All aboard the brand
When Disneyland visitors were asked who made the biggest impression on their experience, many cited the park’s cleaning crew. Not surprising, since they have the most interaction with visitors––happily pointing out attractions or the nearest churro stand with a friendly smile. Disney has made sure these critical, front-line employees understand their role in delivering the Disney brand.
3 forces behind successful brands
We believe successful brands align their vision, culture and image. To create this alignment with internal audiences, Remedy clients participate in our Employee Culture Worksession. This workshop is an opportunity for managers across an organization to come together and discuss the new brand prior to the internal launch. In one exercise, managers translate their brand strategy into tangible expectations and behaviors that can then be communicated to their direct reports during the launch. So, staff not only understand the brand, but know their role in delivering on it. "Founders like Walt Disney understood back then what many CEOs don't fully appreciate today: employees are what create a competitive advantage," remarks Remedy president Carol McCarthy.
It never stops
Culture is an ongoing process. Leadership must continually reinforce the expected customer experience and hold employees accountable for delivering on it. Here are some of Remedy's recommendations for sustaining momentum:
• Demonstrate this is a long-term initiative by integrating it with the strategic plan and tying it to employee performance
• Create a brand strategy shorthand that's easy for employees to remember. For Remedy client Sparrow Health System, we boiled their brand promise down to: Make healthcare simpler for everyone
• Enroll employees in the process. Ask for their feedback and ideas in department meetings or in an employee blog like we did for Sparrow Health System's internal brand launch (see story below)
• Measure ongoing employee engagement through annual surveys and then act on the results
• Reward employees who consistently deliver on the brand experience
BACK TO TOP
Communicating a brand: where to start
For a new brand strategy to be successful, it needs to be communicated internally first. At Remedy, we define brand as the customer experience. Since employees deliver the experience, it's essential to start with them.
Launching Sparrow's future
In May, Remedy developed an internal brand campaign for Sparrow Health System in Lansing, Michigan. The campaign unveiled the organization's direction for the future—new mission, vision, values, and brand promise—to its 9,700 associates, medical staff and volunteers across numerous locations. Our goal? To make the message memorable and inspiring and set the tone for a lasting culture change.
We began with a buzz-generating teaser campaign. Overnight, bold, colorful wall graphics—some as large as 15 feet—were installed in 30 different locations across the health system. We also took over the organization’s biweekly newsletter, wrapping it with a teaser message.
An integral part of the campaign was a launch event with 600 senior managers. To tell the story, Remedy developed a suite of tools, including an animated video that concluded with an inspirational message from Sparrow's CEO.
RATHER THAN A TRADITIONAL BROCHURE, EMPLOYEES RECEIVED SETS OF CARDS TELLING THE SPARROW STORY
Getting the word out
To make it easy for department leaders to communicate the new brand to their direct reports, Remedy collaborated with Sparrow to develop turnkey launch kits that included scripted talking points, to-do checklists, a PowerPoint presentation and a copy of the video for subsequent department meetings. In addition, we armed managers with posters, employee badge cards, and an inspiring brochure.
A DEDICATED INTERNAL WEBSITE WAS CREATED TO PROVIDE A WAY FOR EMPLOYEES TO REPLAY THE LAUNCH VIDEO AND SHARE THEIR IDEAS
Keeping it top-of-mind
Beyond the launch event and department meetings, it was important to develop a long-term tool where associates could access information regarding the mission, vision and values. We developed an intranet site where staff members could learn more about Sparrow’s vision for the future, as well as submit their own ideas for how their department could help Sparrow achieve its strategic goals. "When you're launching a new brand to any organization, it's critical that employees understand this isn't just another flavor-of-the-month program," says Remedy president Carol McCarthy. "You have to keep the brand top-of-mind on an ongoing basis."
THE TEASER PHASE OF THE CAMPAIGN INCLUDED BOLD WALL GRAPHICS DESIGNED TO GENERATE BUZZ AND GET EMPLOYEES TALKING
What's next?
To keep the momentum going, Sparrow leaders were reminded of their responsibilities in executing the launch. Each manager received an email, communicating the need to encourage their staff to visit the campaign intranet site.
BACK TO TOP
|
