Tag: Identity

  • IBM – Transforming the technology conversation

    IBM – Transforming the technology conversation

    From typewriters, to personal computers, to servers, IBM’s history has been for decades rooted in hardware. While efforts were made, with the acquisition of firms like PwC, to shift its position to one of a business consultative partner, it was clear that much more was needed to influence the marketplace perception of the company that was referred to as “Big Blue”.

    To get a full measure of the transformation that took place at IBM over the last two decades, one has to take a trip down memory lane. Before the world became irreversibly interconnected. Before, in the words of former IBM CEO Lou Gerstner, elephants could dance.

    Transformation No. 1: putting the “e” in business

    As early as 1995, prior to the arrival of game changers like Amazon and eBay, IBM was busy re-engineering how business would be conducted in the new century.

    Together with our colleagues across all IBM business units, Tenet Partners went to work to communicate IBM’s revolutionary vision, across markets, industries and geographies. The main challenge? How do you make what had been a back-end story become part of the conversation in the corner office.

    While this was, no doubt, a monumental task, the solution was relatively simple. The overall culture had to change from an insular position of “producing products to sell and that the world would, unquestionably, buy” to one that took the time to focus on clients’ needs, what problems they were looking to solve. Tenet was there to help IBM take its first steps into what we know today as content marketing.

    Tranformation No. 2: changing the company’s architecture to align with strategy

    With no one paying close attention, IBM had evolved into a siloed federation of businesses. This had the effect of diminishing the overall value of IBM and the comprehensive portfolio of offerings. Decision was made to revisit this business architecture and do away with the barriers that had been erected between its various operating units. Sub-brands were sunset and all were to rally around the singular idea of IBM as the purveyor of end-to-end solutions.

    Transformation No. 3: retooling the sales force to fuel meaningful conversations

    IBM took center stage as the champion for innovation that matters. That bold position had to be reflected in the way its sales teams interacted with clients. This meant further transformation in sales enablement. Moving away from the old push-content strategy, Tenet helped create interactive tools that put customers in the driver’s seat.

    The dynamic computer-based environment enabled IBM clients to start the conversation at the beginning: their business goals. Using the same tool, the sales team could then discuss how to put technology to work to solve these same issues. This was the beginning of a true partnership with IBM as the enabler of client innovation.

    Transformation No. 4: defining the imperatives for a smarter planet

    While the world might have gotten flatter, its complexities were, by no means, getting smaller. Neither was IBM’s challenge to continue fueling growth. To insure success, IBM set out to transform not only how business was conducted but how the whole planet lived. Enter the era of big data and analytics.

    Tenet’s role was to ensure that the corporate strategy traveled across the enterprise. Our team of content strategists and designers worked hand in hand with IBM to demonstrate the power of data when it is turned into actionable information. Moving away from more traditional marketing collateral, we focused on other avenues such as thought leadership papers and ROI research.

    The team also worked at enabling IBM to have a voice in the increasing mobile public square. This required a refined approach to how IBM communicated with clients: information design that traveled across devices, compelling infographics, innovative data delivery and an active participation in social media.

    Transformation No. 5: the never-ending journey

    A true sign of leadership is one’s adaptability and ability to seize on new opportunities. IBM has undeniably earned its place at the leadership table as it pushes the limits of the possible through metamorphic concepts like the cloud.

    Today, Tenet continues to play an important role in supporting this societal influencer and its mission to continue to grow and improve the quality of life – and business – for everyone.

  • Rockwell Collins – Soaring to new markets

    Rockwell Collins – Soaring to new markets

    Innovation marks a company’s ability to sustain competitive advantage and market leadership. Without question, Rockwell Collins enjoys a reputation as one of the most future-focused companies in the world. More precisely, Rockwell Collins is known for innovation that performs in the most demanding applications without fail. From its participation in the space program in the 1960s to designing the most advanced avionics and communication systems in use today, Rockwell Collins is the brand that customers charged with delivering critical missions count on.

    Defining independence

    While its history is worthy of celebration, it also presented an interesting dilemma for Rockwell Collins as it sought to clarify and strengthen its identity after spinning out of the conglomerate, Rockwell International. The Rockwell and Collins names are deeply embedded in the history of America’s aerospace and communications equipment industries – each with a powerful legacy and a source of great individual pride. Unfortunately, these strong brand names kept the combined Rockwell Collins from seeing itself as one entity.

    When heritage meets innovation for the benefit of customers

    Starting with a deep look at the business and research with customers, investors, employees and other key audiences, the Tenet team guided management as they made the choice to keep the name for the company, embark on a new strategic positioning and innovate its brand to achieve future growth ambitions.

    Tenet reaffirmed and articulated the Rockwell Collins brand attributes: a heritage founded on reliability, a continuous drive toward innovation and a relentless commitment to building strong customer relationships. The brand promise, Building trust every day, conveyed a clear sense of purpose. Together with a bold new word-mark, dynamic visual and verbal identity, website, and brand engagement programs, the stage was set for a reinvigorated culture and market momentum.

    With confidence and revitalized energy, Rockwell Collins was ready to move forward. That’s reflected by its rapid ascent as one of the most admired and best performing companies in America.

    Preparing for the 2017 Paris Air Show

    The bi-yearly Paris Air Show provides the biggest audience of OEM and manufacturers of commercial and military systems. In 2017, the show offered a prime opportunity to position Rockwell Collins as the leading provider of solutions that span the entire aircraft, given their recent acquisition of B/E Aerospace. It was an important venue to show the full cockpit-to- cabin expertise of Rockwell Collins, and to position the company as innovative and forward-thinking.

    Tenet Partners created a common theme for all media surrounding the Paris Air Show that captured the spirit of innovation from Rockwell Collins: “See the future from here.”

    To maximize the power of a consistent message, Tenet mapped visitors’ journey along the path of their potential media exposure bought by Rockwell Collins. Next, we produced digital ads to cover wraps and ads in aircraft industry magazines, air show billboards and ultimately the entire Rockwell Collins chalet, from inside video to outside signage. Rockwell Collins’ signature color identity and evocative skyscape imagery were used across all visuals.

    Kelly Ortberg, CEO of Rockwell Collins, said, “It’s the best Rockwell Collins has ever looked.”

  • When the business evolves, so must the brand

    When the business evolves, so must the brand

    Amgen is the biggest biotechnology company in the world, with a global reach and 20,000 employees. However, the biotechnology pioneer’s origins were more modest. It began in 1980 as Applied Molecular Genetics, with all the characteristics of a Californian, tech-style start-up: millions in venture capital, remarkable talent and boundless ambition.

    Success brought with it the challenges that many fast growing companies expanding into global markets face. The corporate brand was becoming less and less relevant to an increasingly diverse set of audiences. In addition, the brand itself was becoming unwieldy and difficult to manage.

    A brand strategy to match aspirations

    A start-up moving to the big leagues, Amgen needed to convey a sense of stature to establish trust. The old brand personality – formal, bold and communicative of leadership – served the company well at the time.

    However, as the company began to push into the global markets, it recognized that the time was right to recast its image. Amgen reached out to Tenet Partners to help them redirect the brand. Our team of designers charted the course for a new direction, one that shifted Amgen’s position toward innovation and commitment to the discovery of breakthrough therapies that can change people’s lives. The revitalized visual personality expresses the essence of Amgen: its human mission, optimistic spirit and rigorous scientific discipline.

    Putting technology at the service of the brand

    While the company grew, so did the need to optimize its brand management process. With the company expanding globally, simple tasks, such as approving a logo to be used in a sponsorship or getting the legal language right on a piece of collateral, were eating up valuable time and resources. Given the importance of Amgen’s mission, it was vital to have a process that would be efficient, freeing people to turn to other pressing matters.

    Brand Ensemble™, Tenet’s brand asset management technology, allows the team to streamline many of those tasks by using a single, worldwide repository of information, standards, resources and workflows. By moving away from manual management practices, the Amgen brand team has been able to improve consistency and efficiency on a global scale.

    For Amgen, one of the biggest benefits that comes with Brand Ensemble is automated advertising. This tool allows communications specialists, anywhere in the world, to quickly produce a corporate ad. This process saves weeks of back and forth, legal time and lets Amgen be in the market faster.

    Positioning for continued success

    The challenges that Amgen faced as it grew into a global biotech powerhouse show how brands – and the way they’re managed – need to mature over time. Building an enduring, viable brand takes the kind of smart leadership and forward vision that has marked Amgen since the beginning.

  • Citrix Systems

    Citrix Systems

    2008 marked an important year in the growth of Citrix Systems. Having just broken the $1 billion revenue mark and completed numerous successful acquisitions, Citrix had earned its seat at the “big table” as a contender for leadership in desktop virtualization and cloud infrastructure solutions. Global companies, like Microsoft, were knocking at the door and looking for partnership opportunities. It quickly became obvious that something had to be done to give the brand the stature it deserved and to create the brand experience clients were looking for.

    Now a strategic partner with Microsoft and a key competitor to big-league players like Cisco and Oracle, Citrix had to shed the ad-hoc branding practices of its days as a scrappy tech startup. Citrix reached out to Tenet Partners for help. Starting with a re-tuning of the brand positioning from functional-based (access) to a broader, benefit-driven strategy (infrastructure), Tenet’s team of strategists and designers worked together to translate the new direction into a brand identity that expressed openness, transparency and scale.

    Now that it was playing in a decidedly different league and appealing to a much broader market, meaningful connections with their customers were going to be key for success for Citrix. To that end, it was vital to create a more robust and clearly defined partnership and ingredient branding program. Tenet helped rationalize, structure and communicate the expanded program. The program was recently voted one of the best channel programs in the market.

    Citrix continues its growth trajectory, doubling their revenue to just under $3 billion in six years. When customer experience and business strategy align, the sky’s the limit.