evolve - embrace brand evolution. The Sponge - master brand makers - embrace brand evolution

(I say) It is People, it is People, it is People.

[NOTE: This post is about people… …or recruitment actually]

Working on the copy of our book, I was reminded of a well known Maori proverb that translates to the headline and opening line in this post. For us it has significance on many levels, but in this instance it prompts me to blog about recruitment. Ask anyone managing a business to list their biggest challenges and you will find somewhere at the top words to the effect of ‘finding and keeping good people’. It is not only a time consuming process, considering all the interviewing and reviewing of CVs. It can also be a significant investment to use a recruitment agency and when, after a role has been advertised for months, the best applicant fails the probation period, how can the agency expect their policy of replacing that person to even look like a reality, or an immediate solution.

This post is part about our own recruitment and part about recruitment branding, one way in which we assist our clients. In “Built to last”  by Jim Collins and Jerry L.Porras they found four common themes that visionary companies display (greater that their competition) which makes them more able to find and keep the right people. They are: fervently held core company ideology; indoctrination; tightness of fit; and elitism. To work for your business these themes must be authentic and implemented throughout your entire company culture, no easy feat if it does not exist yet.

A client of ours recently engaged us to create a new recruitment brand for them. Our objective was to take their well known industry brand and evolve it to communicate their core ideology and strong culture to new entrants to their market, specifically university graduates and interns. These bright young people have not yet been exposed to their reputation in the market, so in the brief exposure they get at uni, there needs to be a clear conveyance of these aspects - succinctly and engaging!

This particular client has a genuine culture that resonates loudly and is fervently held by its people. Focus groups and interviews revealed commonalities that we explored to create a powerful and engaging campaign. I have to admit that the first concept we presented missed the mark completely, and we learned that with a resounding “no”, it was the common approach that could work for any of their competition. When we approached this project with it’s people and culture in mind, we not only a created a concept that we liked and could really dig our teeth into, but on every level the people whose culture it is we were selling bought in.

In short, what we found was three major benefits of joining our client are: Experience, Diversity and Reward: Experience - being able to work directly alongside industry elite; Diversity - the wide array of service areas covered;  and Reward - monetary and acquisition of global skills. Because this elite financial industry values intellect, we created the headline: “We are growing and looking for great minds” and to support this we have illustrated a section of the unique open office floor plan to identify some of the great minds of the organisation and to illustrate exactly where a new hire might be positioned in relation to these minds.

Another way of defining it is: It’s about alignment. By identifying the company’s ideology and ambitions clearly in all recruitment efforts, the majority of respondents are ‘the right people”, and the pretenders are quickly found out in the interviewing stage. As for The Sponge, we too are growing and have added our new internship program and three new roles to our holding pattern site.

Heading these roles is a newly expanded upon set of Core Values. In them we have done our best to identify our company’s core ideology and ambitions. While we love to meet new and talented people, we are only looking for people who are the perfect fit for our company. We don’t want to waste anyone’s time trying to fit a square peg into a droplet shaped hole. We are always looking for more people with big hearts and minds and ambitions in sync with our own. When we find that person, we are more than happy to explore with them how we can create a role to suit them if one has not been advertised. In other words we understand the value of having the right people on the bus.

I’d love to hear your thoughts…

After thought: Seth Godin wrote that recruiting is most often not treated as the important marketing it is considering you are betting the future of your company on it. It only takes 10% as much effort to hire someone in the bottom 90% of the class. And it takes the other 90% to find and cajole and retain the top 10%. Isn’t it worth the extra effort?

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Inspired ideas can come to you in many ways. They could be a brilliant flash that seems to magically arrive in your mind from your subconscious, the superconscious, or God, depending on your beliefs. When acted on immediately, they can prove to be quite rewarding both in experience and financially. An inspired idea can lead to a new business direction and can make all the difference in the world. The key is to do something the moment you get the idea - take action – to commit yourself to the idea. If I am unable to act on it straight away, like when I am jogging or driving, I like to use the task functionality of my Windows mobile to set an alarm for a time when I know I will be able to. Otherwise I will make a call, send an email a text, or anything that commits me to the idea.

Now there are other ideas, those that are brought to you. These are the ones that others have had and you become part of because of their inspired action. Sometimes these ideas can be so well developed that they are ready to drop directly in to your business, or build a business around and start making you money. The best part is because they are brand new to you, they have often never been attempted in your industry before. The challenge is recognising the opportunity for what it is, rather than something that is too good to be true and being frozen in inaction like a deer in headlights while the opportunity passes by.

It is easy to let our inner critic start picking at a new idea because it is unknown and unproven, and sometimes we talk us out of a brilliant and inspired idea that proposes to make us millions in sales. How do we determine when it is a brave step that is required rather than the easier choice of inaction? We can foolishly compare the new idea to what we have always done and because we have nothing to measure it against it is easier to put it in the too hard basket. A quote that a friend of mine reminded recently which I like “If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got.” Do you like what you are getting?

I believe it is critical to be open to inspired ideas, especially in my game. Inspired ideas are what change your life. The more you are open to these ideas and the more you do something with them, the more inspired ideas that you will get. I’d love to hear your ideas. Who knows, we may be the catalyst that transforms your idea into reality.

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What do you think happens to a successful company when an overbearing, charismatic leader leaves? And what’s more, what if the leader hadn’t the foresight to empower his successors with a unified vision and strategy for the future?

The chances of growth or positive return on investment for shareholders are a likely as oil prices going down. Unless preventative action is taken it can be a quick and rapid decline into oblivion. Let us take for example a large Swiss financial group who we will refer to as “Gold”.

Unlike its real world counterpart, this gold was depreciating in value. They were staring down the barrel of a continuing decline in profitability. A lot like a bogged car spinning its wheels, they had become stagnant in a growing market. The competition however, including a bunch of upstarts, were successfully chipping away at their hold on the market. Although limited by their intimidating leader, Gold’s board were able to convince him to hire a new CMO to attempt a turnaround.

After interviewing key personnel, reviewing business processes and with intensive consultations it soon became blaringly obvious that Gold was experiencing a very common problem. It is a problem that is shared by many businesses across the world irrespective of industry.

The problem was essentially (but not limited to) that there was no current VMCV (Vision, Mission or Core Values) set to unite and empower the staff to make any decisions for the benefit of the company. This was mainly because the soon to retire CEO fearfully held onto a dictator leadership style that pushed out natural and talented successors, strangled new ideas and breads the same dog-eat-dog style management down the line. The latter was in the process of being quietly and gradually dealt with by some brave members of the board, the first challenge by the CMO and consultants.

The Sponge Solution

When you ask why a company like Gold has no VMCV you often answered with a shrug and an answer that basically passes the responsibility for that upwards. What you will usually find is that there is also no brand strategy, no strong marketing strategy, or core message being communicated to the market.

In order to develop any of these everyone involved in the evolution must first understand a few key things (but not limited to these). They are:
1. Who are your clients and what do they want or need?
2. What do they think about your company?
3. How are you currently being perceived in the market place?
4. What your staff and stakeholders think of your company?
5. Why those that have parted from your company have done so?

These are basic questions which deliver key data that can help pinpoint your location in the market, like a GPS system for your brand. In order to get these answers along with other company specific and world view challenging answers, The Sponge Brand Analyzer System is configured and deployed. The system involves proprietary components designed to elicit high levels of response and return rich qualitative data. Keep in mind that it is imperative to poll a database that is formed from an unbiased stand point and includes past and present clients, staff and stakeholders, including those who parted company on bad terms.

The data reveals a variety of fluffy feel good answers from those who have established good relationships along with critical data that can be used as a catalyst for change. Being able to sort the results based on status of the participant’s relationship with the company enables the gleaning of what work needs to be done and exactly where the leaks are in the ship’s hull which is causing it to sink. Naturally some of these are predicted by the CMO, some board members and the consultants and rightly so; how could they have made it to this level without some idea. However, the more alarming answers are not predicted by anyone, which is entirely why we insist on this process. A real eye opener for the CEO and the board, it earns the CMO more freedom to implement the next necessary steps.

When the key findings show that the majority of staff does not understand what the core direction of the company is, which makes them unmotivated and see coming to work as something of a disliked chore that they have to do rather than want to do. Even though the range of services is good, current clients that are only just “satisfied” with the customer service are not ecstatic. Clients that leave do so because of lack of attention and information. The staff that leave do so because they feel they are being suffocated and that the environment is cut throat and very stressful. Not at all the rosy picture that is painted by the CEO! And with this paradigm shift comes willingness to participate and create a legacy.

Cultural planning days involve a lot of drinks, chatting and group participation. When held off site in an unusual venue, the invisible shackles that usually clamp tight around the ankles as one enters the office are not present and there is a sense of equality for each participant. Huge white boards, butcher paper and post it notes are scribbled on frantically as ideas form out of discussions stemming from the survey findings. Facilitators guide the 3 day event and implement particular exercises and procedures to work through a program designed to produce a successful outcome. Interspersed amongst these creative sessions are bonding activities, where different levels of management are paired and have to trust and rely on one another to fulfill extreme activities.

The result of the weekend is a united team with a clearly defined (although quite raw) and emotionally charged set of company Vision, Mission, Core Values and clear objectives with a basic process of how to achieve them. More work by the consultants and the CMO is required to transform these raw gems into exquisitely cut and polished diamonds that can be published and communicated wherever they can be of benefit. The platform of the company culture is created and the key people claim ownership of it, like a pebble dropped in a pond it is only a matter of time before it ripples through the entire company. This culture is the core of the brand. It is what drives all communications and relationships.

The next step is the creation of a strategy to communicate this new company culture to the market, but more on that later…

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I was recently invited to speak to some talented design students at Australia’s best design school [ Enmore SIT in Sydney ]. Here is the introductory video I used to set the tone and demonstrate what it is that we do at The Sponge, that is we make brands.

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The Sponge are master brand makers. Our expertise is in making powerful corporate brand identities, identities with substance, identities that communicate an authentic story, identities which deliver real results.

Do we do other things like marketing strategy, design for print, design for web, design for multimedia, and design for live events? Yes, if it is part of the necessary strategy for making a powerful brand, we do it.

It is what we love. It is what we do exceptionally well. It is where we Find the Fun.

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Why is the old adage “The Baker doesn’t bake his own bread” such a common truth? I know it is far too easy for me to get bogged down in my work and let that what it is that I preach escape practice in our own business.

It is not always an easy task to stop and take an unbiased look at the business you run day to day. Even more when it is a focused critique about everything you are doing to make the hard but necessary changes to steer your business into the future. This is more difficult when it requires you to kill the old cash cow that hogs your resources and keeps you welded to the past and from your real objectives and ultimately achieving greatness.

To practice what we preach we’ve successfully implemented a series of “Evolution of The Sponge” planning days. They have been spread over a period of a 6 weeks and have had the involvement of the key people within The Sponge and externally. The outcome has been extremely positive, refreshing and bonding to put it simply. Now we have an empowering new Vision, Mission and set of Core Values that will guide all our actions and choices here in. I want to share them with you because we feel they are powerful. The words are being finalized now and will be published to here soon.

The other key outcomes of the Evolution planning day series are a road map for the next 12 months at The Sponge which includes:

• the redefinition of the category in which we play (work)
• the services which we are amputating
• the services we are focusing on
• our new internship program
• stronger Sponge culture
• new facility layout
• promotions and budgets
• goals
• definition of 4 new roles that we need filled.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Evolution of The Sponge experience and as a result we are already more profitable and working better together. There is a level of positivity that we have not experienced before and that is quite exciting, I only wish we had done it sooner. Practice what you preach.

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With fingers crossed, we are awaiting confirmation on an absolutely incredible new opportunity. I expect to make an announcement here shortly.

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I was speaking to a gentleman that I respect last week about branding. During this discussion we touched on many critical things, but none more than the importance of a brand culture within a company. If it is not there, then it is near impossible to create a brand identity.

Why is it critical that you stand for something? Because your brand is not your logo, unless you are a faceless, voiceless, automated commodity , then it is your people and your company culture. Your customers, clients, suppliers, distributors and even your people are immersed in your company culture every day. If you have a misaligned company vision (or no vision at all), or a similarly misaligned, or meaningless set of core values (or no core values at all), then what can you honestly expect the attitude toward your company to be?

An inspiring example of an empowering Vision and Values set comes from Southwest Airlines. It is one of many examples from “The Art of Business - in the footsteps of Giants” by Raymond T.Yeh and Stephanie H.Yeh

Vision: “To provide the best service and lowest fares to the short haul, frequent-flying, point-to-point, non-interlining traveler.”

Which Yeh translate the Tao as: “Liberating people to fly - democratizing the skies”

And the Values as lifted from http://www.southwest.com/careers/culture.html

Warrior Spirit
Work Hard
Desire to be the best
Be courageous
Display a sense of urgency
Persevere
Innovate

Servant’s Heart
Follow The Golden Rule
Adhere to the Basic Principles
Treat others with respect
Put others first
Be egalitarian
Demonstrate proactive Customer Service
Embrace the SWA Family

Fun-LUVing Attitude
Have FUN
Don’t take yourself too seriously
Maintain perspective (balance)
Celebrate successes
Enjoy your work
Be a passionate Teamplayer

These values and the commonly held company vision empower every member of the Southwest Airlines to act for the good of the company within a clear set of guides. This is the culture from top down and they insist on hiring only those people with the right attitude that fit the vision. This ensures that the dream lives in every employee. In fact Southwest Airlines has created an entire committee to nurture the culture called the Culture Committee.

It is this kind of company culture which enables a design team the ideal platform to create a Corporate Identity that is substantial and tells an authentic story. It is this kind of company that is our ideal client. If your Company is lacking in these areas, fear not, it is something that you can develop with the right direction. And the difference in productivity and profitability as a result can be astounding!

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Your consultant needs to be an exceptional listener. You need to be able to trust him with one of your company’s most valuable assets.

Some of the key aspects you should look for in a design firm are:

The hunger to completely understand your business. A holistic understanding that is, including your business direction, culture, process, goals (short and long term), target market, industry and your competition. This understanding must be sound, well before any ideas are generated. A skilled consultant will help you share the information with him by asking you and the key members your team a series of structured questions. This is where all the information and inspiration is contained.

Timeless Approach to Identity Design. Powerful brands will stand the test of time. Consider that when you choose your design team because they need to believe what they will create will be around long after you have left this earth and that it will be standing strong. This makes understanding your long term goals critical, otherwise it is next to impossible to create anything meaningful that will last.

Powerful Design Skills and Ability in many mediums. It is invaluable to find a design and marketing firm that has the ability to implement the new brand through your entire collateral material, whether it is print, live or online. A firm with equally talented staff in all areas of design can offer you commanding branding at every client touch point. A touch point is any element of your business that your client touches, whether it is a business card, a sign, your website or even your voicemail.

By doing so you can eliminate the weak links created when using multiple independent firms. The weak links will occur when the creative direction has to be translated again by a new creative team and is misunderstood. It can often be purposely modified with new “creative direction” because of a “was not done here” mentality. This intentional misdirection weakens your message and dilutes your brands story.

In summary, you need a firm with a hunger to understand your business and a desire to create you a timeless brand with the ability and team to implement it powerfully across throughout your company. Simple!

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For many the turning point when your brand starts failing to accurately represent the business passes by unnoticed (to those in charge) like a cloud in the night sky. The sad thing is that these failings contribute to irreparable poor first impressions, gross misunderstanding of your offerings and less and less new business of the type you want.

There are many reasons your brand can become misaligned with your business. From the experience of The Sponge, here are the top 10 signs that it is time to rebrand your business.

1. You are embarrassed by your current brand
2. Your business has moved in a new direction
3. Management or ownership has changed.
4. The logo was designed by an inexperienced staff member or designer
5. Potential customers/clients cannot distinguish you from your competitors
6. Potential customers/clients cannot see you as compatible to their needs.
7. Your employees are not proud of the brand they work for. Simple test: If you print your brand boldly on a t-shirt, would they wear it? (Without threat of firing)
8. Your brand was designed using a typeface or a design style that was a fleeting trend and now appears dated.
9. You have bought another company and have inherited new elements that should be represented in your brand.
10. You have developed a new Company Vision, Mission and/or Core Values that change the way your business works.

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