Author: Tenet

  • Tenet Partners recognized in Gartner® Market Guide for Brand Consultancies

    New York, NY (December 10, 2024) – Tenet Partners has been named among a select group of brand consultancies in the latest Gartner® Market Guide for Brand Strategy Agencies*. This recognition is a continued acknowledgement of the services, capabilities and insights that Tenet brings to brand leaders as they seek to elevate brand strategy, architecture, activation and identity.

    The guide notes Tenet’s strong focus on data-driven insights and trend forecasting through predictive analytics to inform brand strategy along with marketing, creative and brand management, and to tie brand investments to business outcomes. The guide also highlights Tenet’s brand consulting capabilities that span corporate and consumer branding, including insights, advanced analytics, brand architecture, naming and identity.

    The Gartner report points to the fact that brand strategy agencies are experimenting with and adopting AI—an area in which Tenet has been making significant investments for the past five years. It cites consideration of the role of AI as one of its top takeaways, noting that AI use, values, expanding agency capabilities, and deep understanding of the client’s industry are key differentiators that can help inform agency selection.

    The report, which contains extensive guidance on how to go about selecting the right agency for the client’s needs, concludes with specific recommendations on fostering a strong and productive agency relationship—valuable advice that Tenet believes can help CMOs make a smart decision when choosing a vendor.

    This guidance is timely, given the authors’ findings. CMOs struggle to find the right brand strategy agency due to the overlap of capabilities with traditional management consultancies, advertising and digital marketing agencies. Brand strategy agency capabilities, once primarily focused solely on brand positioning and visual identity, have evolved rapidly to include internal communications, increased insights capabilities, and experiential brand identities. Selecting the right partner is critical, given that CMOs also report brand strategy and activation as a large budget allocation across marketing programs and operational areas.

    Read the full Gartner report, Market Guide for Brand Strategy Agencies, (accessible to Gartner subscribers ID G00804877).

    *Gartner, “Market Guide for Brand Strategy Agencies”, By Analyst(s): Julie Reeves, Jay Wilson. Published 6 November 2024

    GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s Research & Advisory organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

    About Tenet Partners

    Tenet Partners is a brand innovation firm that transforms organizations through a blend of insights, strategy, design and AI technology. Our mission is to help companies create brand value and open possibilities in today’s digital-driven and customer-focused world.

    For more information

    Jessica McHie
    Photo of Jessica McHie Partner, Business Development
    Business Development and Marketing
    Tenet Partners
    11 West 42nd Street
    Penthouse Floors 31/32
    New York, NY 10036 US
    +1 212 329-3166
  • Canon Medical

    Canon Medical

    Canon branded stationery

    Making a difference is in Canon Medical’s DNA

    From MRIs to X-ray equipment, the world of medical imaging is heavily dependent on advanced technology. That’s where many manufacturers concentrate their efforts.

    Canon Medical Systems USA has a different mindset. It’s a company that thinks about access, impact and the good that its solutions do for providers, health systems and patients. For Canon Medical, the outcome matters as much as the product.

    Tenet Partners helped Canon Medical bring that story to life with an award-winning brand refresh that set the company apart while honoring the global Canon brand.

    three portrait Canon medical ads
    laptop displaying Canon Medical brand
    tradeshow poster showing Canon Medical brand

    Targeting Canon Medical’s distinct advantages

    With the competition mainly focused on technology, Canon Medical saw an opportunity to leverage its emphasis on meaningful innovation, expertise, relationships and the positive impact it has on customers and patients as a way to stand out.

    A new brand promise, positioning and personality set the stage for messaging and tone of voice. The narrative highlighted the company’s humanity and strong customer orientation: Canon Medical is with customers all the way, solving problems, meeting them where they are and setting them up for success. All in the name of delivering what matters: better outcomes.

    Honoring the parent brand while exploring new directions

    The critical challenge for Tenet’s design team was to respect the power and value of the global Canon brand while enabling Canon Medical to stand out as a preferred partner for the medical community. The visual identity had to remain firmly rooted in the parent brand.

    The new design links to the global Canon brand in subtle ways, making good use of the corporate red along with gradients and geometric shapes, including the highly recognizable letter C that’s always been part of the Canon wordmark. The result is a rich texture that suggests technology without overwhelming the more human elements of imagery.

    A refreshed Canon Medical brand grabs attention

    In a crowded market where Canon Medical goes head-to-head against much larger competitors, the refreshed brand has done exactly what the company was looking to accomplish: elevate its profile. A few months after the updated brand launch, Canon Medical saw a 45% increase in engagement with its social media content, and response to PR at conferences tripled.

    The revitalized brand also won Bronze in the 2024 Transform Awards, for best creative strategy—evidence of the difference that collaborative engagement and design that’s firmly grounded in brand strategy can make.

    Canon brochure
    “We’re impressed by Tenet Partners’ ability to listen and understand our business needs.” Olivia Duarte, Director of Corporate Communications
    electronic billboard with Canon ad
  • Fairtrade

    Fairtrade

    OVERVIEW

    Fairtrade International is a non-governmental organization spearheading a global movement to change the way trade works through better prices, decent working conditions and a fairer deal for farmers and workers in developing countries.

    CHALLENGE

    Fairtrade promotes its agenda through a system of certification marks on product packaging to help brands signal that they are part of a more sustainable, responsible worldwide economy, giving consumers assurance that they are making ethical purchase decisions. It was felt that this multifaceted system was too complex and difficult to understand.

    HOW WE HELPED

    The organization saw the need to make the scheme more clear, but wanted to make sure any changes were driven by research and a sound brand strategy. Fairtrade came to Tenet Partners for help with streamlining its certification architecture to better communicate with the market.

    Building on extensive research, the Tenet team recommended a simplified approach based on use cases. The new system is straightforward, easily understood and modular, with a single certification mark that combines the two legacy marks and supplemental visual elements that can be added or removed based on the use case.

    OUTCOME

    The new approach makes identification of Fairtrade-certified products easier, while still allowing for the inclusion of relevant information. It also sparked valuable discussion and consensus-building within the organization.

    With clarity around adoption of the new architecture achieved, Fairtrade International is poised to move forward with a clean, flexible system that allows qualified businesses to better communicate with their customers—and for the organization itself to advance its vision.

  • APTA

    APTA

    OVERVIEW

    The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) is a professional organization that represents more than 100,000 member-physical therapists, physical therapist assistants and students of physical therapy nationwide.  

    CHALLENGE

    While developing its 5-year strategic plan, APTA leadership determined that the association’s brand was not serving the needs of its membership. This was proved out as the 71 specialty sections, state chapters and major programs that comprise APTA were using their own branding, creating a highly fragmented face to the organization.  

    While national leadership desired a more consistent identity, it was concerned that developing a cohesion might also create friction—with most chapters wanting to maintain their individual identities.  

    HOW WE HELPED

    Tenet research confirmed that the national association was underappreciated by its members, who were more connected with their local chapter or specialized member group than they were to the broader organization. 

    In parallel with visual identity work, Tenet strategists engaged APTA national and chapter leadership in collaborative exercises designed to build consensus around an evolved brand architecture that would establish a more prominent connection between the chapters and the association.  

    That process helped to shift the views of leaders and members, who agreed that a more cohesive branding approach would go a long way towards increasing the stature of the association, and of physical therapists in healthcare and among the public at large.  

    A new logo and visual system were also developed to express the end benefit physical therapists provide their patients: a notion of fluid activity and freedom of motion, driving forward and upward. The refreshed visual identity provides both consistency and flexibility, allowing APTA to build a cohesive brand while giving the 71 disparate groups the freedom to customize their own identity by choosing from a range of pre-designed options.  

    In a further endeavor toward consistency, Tenet also developed a messaging playbook—a key resource that APTA’s national staff had never had before—along with comprehensive brand guidelines, launch strategy and communications. 

    OUTCOME

    The national brand launch was timed to coincide with the association’s centennial celebration, featuring prominently in APTA’s new headquarters. By tying the launch to a major event, the refreshed brand generated considerable excitement and buy-in. With a solid architecture established, the individual member groups now have the tools to roll out their own refreshed brands.  

    The new brand approach quickly proved its worth. A prominent APTA group that had separately undertaken its own brand refresh hired Tenet to design its new brand. We demonstrated how the architecture solution, new identity and visual system could be used to create a powerful brand expression at all levels of the organization.

  • EMC Insurance

    EMC Insurance

    OVERVIEW

    EMC Insurance is an Iowa-based carrier primarily focused on risk solutions for business. As a mutual company that relies heavily on independent agents, local presence and close relationships with communities and businesses, it has a powerful story to tell.

    CHALLENGE

    EMC leaders knew they had a strong presence in the market, but felt that there was an opportunity to amplify the brand to better reflect the company’s strengths and distinct character.

    HOW WE HELPED

    Starting with extensive internal and external research, Tenet strategists zeroed in on what makes EMC special: that at its core, it is a very human company.

    That ethos was captured in a revised brand platform as a foundational element: “The national carrier with a local heart.” This laddered up to a new brand promise: “Keeping insurance human.” In keeping with this, the platform and brand voice shifted away from a product-first approach to larger themes of partnership and prosperity.

    EMC’s existing look—hard-edged and dark, typical of the industry—felt dated and was not ideally suited to the company’s focus on working with agency partners to help policyholders and communities thrive. Tenet designers created a warmer, more engaging visual identity, using an in-person workshop to help the EMC team get up close with the creative process.

    As the amplified EMC brand was being prepared to launch externally, leadership understood that connecting with the internal audience was critically important, as they are the ones embodying the brand promise across all touchpoints.

    The Tenet team knew that the employee training program would be most effective if delivered by the employees themselves. A Tenet-crafted “Brand Ambassador” train-the-trainer program tapped 60 uniquely qualified individuals across various geographies and areas of expertise to be the faces and voices of employee engagement throughout the organization.

    It all came together at One EMC, an historic event at EMC headquarters. Through unique and memorable employee experiences, the team generated excitement, teamwork and a greater understanding of the amplified EMC brand.

    OUTCOME

    The new brand identity, Brand Ambassador program and One EMC event were hugely successful and popular with employees, serving to bring clarity about the company’s path forward and build genuine enthusiasm about EMC’s future.

    “The collaborative partnership we had with the Tenet team resulted in a highly creative and impactful visual identity that further enhanced our broad strategy,” said EMC’s vice president of customer experience & marketing.

  • Sparking a passion for science and technology

    Sparking a passion for science and technology

    FIRST

    A global nonprofit organization founded by well-known inventor Dean Kamen, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) is dedicated to improving education and interest in science. The company touches the lives of nearly 700,000 kids globally through its robotics programs. Kamen, holder of more than 1000 patents and founder of DEKA Research and Development, set a vision for the organization to “create a world where science and technology are celebrated…where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes.”

    The identity of FIRST is an excellent example of a grass-roots creation that takes a life of its own through its application. Unlike regimented corporate programs, the company’s symbol is applied freely to just about everything imaginable inside and outside event venues – by FIRST staff, by the thousands of teams and fans, and by the many corporate sponsors and partners contributing time and resources.

    Tenet Partners donated its services and talents to helping FIRST create a new logo and signature system that updates its image, solves a range of application issues, and clarifies the structure of the growing nonprofit’s numerous offerings.

  • Tenet Partners Wins Multiple High Honors in 2024 REBRAND 100® Global Awards

    Tenet Partners Wins Multiple High Honors in 2024 REBRAND 100® Global Awards

    New York, NY (March 04, 2024) – Tenet Partners has won high honors in the 2024 REBRAND 100® Global Awards for its brand transformation work for clients Cadence Bank, ACA Group, ASC Engineered Solutions, Broadview Federal Credit Union, Dow, and the Imagine® Visa Credit Card from Atlanticus.

    Returning after a pause in 2022 due to the pandemic, the prestigious bi-annual REBRAND 100® Global Awards celebrate the creativity and design of the best brand transformation projects submitted to an international panel of prominent industry experts representing multiple disciplines.

    The awards covered projects launched between January 2021 and October 2023, allowing for a comprehensive evaluation of their outcomes and the impact of the transformations beyond their initial launch. The panel analyzed the before and after state of the brand and measured its impact on strategic business goals and target markets.

    Of particular note was Tenet’s work for Cadence Bank, which received a Distinction award in the Enterprise Rebrand category. “We are thrilled to be recognized with a prestigious REBRAND award alongside Tenet Partners. Collaborating with them to craft our new brand was an inspiring journey, with their expertise and dedication serving as our guiding light,” said Jackie Hooper, Chief Marketing Officer of Cadence Bank. “Their strategic insights and unwavering commitment to creative excellence perfectly complemented our rebranding goals. Together, we are proud of the transformative impact achieved by our partnership.”

    Cadence Bank banner

    “This was a landmark year, with all six of the projects we submitted winning honors—the largest total ever and an acknowledgement of our ability to create extraordinary brands that contribute to client success,” said Hampton Bridwell, CEO at Tenet Partners. “Being recognized for the business impact we’ve achieved testifies to the strength of our strategic and creative teams and the relationships we build with our clients.”

    Award-Winning Projects Featured:
    Cadence Bank won the Distinction award in the Enterprise Rebrand category for a powerful brand that unifies the two regional banks which had merged to form the new organization, while honoring the legacy of both.

    ACA Group won a Merit award in the Enterprise Rebrand category for a future-focused brand that transformed the traditional compliance consulting and benchmarking organization into a tech-forward governance, risk and compliance leader.

    ASC Engineered Solutions won a Merit award in the Enterprise Rebrand category for work that combined Anvil International and Smith-Cooper International—both suppliers of industrial pipe fittings, valves and associated equipment—to signal the arrival of a new industry leader.

    Broadview Federal Credit Union won a Merit award in the Enterprise Rebrand category for unifying two credit unions that merged to create the New York capital region’s largest financial institution with hundreds of thousands of members.

    Dow won a Merit award in the Component Rebrand category for a robust corporate branding framework that is allowing Dow to find a place for its existing sustainability-oriented offerings while creating a comprehensive sustainability brand architecture for future products.

    The Imagine® Visa Credit Card won a Merit award in the Brand Extension category for its issuer, Atlanticus, for a future-focused financial services brand designed to appeal to younger, tech-savvy consumers, a new demographic for Atlanticus.

    About Tenet Partners
    Tenet Partners is the only 100% employee-owned branding firm in the world. We transform organizations through a blend of insights, strategy, design and technology. Our mission is to help companies create brand value and open possibilities in today’s digital-driven and customer-focused world.

    About REBRAND™ and the REBRAND 100® Global Awards
    REBRAND is the world’s leading platform for brand transformation insights, case examples, and programs. Celebrating its 20th year, the REBRAND 100® Global Awards is the foremost global recognition for excellence in brand transformation. This year, REBRAND™ also introduced an AI-driven knowledge base, enhancing insights into brand transformation success stories. For details, visit REBRAND.com.

    For more information

    Jessica McHie
    Photo of Jessica McHie Partner, Business Development
    Business Development and Marketing
    Tenet Partners
    11 West 42nd Street
    Penthouse Floors 31/32
    New York, NY 10036 US
    +1 212 329-3166
  • Tenet Partners recognized in Gartner® Market Guide for Brand Consultancies

    Tenet Partners recognized in Gartner® Market Guide for Brand Consultancies

    New York, NY (February 5, 2024) – Tenet Partners has been recognized by Gartner® in its Market Guide for Brand Consultancies for the second year running, making specific mention of our focus on data-driven insights and forecasting. This recognition is a continued acknowledgement of the services, capabilities and insights that Tenet brings to brand leaders as they seek to elevate brand strategy, architecture, activation and visual identity.

    The Q4 2023 Market Guide notes that CMOs continue to recognize the links between brand investment and business value, resulting in prioritization of brand projects. This aligns with other recent Gartner research: According to the 2023 Gartner Brand Leaders Survey, 82% of brand leaders are pessimistic about the ongoing economic and business climate impact on their brands, but more than 50% would fight to keep their brand spending steady even when faced with the prospect of cutting performance marketing.

    Brand strategy and activation were among the top three areas where surveyed CMOs reported significant capability gaps that stand in the way of achieving business goals. 46% of respondents reported in increase in budgets for brand strategy and activation across marketing programs and operational areas.

    Turning to emerging trends that are transforming branding and marketing—and helping to address, at least in part, the capability gaps uncovered in the Brand Leaders Survey—the Market Guide encourages CMOs to “recognize the evolving and widespread capabilities of GenAI in order to best determine how the agencies are responsibly using GenAI internally and to support client deliverables.”

    In our opinion, this Gartner guide offers useful framework for key considerations and action items for CMOs as they begin a brand consultancy search. This includes critical AI capabilities across generative, machine learning, natural language processing and advanced forecasting needed for consumer insights, optimizing ROI and enhancing brand management.

    We believe that the statements in the guide accurately reflect Tenet’s own views on the role of brand consultancies. “The consumer climate is becoming more challenging for brand owners, and they will continue to need help developing and refining their brands to stay competitive. The importance of brand to attract and retain customers, potential employees and investors is growing.

    CMOs are increasingly responsible for managing brand and the role it plays in conveying an organization’s purpose and priorities, and recognizing that internal capabilities to deliver deep brand strategy work are lacking. Thus, reliance on brand strategy agencies should continue to grow.”

    Read the full Gartner report, Market Guide for Brand Consultancies, (accessible to Gartner subscribers ID G00770939).

    *Gartner, “Market Guide for Brand Consultancies”, By Analyst(s): Julie Reeves, Jay Wilson. Published 25 October 2023

    GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s Research & Advisory organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

    About Tenet Partners

    Tenet Partners is a brand innovation firm that transforms organizations through a blend of insights, strategy, design and AI technology. Our mission is to help companies create brand value and open possibilities in today’s digital-driven and customer-focused world.

    For more information

    Jessica McHie
    Photo of Jessica McHie Partner, Business Development
    Business Development and Marketing
    Tenet Partners
    11 West 42nd Street
    Penthouse Floors 31/32
    New York, NY 10036 US
    +1 212 329-3166
  • DTS

    DTS

    OVERVIEW

    A longtime leader in digital audio, DTS brings the sound of countless movies to life and plays a role in the performance of most audio brands. Yet, despite its behind-the-scenes prominence, the company was relatively unknown. It needed to gain traction with key audiences, from consumers and equipment manufacturers to music and film producers.

    CHALLENGE

    The company’s name reflects its origins in the film industry—it was originally called Digital Theater Systems—and it was time to change that mindset by finding the best way to speak directly to end users, so they could better understand the presence and value of DTS technology in their lives.

    HOW WE HELPED

    Tenet took a two-pronged approach to helping DTS advance its brand. First, our strategists worked with DTS to explore positioning opportunities in new application areas such as car audio, personal computers and other related entertainment businesses. Second, we enabled the company to enhance its visual presence by bringing DTS technology to the forefront—a key element of becoming more consumer-focused.

    The “technology inside” approach to visual branding is well established, having been used successfully by DTS competitor Dolby among many others in related industries. Tenet strategists expanded on this by recommending a more personal positioning, using the tagline “Surround Yourself” to emphasize the high-quality experience that DTS provides.

    Tenet’s creative team developed a new graphic identity and launch campaign to raise excitement for the brand. We also helped redesign and fine-tune the DTS and DTS-HD logos. The new design and brand architecture made the identity more prominent and easier to use on audio equipment, in software and in expanding digital communications channels. This provided the company with a clear presence in the lives of consumers—a subtle reminder of DTS as part of their entertainment experience.

    OUTCOME

    Thanks to more effective positioning against its competitors, DTS has been able to maintain the value and price of its technology as well as differentiate itself from arch-rival Dolby Labs. Today, DTS technology is built into hundreds of millions of electronic devices worldwide, unlocking theater-quality audio for consumers everywhere.

  • Cadence Bank

    Cadence Bank

    OVERVIEW

    After BancorpSouth and Cadence Bank – both leading financial institutions serving the southern United States – completed their merger in late 2021, a new corporate brand was needed to unify the company internally and signal the arrival of a new and stronger organization to customers and communities across the region.

    CHALLENGE

    The challenge for the new Cadence Bank brand was to communicate a value proposition that would capture the experience that made the organization stand out as something different.

    The brand also had to unify the organization while retaining the strong equity of both legacy brands in terms of visual identity, service and culture—and provide a springboard for the future.

    HOW WE HELPED

    Research quickly revealed common strengths across the two legacy organizations that differentiated them: deep expertise, a focus on listening first, personal service and strong relationships with customers, among employees and within communities. Taken together, these attributes helped both organizations provide guidance in the way that’s most meaningful and helpful to their customers.

    Tenet saw a warm, personal approach distinct from that of many larger financial services companies: an urge to meet people where they are on their financial journeys, develop and sustain long-term relationships, and provide the flexibility required to meet individual customer needs. It is not uncommon, for example, for customers to be greeted by name when they go to a branch.

    This shared culture and the personality attributes that shape it led to a new brand promise: “Ease your day. And your mind.” The concept of ease was central to positioning as well, providing a way to tell a rich and nuanced story that goes beyond “we make banking easy.” At Cadence, ease is as much a mindset as an operating principle. It’s as much about creating convenience as it is about putting customers’ minds at ease.

    The visual, sonic and verbal brand identity stands out in the marketplace as something fresh and new while being rooted in the proud history of both companies—showing how two leaders have joined under the new Cadence brand. Together, these elements evoke a strong sense of people and community that complements all aspects of the customer experience. It puts weight and credibility behind the new tagline: “Helping opportunity take shape.”

    Notably, Tenet designers found a way to echo the highly recognizable BancorpSouth gumtree logo with a completely new take on the iconic symbol. Since the Cadence name was retained, it was important for BancorpSouth employees and customers to see themselves reflected in the new logo. By evoking the gumtree through color and perfectly balanced shapes working in harmony to complement the name, the logo provides a clear link to the past while moving the brand forward.

    The brand rollout was supported by an extensive communications and employee engagement program, including regular communications on a dedicated internal microsite and the company intranet. Tenet and the Cadence team also implemented a “train the trainer” program for Cadence Bank brand ambassadors—selected individuals who went on to immerse thousands of employees in the new brand, focusing attention on the Cadence Bank culture and values, and the part that employees play in the customer experience.

    OUTCOME

    The resulting brand is a clear reflection of the very best of legacy BancorpSouth and Cadence, coming together to create a new, modern and human-centric financial services organization. According to the client, the brand has generated an overwhelmingly positive response from thousands of employees and customers, and has won awards for the bank.

    “One of the aspects we’ve liked most about Tenet Partners’ approach is their ability to effectively balance art and science when developing our new brand. They are exceptionally strong in both areas, which is rare for a branding agency.”
    – Jackie Hooper, SVP, Chief Marketing Officer, Cadence Bank