Tag: Brand Strategy

New Creative Director Joins Signal

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Kevin Pojman

Signal has recently named Kevin Pojman as creative director. Kevin joins Signal with 20+ years of experience in designing print and interactive experiences. His extensive portfolio includes corporate & consumer identity, print collateral design, packaging design, branded interiors & exteriors, motion graphics, website and social media development for a host of clients from Fortune 500 companies to non-profit organizations.

“We are excited to welcome Kevin to our team, focusing on creative excellence,” said Ricky Haynes, President of Signal. “I have personally known Kevin for many years and it’s great that we found this opportunity to work together. We are confident that his background and expertise will help Signal take our creative output to the next level.”

With a passion for unconventional thinking and visual problem-solving, Kevin has a keen understanding of all facets of design to create a completely integrated brand. Knowing how the components of print and interactive work together to create a client’s voice is a strength he brings to each project.

Kevin has led branding initiatives for clients such as Panera Bread, HanesBrands, VF Jeanswear, GlaxoSmithKline, as well as accomplished work for IBM, Kontoor Brands, HondaJet, Kohler, Sears, Nike/Jordan Brand, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Weyerhaeuser and Wake Forest University.

Kevin has received numerous awards for his print, interactive and video projects. His work has been featured in publications such as Communication Arts, How Magazine, Print Magazine, Step Inside Design, LogoLounge and Type Directors Club. In addition, Kevin’s work has been displayed at the NC Museum of Art, the Mint Museum of Craft + Design, the Nasher Museum of Art and the Gregg Gallery of Art & Design. Most recently, the Library of Congress selected one of his designs to be part of their permanent collection. Kevin graduated from East Carolina University with a B.F.A. degree in Communication Arts.

A Digital Marketing Framework for Executing More Effectively

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We often find that marketers are under such pressure to create and execute campaigns that they often don’t take a step back to clearly define and optimize their marketing strategy. Completing this fundamental step establishes a strong foundation for your entire program. Having this foundation allows you to build faster and more cohesive campaigns and to realize better results.

Signal developed a digital marketing framework to help our clients consistently showcase the value and benefits of products and services across key digital channels. This framework is designed to ensure campaigns are planned strategically and monitored consistently for maximum efficiency.

Completing this process will help your team:

  • Establish your marketing program goals and define priorities
  • Focus on the most effective use of your limited time and budget
  • And forecast and evaluate campaign performance and ROI.

Step 1: Define Campaign Goals, Objectives & Constraints

Tools used: Program Summary, Program Map, Content Outline

 
Start by creating a Program Summary to catalog current and future campaigns:

Name Purpose Budget Start End Channels
General Awareness Promote overall company awareness $50,000 Jan 1 Dec 31 Website, Email, LinkedIn, Search
Product X New product intro
Product Y Education Product Training

 

Establishing this bird’s eye view of your entire program clearly highlights your internal constraints (resources, budget, time) and can help your team prioritize campaigns and identify which dials to turn up and down. You’ll define the channels approach for each campaign, determining timing and assigning budgets.

Next, take inventory of what you’re doing and analyze any gaps.

Create a Program Map to give you a more granular and actionable view of your current marketing program. This flow chart will illustrate your marketing channels and how they are connected – how social, search, email and offline channels lead to landing pages and websites, and how those integrate with your marketing automation and CRM platforms, as well as other tools in your marketing technology stack.

Create your Content Outline, a simple catalog of your existing marketing assets – landing pages, print collateral, videos, case studies, and so on. This allows you to quickly see what content you can leverage and what gaps may exist, which is instrumental as you plan and build future campaigns.

Program Map

Program Map

 

Item Name Type Related Content Description URL
ABC General Landing Page Website/Landing Page Product X, Product Y Category homepage abc.com
Product X Landing Page Website/Landing Page Product Y Features and benefits abc.com/productx
ABC Infographic Infographic Product X, Product Y Infographic abc.com/graphic
Product X Brochure Brochure Product Y Download from landing page abc.com/downloadx
Product X Sales Presentation Presentation Product Y Links to all arterial sub-pages abc.com
Product X Solution Article Blog Product X, Product Y Product copy + features graphic abc.com
ABC Corporate Video Video Product X, Product Y Capabilities video abc.com

Step 2: Define Featured Offerings

Create a spreadsheet that lists your company’s products and/or services. Add positioning and categories for quick reference. This tool will allow your team to quickly prioritize campaigns with internal stakeholders.

Product Category Product Priority Related SKUs Description URL
Category X Product X 10 6 Insert positioning and benefits
Category Y Product Y 5 2 Insert positioning and benefits

Step 3: Identify Target Audience

Tools used: Personas and Customer Journey Maps

 

To be successful, you must thoroughly understand and connect with your audience. Creating customer personas and customer journey maps are critical to this process. These documents can be as formal as you want to make them, however, we recommend keeping it simple. Know that they are fluid, working documents and you can continue to refine them.

We suggest first talking with internal stakeholders to paint a picture of the target customers. If possible, also talk with actual current and potential customers to validate any internal assumptions.

Mapping the Customer Journey goes hand in hand with defining your sales funnel. A Journey Map typically includes stages and corresponding types of content:

  • Awareness Stage: blogs, infographics, social media posts, podcasts, short videos
  • Interest Stage: eBooks, white papers, explainer videos, conversion landing pages, paid/display ads
  • Consideration Stage: case studies, customer testimonials, sales emails
  • Purchase Stage: on-location and in-studio video testimonials, sales collateral

The Journey Map also captures the customer’s goals, process, problems and KPIs at each stage of the journey to ensure the customer’s needs are clear and highlight key opportunities.

UXPressia Persona and Journey Mapping Tool

Step 4: Identify the Competition

You won’t know how to stand out in the market until you have a clear picture of the competition you’re up against. Understand the landscape, including market share and activity. The first time you do this, you can focus on keeping it high level.

  • Positioning
  • Visual impact
  • Digital properties
  • Strengths and weaknesses
  • Calls to action

Doing this research will help you determine how you can compete and excel in branding, messaging, program offerings and content strategy. When you get into individual campaigns, you can begin to drill deeper into competition for that specific offering.

Step 5: Define How you will Measure Success

Tools used: Measurement Plan

 

How will you know if your marketing campaigns are successful? You need to define clear goals, determine KPIs and set specific targets to measure performance. Without a Measurement Plan, it will be difficult to monitor and optimize your campaigns to achieve the best possible results. Having a Measurement Plan also helps you set realistic expectations for the ROI of marketing efforts vs. simply focusing on increased sales revenue.

See Our Post on How to Create a Measurement Plan

What’s Next

Once you’ve completed these 5 steps, you have the necessary digital marketing planning framework and tools in place to chart your path forward. Now it’s time to confidently move into tactical campaign planning and execution.

Plan and execute each campaign by completing the following steps, referencing and continually refining the tools you’ve created:

  1. Select campaign channels
  2. Determine tactics and timing
  3. Prioritize budget across channels
  4. Set campaign goals and align measurement plan
  5. Develop campaign content and creative
  6. Launch
  7. Monitor and optimize

 

Ready to take your company’s digital marketing framework to the next level? The Signal team is here to help.

Power Tools Social Media Campaigns

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Ingersoll Rand’s Power Tools division maintains an active social media presence, promoting its popular line of products. When the manufacturer needed help producing compelling content for its B2B user audience on Facebook and Instagram, they looked to Signal to provide additional bandwidth.

The Power Tools division was keenly focused on market research, launching new products and keeping dealers and distributors happy. They relied on Signal for creative writing, design and animations on a regular basis, to keep the pages interesting and engaging.

From raw assets of product images and/or video content, we provided monthly batches of posts, in advance, to help client teams streamline the approval and execution process.

Dealer Communications Assets

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Hyster-Yale Group designs, engineers, manufactures, sells and services a comprehensive line of lift trucks and parts marketed under the Hyster and Yale brand names. To support its dealer networks, the manufacturer created an online hub for dealers to access various marketing templates. Hyster-Yale brought in Signal to map out and develop or redesign all possible templates for both Hyster and Yale brands.

We made the marketing assets easy for dealers to access and customize, while maintaining strict visual standards for each brand. Now that this comprehensive template library is in place, Hyster-Yale can seamlessly direct their dealers to important communications tools that fit their efforts at the local level, delivering manufacturer support before, during and after routine sales as well as inventory pushes that drive customer traffic to their door.

In addition to campaign landing pages with embedded content that could be inserted via iframe into a dealer’s website, other key assets included:

• Email templates with ready-to-go content
• Social media posts and graphics
• Digital banner ad templates
• Sales and promotional flyers
• Rental unit campaign materials
• Indoor and outdoor signage
• Mailers

Brand Development and Website

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CliniStart is a new company specializing in specific administrative aspects of clinical trial startup and management. They came to Signal for development of their branding, messaging and website, with the goal of cutting through the clutter and clearly presenting their unique value proposition with a friendly tone.

Following interviews with the company’s executive team, we drafted a message platform to map out the CliniStart brand messaging and what makes the company different. From this approved document, we organized and composed website content with a dash of conversational flair. The services page is based around simple, declarative statements and interactive icon boxes. Subheads throughout the site capture the leadership’s wry observations on their unglamorous work in contract negotiations and protocol budgeting. For instance, “We love to do the boring stuff so you don’t have to,” and “Extremely dull work, done extremely well.”

Signal also reworked the company’s logo with a more modern and professional look, expressing the CliniStart’s foundation in knowledge and technology aimed at forward progress. The logomark features dots networked together in the configuration of “play” button, creating associations with the start of a clinical trial.

Experience the site here

Re-Entry / Re-Opening Support

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Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve witnessed the need for clear communication within companies to let employees know the employer is committed to their health and safety. As pandemic restrictions begin to ease, reopening the workplace is a complex and multifaceted process.

LabCorp contacted Signal for help clearly and effectively communicating company policies and best practices to promote safe and considerate behavior as they re-open their global facilities. Our first task was to develop and produce a large volume of re-entry signage, including both print and digital:

  • Handwashing Bathroom Mirror Decals
  • Stand Here Floor Decals
  • Practice Social Distancing LCD Screen Graphics
  • Wear a Face Covering LDC Screen Graphics
  • Isolation Area Pop-up Banners
  • Directional Posters
  • Temperature Check Posters
  • Thank You for Working Safely Posters
  • Stairwell Posters
  • Elevator Posters
  • Face Covering Required Posters
  • No Waiting or Congregating Posters
  • Sanitize Hands Here Posters
  • Keep Your Personal Desk Clean Signs
  • Last Disinfected On Signs
  • Max Capacity in Room Signs
  • Healthy Steps Signs
  • Please Clean This Area Before You Leave Table Tents
  • Table Seating Instructional Signs

The approved English versions were also translated into several different languages, including Spanish, Italian, French, German, Russian, Chinese (Simplified), Japanese, and Korean.

The Signal team also worked directly with LabCorp’s existing online storefront provider to seamlessly deliver high-resolution files for print, fulfillment, and distribution. Through this process, LabCorp employees can access signage and communications via an intranet portal where managers can either place orders or download PDFs to print with office printers.

In addition, our team collaborated with LabCorp to prepare a Re-entry Readiness Timeline and Re-Entry Strategy for communication to employees and media.

Employer Branding Development

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Bioventus wanted to update their employer branding to better reflect their value in the marketplace. They came to Signal with a request for a comprehensive employment brand messaging platform. Our mindful approach used the input of the global Talent Management team to craft messages that would resonate with internal and external audiences. The goal? Stimulate interest and engagement from both existing and potential employees. Here’s how we successfully did it.

Step 1: Discovery

  • Conduct corporate branding online survey
  • Validate survey with handful of interviews with key execs / employees
  • Develop messaging platform
  • Conduct feedback meeting with key stakeholders

Step 2: Create and validate

  • Create final messaging platform
  • Create plan for launching new messaging
  • Get final buy in from the client team

Step 2: Execute

Using the new message platform, step off recruiting collateral, including job fair materials, landing page, fact sheets.

Messaging platform delivered

  • Brand essence and promise
    • Who we are / how we help our customers
  • Brand differentiators
    • What sets your company apart
  • Brand personality / voice
    • High-level content and tone guidelines
  • High-level key messages / proof points by audience

What Makes a Supportive Corporate Culture?

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In the HR world of talent recruitment and retention, corporate culture has always been a priority. There are many studies and plenty of anecdotal evidence to show the organic correlation between a healthy work culture and a healthy bottom-line. The COVID-19 pandemic has now forced businesses to truly view their employees as human beings as opposed to human doers. Paying lip-service with mere intellectual assent is no longer an option. People are being asked to juggle many stressful new demands: working from home at the kitchen table, homeschooling their kids, clocking back in after bedtime to catch up on emails, and possibly even absorbing a loss of income or work hours. In addition, there are societal issues that are requiring families to be vulnerable and have difficult conversations.  During challenges like these, your employees want to know that you’re looking out for them. Talk is easily dismissed, so demonstrate your commitment to their wellness with a focus on five critical areas. 

  1. Trust and transparency: Creating an environment where leadership is more than a title. Leaders who are respected as welcoming, dependable, and trustworthy can motivate the team to be focused and dedicated, even during challenging times.
  2. Vision and purpose: Everyone needs to feel a sense of purpose and understand that their contribution is making a difference. Taking time to update and live out your vision / Employment Value Proposition is time well spent.
  3. Open communication and support: Changes are a natural part of sustaining excellence. However, employees need managers who honestly explain why changes are necessary and how they will work toward the greater good.
  4. Empowerment and creativity: Your team will thrive when they have the resources and tools they need to succeed, and are then empowered to act on their creative intelligence.
  5. Listen with empathy and compassion: Your employees long to be heard and validated. Not every need can be met nor will every personal journey end happily. Control what you can by maintaining an “open door” policy, providing employees direct access to leadership. When possible provide resources, counselors or coaches that can help people navigate this new ground.

Once you determine what you want to communicate and why it’s important, you can focus on the internal logistics of the message.

  • Where to communicate: Take a look at your internal communications data or create employee surveys to learn which specific channels are performing the best for you right now as your employees adjust to working in a different dynamic. This could include video conference, email, intranet and videos.
  • When to communicate: Business-critical situations are changing at a rapid pace, and you will likely need to pivot to keep your cultural and competitive position. Stay agile, and ahead of the rumor mill, by finding a regular communication cadence. It will put employees’ minds at ease.
  • Who should communicate: Employees look first to leaders within the company who have earned their trust and have modeled integrity, to set the tone. Regular updates and messages of encouragement should come from those who can provide honest and articulate insights, with both optimism and inspiration.
  • How to support communications: Carefully craft your internal messages during times of rapid change. Be transparent and empathetic, using real data to validate your rationale while never losing sight that your decisions are impacting real people with real concerns in real time.

Stay tuned for more in our thought leadership series on the employee and customer experience (CX)! Making investments in your corporate culture will serve you well now, and into the future.

 

Customer Experience Motivational Signs

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Teleflex is a global provider of medical devices and technologies, which is committed to promoting superior customer experience through its internal “Exceptional Everyday” campaign and an annual “CX Week” event.

For the 2019 event, held at the corporate headquarters in Morrisville, NC, Signal developed a set of promotional materials that included office signage and posters, elevator wraps, LED screen graphics, and email and PowerPoint templates. To extend the reach of Teleflex CX Week beyond the home office, we also supplied asset files to the end-to-end facility in Maple Grove, MN, which employs teams in R&D, engineering, manufacturing, distribution, and sales & marketing.

The goal was to celebrate the importance of the customer experience in two different aspects: from a culture perspective with internal customers, and from a revenue perspective with external customers. The connecting principle is affirming to employees that “what you do matters” in saving the lives of patients.

Stylus Configurator Development

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Cree Lighting’s Stylus Linear Series can be configured in a multitude of ways – everything from type of mounting to suspension length, voltage and output color. The Signal team designed and developed the Stylus Configurator as a powerful sales enablement tool to help educate users, both internal and external.

With creative intelligence in mind, we collaborated with Cree Lighting internal teams to build in necessary call-to-action conversion, tracking and analytics – all geared towards streamlining and optimizing campaigns, and maximizing performance. Ultimately, the tool will help turn internal team members into advocates, and external distributors into loyal customers.