and this idea is the rally-cry of the book....
In 2016 we began working with Ford Smart Mobility, a Palo Alto-based LLC created by Ford Motor Company to address the problems of 21st Century mobility. We helped to develop the foundational executive narrative with the Chairman. We also worked closely with the CEO to build strategic prototypes for its City Solutions positioning platform. Ford Smart Mobility had recently acquired Chariot, an urban transit start-up, and as part of our assignment we collaborated with its co-founder and CEO to position the brand for rapid growth. Latterly, weâve worked with the Chief Communications Officer on the Ford company narrative through GTB, Fordâs agency of record....
Winter Park is Coloradoâs longest continuously operating ski resort. A place rich in colorful heritage and superlative terrain. However, frequent changes in ownership and strategic direction have resulted in a brand without a center, and without a galvanizing purpose. Destination guests had no awareness of Winter Park, and the local perception was as fragmented as the ever-changing advertising campaigns. Our first assignment was to create a strong employee culture, uniting seasonal workers and 10-year veterans alike, that could consistently deliver on the new brand promise. The successful internal roll-out included a manifesto brand film, an employee handbook and rewards and recognition programs. From there, the new brand promise was externalized for both the local and destination markets. For the first time, all stakeholders, guests and employees alike, understood Winter Parkâs core differentiation and reason for being....
Steelcase is the global leader in workspace design. They unlock human promise through insight-driven products and applications. We were asked to help establish the narrative for their worldwide marketing organization. Our work helped to express the business case for change, and to focus the companyâs marketers on new behaviors needed for successful implementation of top priorities. We created an inspirational manifesto, marketing principles, an executive speech and presentation, and an experiential workshop to help teams align to the course ahead. ...
In 2016 Ford Motor Company acquired Chariot, an app-based urban transit start-up in San Francisco. We were asked to develop key communications tools to position the young company for rapid expansion. Our work was based on a simple human insight â that every citizen lives their city in their unique way, and Chariot is a little life-hack that can help make that easier and richer. This led to the brand promise, âYour City, Your Wayâ. Our brand film showcases Chariot as a driver of optimism and opportunity. Our sales and marketing tools have been integrated across critical touch points including the website, app, the vehicles themselves, and launch events. Chariot is now in SF, Austin, NYC, Seattle, and London....
Steelcase is the global workspace leader, in business to unlock human promise through workspace products and applications. Workspace Futures is the strategic insights group at the heart of the company, an experienced group of researchers, strategists and futurists who anticipate future markets and identify new opportunities. BravoEcho was asked to help create, and to visualize, a manifesto articulating their role and its impact on the success of not just Steelcase, but on all of the company's clients. We conducted a series of in-depth interviews and working sessions to uncover the teamâs best potential positioning within the Steelcase ecosystem, and for external audiences. This work led us to a declarative and differentiating narrative....
Designtex is a materials science innovator with a clientele of architects and designers. They asked us to be their partner in launching Casper⢠Cloaking Technology, a revolutionary architectural film for glass walls in workspace environments. Our simple yet human positioning focused on the idea that Casper is an ingenious shield that protects intellectual property while keeping peopleâs behavior transparent. The campaign played off the idea of âcloakingâ, with lighthearted, sci-fi-flavored creative including a brand film, digital, social, and email, web and a brochure. With a modest media spend, the work exceeded established campaign goals, delivering 25,000 visitors to the site, nearly 9.5MM total impressions, 0.27 CTR and a 1.7% conversion rate over three months....
