Using our proprietary branding process, Cartis Group has built leading brands such as Whole Foods Market, New York Life, USAA, several startups, numerous non-profits and even one Episcopal seminary.
BrandSmart produces tangible results by guiding an internal taskforce through a process leading to a unified executive brand vision. We then translate that vision into meaningful brand assets and train your internal team on how to manage and grow the brand.
Our process is successful because it unifies the organization around a common belief system. Before we start our brand development process, we identify a brand taskforce from within your organization. This group will represent your entire organization and act as brand ambassadors as we roll out your new brand platform. The brand taskforce is typically comprised of 8–15 stakeholders, representing all critical functions. Our in-house strategy professionals guide the task force through several workshops to deliver strategic insights such as brand positioning, brand promise and brand personality—the building blocks for all brand messaging. The taskforce also participates in all brand messaging workshops to ensure understanding, consistency and complete transfer of knowledge. BrandSmart consists of five stages (Learn, Analyze, Imagine, Act, and Manage).
Learn. We conduct primary qualitative and quantitative research, study secondary research and competitive brand materials, and go through several other brand immersion techniques to thoroughly understand brand perceptions about your organization. Our primary objective in this initial phase of work is to fully understand your branding needs and opportunities in the context of your business situation and goals.
Analyze. We analyze the collected data and produce a Brand Messaging Summary, containing a realistic look at how your brand is currently positioned in the marketplace. The “Key Impact Triggers” affecting your brand are one of the main deliverables of this stage. These triggers guide our Brand Platform strategy and form the foundation for brand performance measurement. We present our findings in aggregate to the brand taskforce team as a Brand Executive Summary (presentation and booklet) during our first brand taskforce workshops.
Imagine. We guide the branding taskforce through several workshops to ensure a united brand vision for the organization. The Brand Platform is the final deliverable of this stage, a very powerful tool for producing meaningful brand messaging. The Brand Platform typically consists of a Brand Positioning Statement, Brand Promise, Brand Personality, Brand Value Pyramid, Brand Essence, and Brand Messaging Propositions. The Brand Platform is a very powerful tool, moreover, the process of producing the Brand Platform can be as powerful as the final product, providing the brand taskforce (and therefore the entire organization) with the catalyst to start thinking like a brand. The Brand Platform will help guide everything the organization does (overall messaging, marketing, sales, new hires, executive reports, etc.).
Act. Your new brand is brought to life through all communication touchpoints. More importantly, your entire organization is introduced to the Brand Platform and trained on how to personally represent it through Brand Culturalization and brand messaging workshops, ensuring an exceptional and consistent brand experience.
Manage. We ensure all internal stakeholders understand the importance of the Brand Platform and how to represent it in all communication touchpoints. This is done through a training programs, brand management tools, usage guides and a documented brand management approval process.
