A successful brand starts with a compelling idea. One with the potential to produce real value for your organization and your stakeholders. To realize that value, we work with you to craft a powerful brand strategy that puts the customers at the center and delivers tangible results.
A great brand strategy appeals to both hearts and minds through functional and emotional benefits. It conveys a solid value proposition to every constituent, inside and outside the organization. The right strategy reinforces your brand’s promise, raises your brand equity and economic value, and drives real business performance. For over four decades, Tenet Partners has applied our proven methodology to deliver winning brand strategies for hundreds of organizations. Because our approach is grounded in fact and rooted in extensive research, we gain the knowledge to ensure that each unique brand strategy will succeed for our clients. Working in strategy teams that include business consultants, marketers, designers and technologists, we can address every element of your brand strategy.
Our strategy teams can help you:
Create new or refresh positioning for companies and products
Recast corporate mission, vision and values
Improve financial performance through brand portfolio optimization
Articulate a compelling, differentiated brand messaging framework
Evaluate the equities and liabilities of both the client and competing brands
Quantify economic value at risk when making brand decisions
Define aspects of competitive advantage
Clarify the sources of future growth in shareholder value for investors
Segment customer needs and value propositions
Identify the underpinnings of corporate brand sustainability
Align branded customer experiences with purchase and loyalty drivers
At its core, design is about solving problems. Whether it’s a new identity, a web site, printed collateral or a mobile experience, great design ideas rise to the top. To help our clients use design to achieve their goals, we use our award-winning skills and experience to create distinctive solutions grounded in strategic thinking.
The medium may change from project to project, but the elements of good design stem from answers to fundamental questions: What’s the objective? Who’s the audience? What are we communicating? What is the overall visual personality? At Tenet Partners, the answers to these questions point us in the right direction to enable us to design with authority, clarity and unswerving attention to detail. Over the years, we have helped companies across many industries define their visual brand with memorable logos and strong identities.
Our diverse team of designers brings multicultural insights to elevate our work above the expected. Working closely with our strategists and technologists, our passion for art, design, color, texture and typography results in lively and on-target work. We offer enhanced value with the ability to expand a narrowly focused project, delivering fully realized, integrated design solutions. Working with you, we can:
Develop entirely new or refresh existing corporate identity programs
Create a distinctive and modern logo or word mark
Design brand applications for all channels, including digital and environmental
Simplify identity standards with easy to use guidelines
Facilitate implementation of large branding programs to achieve consistency
Make forms and information systems usable and clear
Manage brand assets and production for global organizations
Today’s digital innovation could very well transform the future of your business. Yet, digital is the platform where you’ll have the least control and where your brand can create the most connections. Getting it right, right now, is imperative.
Mobile, social, web—the key is developing a holistic strategy that encompasses the countless ways consumers want to experience your brand. It means taking an enterprise approach across the digital universe to build successful digital platforms and ecosystems. And when you take the view of the customer, it becomes easier to understand where you should focus your digital investments.
Digital is part of our DNA. We pioneered the use of digital technology for branding on interactive media on the Internet. We’ve helped clients embrace digital by being smart, practical and agile. Every digital project we do at Tenet Partners includes researchers, experience designers, usability experts and highly-capable technologists—all relentlessly focused on creating customer experience that will fulfill your brand promise.
We can help you:
Form an enterprise level digital strategy, including digital marketing
Deliver a rewarding user experience design across platforms
Develop rapid service prototypes for digital solutions
Organize information architectures for complex websites
Develop responsive design websites
Develop applications for Web-based services
Create mobile and tablet interface design and development
Improving customer experiences is a proven investment and differentiator. To set your organization apart, well crafted, captivating and relevant customer experiences enable organizations to create competitive advantages and drive growth.
Focusing engagements on delighting customers unlocks the best opportunity to create experiences that become the signature of your brand. Understanding and crafting the interplay between your brand and your customers–across all channels and touchpoints–unlocks growth potential.
We start by gaining a holistic view of your specific customer journeys and how well your organization delivers on its brand promise at every step. We combine robust analysis, systems thinking and a human-centered approach to understanding the needs and emotions of customers. With that knowledge, opportunities for innovating, or for simply making basic improvements, become evident. Measuring performance is fundamental. Our financial and research analysts enable your managers to measure, prioritize, and optimize investments and build c-suite support for customer experience initiatives that drive performance.
Our capabilities will help you with:
Service design
Ethnographic and field research
Journey mapping and use-case explorations
Experience innovation workshops
Omni-channel experience strategy
Touch point redesign
Simplification and environmental design
Real-time CX measurement using TapDash™
Return on CX investment analysis and performance tracking
Traditional marketing is dead. The old product-focus approach to sales is being replaced by content marketing that engages customers on their own terms. It’s communicating with specific audiences in ways that bring value, on topics that matters to them, and at a time and place that respects their needs.
Content marketing can help forge meaningful relationships with prospective customers and court them throughout their journey with your organization. By creating awareness for your company, you make yourself known as a key participant with a point of view. Being found everywhere your customers go for research keeps you visible. As a major player, you will be in the consideration set. And that makes a purchase decision easier.
Our content strategists make every touch point count with memorable and shareable information. Our writers and designers will work closely with you to understand your customers’ needs, how to engage them in valuable conversations and which channels to reach the best outcomes. Whether with thought leadership papers, infographics, social media presence, web copy, videos or blog posts, we can help you:
Form strategies for content design and distribution including digital marketing
Create Thought Leadership papers and expert marketing
Your employees are your brand. They have the power to move your organization forward by embodying your values through their interactions with your customers and each other. Think of human capital as your biggest asset.
Your company can increase the loyalty and passion of customers for your brand by enriching the quality and richness of their engagement with your employees. Engaging with your customers starts when you engage your employees. Whether facing customers or internally with each other, if you inform and inspire your employees they can translate your company values into actions. We work collaboratively with our clients’ employees and offer the tools, communications and training to help define the branded behaviors that will get them to engaged and deliver on your brand.
Aligning your employees’ actions with your customers’ journeys further deepens your relationships. Mapping what you do best–and worst–at those critical moments will help you manage the continuity of your brand experiences for both customers and employees.
Bringing clarity to a household name in innovative materials science
From the seeming miracle of outdoor fabrics that are waterproof yet breathable to advanced materials that have transformed electronics, aerospace, telecommunications and medicine, the innovations of Gore have touched many millions of lives. In the years since it was founded in 1959, Gore has built a legacy not only as an innovator, but as an organization that innovates with purpose—solving complex challenges through the application of advanced materials.
Gore is an enterprise unlike any other. Those who work at Gore are Associates who collaborate within a non-hierarchical “lattice” organizational structure and distinctive culture that values the creativity, inventiveness and freedom of the individual. Everything they do is underpinned by strong sustained beliefs and values established by the Gore family.
Perhaps the best-known of Gore’s products is GORE-TEX Fabric, the breakthrough performance fabric found in everything from shoes to outdoor shelters. It’s well-known around the world, but awareness of all that Gore does and what it stands for were not as widespread.
With a milestone 60th anniversary approaching, Gore saw an opportunity to build on its heritage to shape its future legacy. The anniversary would celebrate a renewed commitment to operating as a purpose-driven organization, crystallizing what Gore stands for in the minds of Associates and customers around the world. A fresh, clear approach to the brand, from its underlying framework to its visual and verbal identity, would be one of the key elements.
Finding what unifies Gore and empowers people
Gore has always been seen as a market leader and innovator. However, over time interactions with customers tended to focus on products and transactions. This, along with the relative independence of the organization’s three divisions—Fabrics, Medical, and Performance Solutions—had diluted awareness of Gore’s original purpose-driven intention.
It was time to step back and identify what was true to the Enterprise, meaningful to its customers and distinctive from competitors. This was a new look at the “hidden secret” of how Gore contributes to society every day, through its products and its people. Ultimately, this reassessment led to a natural brand promise—“Together, improving life”—that unifies Gore’s purpose, products and customers.
Building an identity that clarifies and unifies the master brand
Qualitative and quantitative research to understand brand perceptions and associations had revealed a deep hunger, both internally and externally, for a cohesive master brand. Gore called on Tenet Partners to build on the revised brand framework and help unify the enterprise under “One Gore” through robust visual and verbal identity systems.
Recognizing the equity and heritage in the existing GORE Logo that Bill and Vieve Gore had a hand in developing, Tenet used its angular “alar” shape and red-and-black palette as the launch pad for a redesign of the corporate visual identity system. Incorporating the logo’s signature triangle and angled shapes was a way to reflect the innovation so vital to Gore while also making the identity more modern and forward-looking. The bold palette with Gore’s red at its core, communicates the company’s passion and serves as a metaphor for improving life.
Tenet also developed new nomenclature, a messaging framework and brand voice firmly grounded in the brand framework to communicate the One Gore concept and revised brand attributes. In support of the new branding program, Tenet designed a new brand center and strategic communications to Gore Associates, partners and customers.
It all comes together in a unified Gore master brand
Thanks to the strength of Gore’s brand framework, the input of dozens of Gore Associates across all divisions and regions as well as more than 1,200 external stakeholders, and a close-knit, collaborative working relationship, Tenet delivered what Gore needed: a unified master brand with new focus that’s empowering and inspiring Gore Associates around the world, every day.
The interest surrounding digital security in the payments industry is intense. Hardly a day goes by without another story about identity theft. The rising threat has brought a vigorous response, leading to a complex and crowded security marketplace with overlapping security protocols and competing payment platforms. Rising above the noise and gaining differentiation poses a real challenge, even for the most innovative of new offerings.
In December of 2019, Mastercard embarked on tests of a groundbreaking digital service that has the potential to verify a person’s identity immediately, safely and securely in both the digital and the physical world. Mastercard’s unique model embodies privacy-by-design and does not aggregate identity data. It enables digital interactions to occur with minimal data exchanged and only when needed, and safeguards data and the use of data effectively such that the users are in control.
Standing apart while fitting in with the Mastercard family To create a powerful brand and identity for the project, Mastercard turned to Tenet Partners. Working with the product development team, Tenet first needed to fully understand the capabilities of the product, how it differed from related offerings in the market and what role it would play in Mastercard’s global portfolio.
We discovered that the brand needed to balance a certain amount of autonomy with the right amount of Mastercard connection. The new brand had to stand out and deliver an instant connection to digital security, specifically identity protection. It also had to complement the Mastercard brand, providing a subtle link to the parent while simultaneously remaining entirely separate.
Respecting the masterbrand while pushing the envelope The Tenet team grounded its work in the Mastercard design system while also exploring its limits. The name was straightforward and simple: “ID.” To reflect the unique nature of the product, the logo, visual system and UX components evoked the safety and privacy of the offering, visually representing the “mosaic” of data points that make up an individuals’ identity and the ability to only supply the necessary data required per interaction. Working with the Mastercard UX team, we co-developed user flows and guidelines regarding the vital relationships with trust providers and relying partners.
Industrial pipe fittings, valves, hangers and supports are all part of the infrastructure that allows the modern world to function. Supplying these critical components had been the domain of two leaders in the space, Anvil International and Smith-Cooper International. Their products are used everywhere from oil fields and powerplants to industrial facilities, stadiums and commercial buildings.
CHALLENGE
The companies operated in the same markets but were largely complementary rather than being direct competitors across the board. This created an important opportunity and in 2019, the two joined forces.
While the merger created a single company on paper, legacy operations remained largely discrete. The organization had different technology systems and disconnected facilities. It was using the legacy corporate logos and names side-by-side and the workforce still identified with the company they had been working for prior to the merger. There was a clear need to bring the organization together under one brand that would signal the arrival of a new industry leader.
HOW WE HELPED
Tenet Partners was called in to help build a new masterbrand that would help to increase the value of the company. The brand had to unify the organization while encompassing its full portfolio of legacy product brands. There was strong equity in those brands, so a key consideration was finding a way to embrace their distinctiveness while also integrating them with the new corporate identity.
With the project gaining momentum just as the global COVID-19 pandemic hit, it became necessary to rethink the traditional brand development and implementation approach, which relied on face-to-face collaboration and engagement. The Tenet and client teams both rose to the occasion and established highly effective ways to collaborate virtually.
Uncovering shared strengths
The Tenet strategy team conducted extensive research, interviewing and surveying executives, employees and customers. Smith-Cooper was known for its internationally sourced products, global supply chain and high-touch service, while Anvil International offered leading U.S.-produced brands and deep knowledge driven by experience, along with distribution locations close to key markets. These characteristics complemented one another, pointing to a compelling combined value proposition.
The companies also shared a devotion to quality and service excellence. This common ground proved to be an important unifying brand attribute. It demonstrated that the new brand was the best of Anvil and Smith-Cooper, coming together.
Positioning as a solutions provider
Another central theme of the new brand was an emphasis on solutions. For the company’s leaders, the word “solution” had a specific meaning: a solution is the answer to a customer challenge, whatever that may be. It’s not something that the customer buys. Rather, it’s the sum total of how the company serves the customer, from quality products to support, expertise and service. This idea was deemed so important that it became part of the new name.
Unifying the companies, visually and verbally
Ensuring that neither company was seen as dominant was essential. The name ASC Engineered Solutions achieved this by bringing forward the equity of both legacy names. The Engineered Solutions identifier also elevated the brand to its desired status as a solutions provider that emphasizes engineering excellence. The tagline, “Building connections that last,” also carries multiple meanings. It refers to the company’s quality products as well as the strong, long-lasting relationships it creates, both inside the company and with customers.
The crisp, contemporary logo and design system reinforced those messages, with a graphic depiction of both precision and connectedness: a clear departure from the past and a visual presence that stands out among competitors. The flexible design system also lent itself to visual refreshes of ASC’s extensive product brand portfolio while maintaining the equity generated over many years.
Building up to the brand
An extensive employee engagement campaign prepared the workforce for the upcoming brand launch. This included an internal countdown microsite with weekly updates about the importance of brands, what to expect and answers to common questions. Tenet also put together a comprehensive “train the trainer” program to prepare selected ASC brand ambassadors to go on and train employees throughout the organization.
This broad range of internal launch-related communications helped prime employees for the arrival of the new brand, which was carefully planned to expose key parts of the brand platform including positioning, messaging and visual expression without fully revealing the brand itself. This helped draw attention while saving the high-impact reveal of the logo and name for launch day.
A carefully coordinated launch
With operations spread across a wide geographical footprint and many employees working remotely due the pandemic, coordinating the brand launch was going to be difficult. Since there was no way to make all employees available for a live launch event, a multipronged approach was taken. Tenet provided a scripted town hall presentation for brand launch, along with associated employee communications. The town hall was prerecorded and made available online, as well as being delivered live for those employees who could attend. This ensured that every ASC employee was exposed to the new brand on launch day.
For customers, an updated website encapsulated the new brand and featured specific details about the company – what had changed, why and what could be expected moving forward. Additional external communications included a digital and print advertising campaign, media outreach, a new corporate brochure and customer emails beginning on launch day and continuing well beyond.
OUTCOME
The arrival of the ASC Engineered Solutions brand helped to reinforce the organization’s industry-leading position. No single competitor was able to match ASC in every category, giving the company a unique standing in the marketplace.
Going forward, the company is continuing to integrate its portfolio and technology capabilities to make it simpler and easier to do business. As one organization under a single banner, ASC stands ready to achieve its ambitious goals for growth.
Today society faces two undeniable realities: the digital infrastructure we rely on is under constant attack from rogue states and cyber criminals, and college graduates face high levels of student debt. While the two issues seem unrelated on the surface, a breakthrough collaborative aims to address both at once. Tenet Partners was called upon to play a strategic role in making it a success.
First, some background. There’s a critical shortage of qualified cybersecurity talent, particularly for public-sector roles. Top computer science graduates often set their sights on high-paying, high-visibility positions with leading technology companies like Apple, Google and Facebook. What are government agencies and others in the private sector to do? Create a smarter recruitment solution.
A first-of-its-kind cross-sector opportunity
Tenet Partners was invited by our long-time client, Mastercard, to brand an innovative cybersecurity workforce program. Mastercard was leading a public-private consortium of corporate sponsors that also included Microsoft and Workday, as well as government agencies like the CIA, FBI, EPA, Department of Defense and Department of Energy.
While we had collaborated with Mastercard for two decades, this nonpartisan, nonprofit initiative called for an entirely new solution with its own name, brand architecture, logo and visual identity system. Our work would be responsible for luring the best and brightest away from the Googles of the world with an opportunity to impact national security.
Decoding a mission-worthy program name
The right name would be evaluated on several criteria: it had to telegraph cybersecurity, be industry agnostic and show graduates that this was much more than a job — it was a mission. The name also had to project a platform which government sponsors and corporate partners could see themselves as part of. It had to be bold, inclusive and intriguing, yet transparent.
Our editorial team began by surveying the competitive landscape. While there were no direct competitors, there were existing government fellowships like the Cyber Corps and Cyber Command — both good, strong names to use as benchmarks. We set about creating something that would capture the same sense of duty, but position itself as a point of entry and not a long-term enlistment. Ultimately, we developed and presented the Cybersecurity Talent Initiative.
We built into the name a positioning that announces a program, rather than just a job. The word “talent” conveyed an invitation to apply and nods at applicants’ aptitude, while “initiative” creates a sense of paycheck-with-a-purpose. Together the three words demonstrate the program’s strategy, mission and opportunity for students to help our country while launching a promising career.
Visual identity unifies program partners
Thinking through the challenge to represent this group of program stakeholders, our design team created a visual mark that pulls from both the public and private sectors. More than a logo, the design carries the gravitas of a badge, or a seal — an insignia that would look as appropriate on a uniform sleeve as it would printed on a business card. The three points of the logo can be seen to represent the student, the government agencies and the corporate sponsors together in a subtle patriotic palette.
Mission accomplished? We’re on our way
With a mission to bolster our nation’s cybersecurity ranks, the Cybersecurity Talent Initiative has big boots to fill. The program launched in April of 2019 with a goal of fielding its first class of 50 recruits in 2020. After graduation, students will work for one of the government agencies, developing industry credibility and critical workplace skills. The program offers leadership training, pairing graduates with senior-level mentors. After their two-year government assignment, participants armed with new talents are encouraged to apply for positions with private-sector members. Once hired by a group member, participants receive student loan assistance.
The Cybersecurity Talent Initiative gives students the opportunity to make a significant impact, both for their country and their professional lives. That makes us proud to have contributed to the project.
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