“Brand identity is more than just a logo, in fact the logo is just one simple piece of it.” – Cindy Leines

When is a brand refresh the right step for you?

Understanding the signs that it’s time for a rebrand or brand refresh is crucial.

If you’re ready to start that process, we’re here to help! Contact us to get started.

The mask situation presents an innovative, communal opportunity for organizations and individuals to join a cultural phenomenon and help reduce the community transmission of COVID-19. Masks also created an uncharted space for branding.

Many organizations have galavanted into the uncharted territories and have found success in promoting their brands with masks. Schools and universities led the way with branded spirit-wear masks for graduations last spring.

Although we have observed that to be truly successful, we need to be inclusive of everyone and their needs.

Despite masks being a great branding tactic, we’ve noticed that with a solid-clothed masked, one of the most consequential hurdles to conquer, is figuring out a way to use masks in a brand strategy while also remaining accessible to all. According to ClearMask, “55% of communication is visual,” so when we have branded masks that don’t show our mouths we miss a pivotal opportunity to be inclusive.

School leaders and educators need to think about how reading facial expressions is critical to childhood development. Team leaders at organizations need to think about how important it is to read a team’s facial expressions during a brainstorming session or how essential it is to see the clients’ reactions during a presentation or a pitch. Healthcare workers know that patient health, safety and comfortability are key to building a trusting relationship, and it makes an experience less intimidating if clients can see a provider’s face. ClearMasks states, “Miscommunication is a leading cause of medical errors and can be prevented. When traditional masks are worn, miscommunication may increase with people who heavily rely on visual communication, such as deaf and hard of hearing individuals, children and older adults.”

We all know someone who is hearing impaired or someone who relies on reading lips and facial expressions.

According to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), “About 2 to 3 out of every 1,000 children in the United States are born with a detectable level of hearing loss in one or both ears” and “approximately 15% of American adults (37.5 million) aged 18 and over report some trouble hearing.”

Let’s make it a goal to create a branding strategy that is accessible to everyone.

The solution: A CLEAR MASK.

ClearMask is the first fully transparent, FDA-cleared surgical mask with full-face visibility. Be comfortable, breathe well, and create a branding strategy inclusive of all.

Order yours today: https://www.theclearmask.com/product

For an extensive list of resources for home modifications and assistive technologies that improve communications, see Home additions and apps for the Deaf and HoH.

With more than a dozen live sessions and 30+ on-demanded sessions to view, educators and communicators flocked into the virtual chat rooms. Participants learned about how to create successful referenda campaigns, the important work of equity and inclusion, how communication evolves during a pandemic, and more.  Throughout all of the sessions, there was one overarching theme: how strategic communications engage the public and your stakeholders in conversations about our public schools.

At CEL, we were incredibly honored to present one live presentation about referenda and community engagement and another on-demand presentation featuring our award-winning Richfield Public Schools rebranding journey.

SUCCESSFUL REFERENDUMS

“You have to have a plan that is acceptable for the community it can’t just be the superintendent’s pipedream.”

Our Vice President Janet Swiecichowski, APR presented a live session, “Millions at Stake: A Guide to Referendum Success.” With co-presenter Annette Eyman, APR, the two shared research, and Top Ten Tips from NSPRA Gold Medallion referenda campaigns. The primary focus was on the importance of engaging the public in conversations from the beginning. It’s about asking questions and listening with the intent to find consensus.

“Love me suddenly doesn’t work!” – Brian Woodland, APR

Janet reminded us, “The public owns our public schools. So, the public needs enough information to make informed decisions about the schools.” It takes time, outreach and transparency to build relationships with community members prior to a referendum. When looking for support, start by listening. Concentrate your energy and time on building a relationship with your public. You want to get an accurate sense of what they value and hope for their kids and their schools.

 “Communities make decisions for their schools.”

A successful referendum campaign follows the 4-step process:

1. Research
2. Planning
3. Implementation
4. Evaluation

Once you have conducted your research, set goals, define targeted audiences and set specific objectives by audience. Think broadly about strategies. Begin with your messaging strategy. Give people a reason to vote for the initiative; create a compelling narrative focused on children, the future and learning. Your research should have revealed your community’s hopes and dreams for its children. Align your narrative accordingly.

Leverage all your existing strategic communication channels in support of the campaign.

EQUITY AND INCLUSION

Naomi Sigler Hunter, APR; Stephen Nichols, APR and Donna Elam, Ed.D. presented a session on “Data, Disruption and Demographics: How School Ratings are Contributing to Racial Isolation in Our Schools.” The presenters dove deep into how school ratings and choice perpetuate racial and economic segregation.

Rating sites like GreatSchools.org partner with real estate firms—firms whose primary goal is to sell more expensive houses, and they use rating sites that drive customers away from largely diverse neighborhoods. The result: our schools are more segregated today than they were in the 1970s. Most parents want their children to be prepared for a diverse and changing world, but using existing rating sites will only serve to more racially isolate students, as documented in this Harvard School of Education report.

Diversity, equity and inclusion begin with your brand. How do your stakeholders describe your brand? Is it welcoming and inclusive?

CEL was honored to work with the Richfield Public Schools through a community engagement process to redefine its brand. The Richfield team listened intently and put energy into relationships with students, alumni and other community members. Now, they have a brand and a logo that communicates a more unified, welcoming community for all students and staff. Richfield Public Schools Superintendent Steven Unowsky discusses just how impactful brands and logos can be on students and how important open communication with your stakeholders is for a school’s culture.

COMMUNICATING THROUGH A PANDEMIC

School communicators have never been busier! Communicating and engaging stakeholders is especially important during the pandemic. A few key take-aways from this year’s presentations:

1. Frequency: People need to hear from school leaders often, even if you do not have new information. Regular updates communicate that you are continuously working on a complex situation.
2. Focus on three messages: Safety. Social-emotional health. Relationships and quality learning. Learning is about meeting every child where they are at and keeping them engaged. This school year will be different and learning still matters.
3. Equity drives decisions: COVID-19 has revealed disparities that exist in our society. How are we reaching all families and meeting the needs of all students? Access for all needs to be a priority for every district.

PR powerhouse Edelman recently released its annual Trust Barometer. It should come as no surprise: the outlook isn’t good.

“Despite a strong global economy and near full employment, none of the four societal institutions that the study measures—government, business, NGOs and media—is trusted,” the study finds.

While it is easy to look to international scandals, politics, fake news and the constant berating of news media and say…duh! The issues affecting trust are not someone else’s problem. Every business, government, nonprofit and media representative might pause and reflect on the problem.

What’s your organization’s trust barometer showing?

According to the study, competence and ethics drive trust. Do you have the ability and dependability to do what you say you are going to do? Can you fulfill your brand promise — or is it so aspirational that your stakeholders fail to believe it?

How are you demonstrating your honesty, integrity and sense of purpose? And does it connect with your stakeholders?

Trust is subjective – built on beliefs and attitudes. Right now, economic inequity and fear drive public sentiment. According to the 2020 Edelman study, 83% of people fear losing their jobs or livelihood and 60% fear the pace of technological change.

In Tom Friedman’s book, Thank You for Being Late, he proposes that the pace of technological change is outpacing human ability to keep up with change — so there may be reason to fear. The growing digital divide, rising costs of education and healthcare, and wage disparity all degrade public trust.

A silver lining

There is a silver lining: hope in community collaboration and collective action still exists.

According to the study, three groups — scientists, members of our communities, and citizens of my country — earned trust from a majority of respondents. In other words, we trust each other. Edelman calls it horizontal influence: 69% of respondents trust their community to solve local issues.

At CEL, we passionately commit to the betterment of business, families and communities. We’ve seen the collective power of communities to improve health and well-being, lead innovation in our schools, and advance education to break the cycle of poverty. Of course, some of the challenges we face are global issues, but we can start solving them on a local scale. After all, every significant disruption started with a small pilot: prototyped, tested and eventually scaled.

Where to start

Focus and engage with your most important audiences first: employees, customers, communities, partners and shareholders.
Invest in employee training.
Invest in community partnerships.
Invest in being a responsible corporate citizen.

All these translate to investment in building trust.

“Stakeholders are more important than stockholders,” Edelman finds. We recommend four strategies for building trust.

1. Customer Experience

Articulate your commitment to ethical actions and positive customer experiences. If you haven’t updated your core values, brand promise, or code of ethics, it’s time. Walk in the shoes of your stakeholders, evaluate and enhance the customer experience. We can help with intentional listening strategies.

2. Thought Leadership

Demonstrate your competence by speaking out on issues, trends, or innovations in your industry. Thought leadership may take the form of authored articles, videos, or speaking engagements. (And, you need not be THE industry leader to present a unique insight.) Or it may be seeking independent third-party validation of your credentials. Let’s connect to identify the tools and channels to reach your stakeholders effectively. It’s time to assert yourself as a trusted voice.

3. Partnerships

Seek trusted partners in your community to begin addressing pressing problems, in a way that intersects with your business or nonprofit objectives. [Feel free to call us for a consultation about strategic partnerships.]

4. Storytelling

Share your story. It isn’t very easy to build trust without communicating — and you can do it humbly and authentically. We have to say, this is our sweet spot. With today’s skepticism, it’s not all about marketing promotion. Connecting with and inspiring others to join in your work builds lasting relationships with stakeholders.

Book an Appointment to Talk Trust
Start by Selecting a Team Member

“Early in my career, I learned there are four critical steps to positive PR,” our Vice President Janet Swiecichowski, APR, Fellow PRSA remembers. “Number one: Do a good job in your industry sector. Number two: Do a good a job. Number three: Do a good job. And four: tell people about it.” Timeless advice. We build trust by keeping stakeholders well informed.

Ironically, according to Edelman’s 20-year study, trust is at an all-time high among INFORMED publics for all four institutions — government, business, NGOs and media. But the gap between the informed public and the mass population has tripled, crippling trust overall. We need to expand the circle of informed stakeholders.

Let’s commit to communicating truthfully, acting with integrity and rebuilding the public trust together.

What strategies do you recommend for building trust with stakeholders? We’re eager to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Working with a local marketing firm, Richfield Public Schools engaged parents, teachers, administrators and student leaders through focus groups, PTO and advisory council meetings, webinars, electronic surveys and feedback forms. Stakeholders weighed in throughout the process of updating the District logo and revising the brand promises the District is making to families.

This fall, Richfield Public Schools rolled out a new brand, focused on personalized learning, rich opportunities, real community and innovation in action.

Enriching and accelerating learning is the new district tag line. To keep today’s students actively engaged as agents of their own learning, schools must provide enriched opportunities and allow students to work at a pace that keeps them challenged.

In Richfield, families also experience real community: a caring community, rich in diversity and relationships. The District is small enough to know every student by name, interest and motivation. The staff supports and challenges students to bring their best selves to school every day.

Staff know that each child has unique gifts and every family has their own dreams for their children. Richfield Public Schools promises to personalize learning. The greatest threat to learning is boredom. The District is committed to engaging every student in rigorous and relevant lessons with a focus on career and college readiness.

Whether a student’s passion is the marching band, robotics, English literature or some of the many high school athletic or academic teams, Richfield offers rich opportunities. Through the four A’s of academics, arts, athletics and activities, the District opens doors to opportunities and leadership development. The staff and community are invested in the success of every Richfield student.

Richfield Public Schools is transforming education. Teachers are changing the way they teach and better connecting with the way students learn. Schools are preparing students for jobs and careers that can only be imagined by teaching them to be critical thinkers and creative problem-solvers. The District is putting innovation in action and closing the digital divide. Every student in Richfield Public Schools will have access to the highly qualified teachers, technology and exciting learning opportunities they need to succeed.

The new District logo symbolizes the modern Richfield vibe — one that resonates with young families. The new look reflects the inclusive, forward-thinking and caring Richfield community that students, parents, grandparents and community elders love.

Richfield Public Schools is innovating and updating, but its mission to inspire and empower each individual to learn, grow and excel remains steadfast, as do their core values of caring, respect, honesty and responsibility.

Originally published in AMSD Connections – November 2019  |  Vol 17 • No 2
Written by Jennifer Valley, Director of Marketing & Communications, Richfield Public Schools

1.  Identify the missions and values and bring the brand persona to life through storytelling.

2. Keep it simple and make it memorable so others can tell your story.

3. Make it effective and lasting. Don’t set yourself up to have to redo it every 5 years.

What are your organization’s key message pillars? Are they simple, clear and easy to remember? If so, your stories will be shared in a positive light in ways that you may not have imagined possible.

A few years ago, at the Ragan Social Media Conference in Orlando, Disney showcased its communication and social media strategy. Disney is a leader in many categories and is fascinating to study and emulate.

If Disney can get the world excited about a mouse, what can we learn from them to get customers excited about your services?

Although we think of Disney as an entertainment company, it’s an entity that crosses into many market sectors: engineering innovation, film, media, real estate, travel, retail, housing, food service, even farming and agriculture…the list goes on. It’s a complex organization. At the conference, the Disney communications team presented six simple message pillars that framed their storytelling across all platforms. Amid all the complexity, Disney was laser-focused on six buckets. It was discipline that fueled their magic.

Take time to define key messages

Defining key messaging pillars for your organization increases efficiency and effectiveness. It isn’t rocket science, but it’s an activity that is often overlooked. It provides focus for storytelling, supports strategic priorities, and gives communicators, leaders and staff a simple framework for content. Message pillars also increase efficiency. They save time when staring at a blank page. They make it easier to fill holes on an editorial calendar for social media. They narrow focus to a few important topics. Pillars also act as guardrails when a colleague wants a story about a pet project that doesn’t align with your strategic priorities. They provide accountability when you set specific targets for the number of stories or posts supporting each key message pillar.

What are the stories most often told about your organization by front-line staff, customers, and leaders? Are they the stories for which you want to be known? Companies that want to be known as innovative need to be showcasing stories of innovation. Is it customer service, ethical practices, values-based, low-cost or high-quality, corporate social responsibility?

At CEL, we are known for creative, effective, lasting integrated marketing communications. We work with organizations that align with our mission: the betterment of business, family and community. Our stories showcase creative branding, effective strategic marketing plans that generate a positive return on the investment, and lasting relationships because we help your business or organization grow.

Key message pillars strategically unify marketing and public relations activities to advance your mission and goals across all channels: websites, blogs, email, newsletters, video, social media, media relations.

In day-to-day marketing and communications, it’s easy to get wrapped up in transactional communication (events, advertising, websites, forms, procedures, or the issue of the day) and neglect the messaging required to win over the hearts and minds of our stakeholders.

Message pillars provide focus. And, sharing them with your team keeps everyone moving your organization forward. It’s a good investment that will result in a unified and engaged organization maximizing return on your time, money and resource investments.

What’s your brand’s reputation? Are you living up to your promise?

At CEL, we bring your message to the marketplace in a creative, effective and lasting way. Is there room to enhance the deliverables behind that promise? Certainly! And, we strive to do that everyday. Do we ever waver on our commitment to upholding our brand reputation? Never!

Ask yourself how you deliver your brand promise on a daily basis and what impact has it had on your brand reputation. Why do your customers come to you and what keeps them coming back? Here are three steps to assess and enhance your brand reputation:

1. Keep your brand promise top of mind across your staff. Post it. Speak it. Live it.

2. Chart your brand reputation. Do it for three months, logging stars for compliments and checks for criticisms.

3. Make necessary adjustments. Tweak the promise and/or tweak the behavior behind it.

Remember that brand promises can make history. Take Spirit Airlines for example! They promise “Less Money. More Go.” However, according to a recent article in PR Daily, travelers are continually frustrated by more money spent every time they turn around. In the meantime, Air Transport World Magazine named Spirit the Value Airline of the Year. Is it really a good value to fly Spirit with all of the extra charges and alleged late arrivals and cancelled flights? Experience tells us that low prices will keep their business soaring for the near future, but after while, their brand reputation will crash due to bad customer service.

Suffice it to say that we never encourage our clients to sacrifice quality for low pricing, but rather encourage authentic good value and over-delivering on the brand promise. These practices will continue to enhance your brand reputation.

A similar strategy can work for you. You can attract business and increase your sales by traveling down the same path as Southwest Airlines:

1. Define your clear and impactful purpose.
2. Identify how your purpose will impact your target market and drive revenue.
3. Clearly state your purpose within your marketing and PR and consistently speak it company-wide.

Southwest Airlines chose to refine its brand purpose, in spite of decades of profitability, and the result has been defined as “a crusade.” They’ve created a culture of energetic and fun people who don’t believe in nickel and diming customers. In 2014, Forbes Magazine defined it with this headline: Southwest Airlines Motivates Its Employees with a Purpose Bigger than a Paycheck.

Brainstorm how your company can learn from Southwest Airlines…

Branding and Graphic Design

1. Invest in your brand – Hire a good designer to create or update your logo and public relations professional to help you write your brand message. It’s the face of your business, so make it look good!

2. Protect your brand – Search to make sure it’s not already being used, trademark it, write guidelines for using it, monitor it, and keep it fresh.

3. More design isn’t always the best design – More isn’t always better and sometimes less is more. Be creative, but concise with your design. Share your message clearly and concisely with color and style.

4. Pantone Matching System colors matter! – Select a good, reputable printer and demand a press check. Make sure your colors are right and consistent before hitting the presses.

5. Pay attention to detail – Always get a second set of eyes on your design and on the copy to catch errors.

From our humble beginnings in a home office with a Mac Plus II computer and no Internet access to a staff of six, laptops, iPads and wireless, we’ve enjoyed the journey. We continue to be proud to help our clients bring their message to the marketplace in a Creative, Effective and Lasting way.

Author Sherokee Isle was our first client in 1988 and together, we increased awareness of the impact of pregnancy and infant loss on mothers, fathers and families. Sherokee has now written 17 books and continues to support families on a national level.

We have branded and rebranded businesses, helped non-profits raise millions, designed websites and marketing materials, secured local and national media coverage and produced a national television special called Faded Photographs – The Faces of Alzheimer’s.

Our passion for making a difference fueled our success with taking Alzheimer’s disease out of the closet and helping the public and the media realize that it strikes young and old and has a devastating impact on families.

We have also helped educate and influence military leaders and politicians to protect service men and women from sexual assault in the military.

As social media opened the door to new marketing opportunities, we greeted it by launching The Social Media Incubator (SMI). SMI gives small to midsize businesses affordable access to communities of prospective buyers and helps them manage the execution of their social media in a way that is relevant, measurable and effective.

CEL continues to help businesses and organizations get their message to markets across the country with strategic public relations, marketing, branding, graphic and web design, media relations and social media.

We look towards the next 25 years with gratitude to each one of you for the role you have played in bringing us to this milestone and we look forward to continuing to serve and celebrate success together!

Whatever your vision, a plan is what you need to get you there. Why?

1. It forces you to document your vision, so it’s easier to share it with other people.

2. It puts you through the process of defining the necessary steps to achieving the end result, so you have a roadmap.

3. It’s a good place to note any roadblocks or challenges that you think might arise, so you’re ready to get around them.

4. It gives your team direction and a strategy for reaching the goals that are set for them.

5. It helps your team see the bigger picture and the positive impact it will have on them and the company as a whole.

When writing your brand plan, be sure to:

1. Define your target market, “brand voice” and key messages, so your entire team is saying the same thing in the same way.

2. Include revenue goals as well as vision goals and put a budget to it.

3. Include marketing campaigns and strategies, including social media, sponsorships, cause marketing, and advertising.

4. Make a task list and timeline for implementation.

5. Include a schedule for monthly reviews and status reports, so you can adjust the plan if it isn’t working.

Getting a vision of your brand plan on paper is necessary for achieving the vision in your head, so take the time to chart a course for reaching for the stars.