Getting a message through to the highend corporate audience is the toughest challenge in marketing. Highend decision makers live in a rarefied culture. No one allowed in unless you know their priorities and their language.
Don’t waste time. Don’t sell me.
Make sure it’s real. And, show me you understand. Their culture lives by enhancing shareholder value and motivating the productivity of workforces.
These audiences are different. Different because B2B audiences are more complex than any 25-54 year old HOH target. B2B targets include the C-level executives, Wall Street, the Beltway, customers, prospects and employees.
These people are hard to reach and even harder to engage. It is a culture that requires success. In B2B, you’re either part or you’re not. Our clients are.
Applying inspired thought and talent to complex corporate communication challenges allows us a powerful advantage over typical agencies.
Public markets are placing more emphasis than ever on a clearly defined Brand.
Many companies have become ever more complex through M&A—often holding several different industries under one corporate umbrella.
At the same time the audiences are navigating through a media glut. Net, net—they have even less time to absorb more information that’s also more complicated.
We look at brands through the lens of these difficult audiences. The culture of commerce is more demanding with less tolerance for error, development or learning curves. This is true for every marketing issue we’ve faced. That’s why our promise is to deliver world-class strategic solutions that are distinctive, relevant and pay out.
Research is key—and the mission of it is the triangulation of the Brand, the audience and the competition.
We analyze, re-analyze all the existing data, commission necessary new research and synthesize the relevant, compelling story about the client’s challenges, issues and possibilities. This reveals the white space where the client brand has the most potential.
Prior to the discovery phase, we conduct a ZeroHour session with client top management to go through all of the thought process that led up to committing to a new brand. We have a good idea of where the client wants to be, but in ZeroHour, all of the qualitative factors that are important in undertaking not only the strategic and creative challenges of the task are discussed but personalities, geographies, client and competitors get airtime and prioritized. In this way our team is sensitized to all the real issues you face.
Our philosophy is to deliver a seamless, organic connection between the strategy, the expression and the delivery of the brand that builds your business in the markets you serve.
Our principals are players of renown in the fields of agency management and brand strategy. The value they bring to the table goes beyond any single discipline. Having worked with the highest levels of corporate management, they understand your goals and the impact they should have on your business. They also understand the realities of business and work through budget limitations, internal inertia, regional or local obstacles and challenges.
Upon completion of the ZeroHour, the insight & intelligence phase, competitive mapping and out-of-industry analysis we present alternative brand value propositions for discussion. These value props are evaluated for their global relevance, industry ‘stretch’, applicability to regional and local needs, credibility with the internal audience, value to clients, prospects, recruits and other factors. And, whether you believe this is who you want to be. On reflection and whatever appropriate socialization with a larger group of managers, we finalize the brand value proposition.
When applicable, ConstellationNY transitions all of our strategic solutions into execution. Whether this involves our team or leveraging a clients existing creative and production resources, we can maximize the marketing investment.
Creative development begins with distilling the value prop to a compelling, differentiated elevator conversation.
The most powerful creative works because it finds a common vocabulary that works across any audience—from your peer in the elevator to the boardroom in Paris.
Often, in B2B Marketing, powerful brands come from the vision of top management, and unlike a consumer brand, the customer cannot tell us what to change in the taste, package or size. B2B customers often don’t know what’s possible from a corporate partner because they’re focused on their own agenda and only know you from the work that they’re currently or were previously engaged in with you—the blind man and the elephant analogy.
The out-of-category analysis/analogs creates perspective and insight that is unavailable through the accepted wisdom of any industry. Breaking a paradigm requires thinking of successes beyond the confines of one’s niche. When ConstellationNY re-framed the corporate portfolio of an insurance services giant and created a new and industry-leading brand value proposition, our out-of-category analysis identified the consulting models of Accenture and EDS as the ideal ‘stretch’ position. It moved our client’s value prop far beyond any of its direct competitors while maintaining credibility and bringing fresh thinking and energy to their industry.