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.

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.