Today’s Los Angeles Times features the success story of our client DineEquity reaching its goal of being 99% franchised. The parent brand DineEquity was created about a year after IHOP acquired the larger Applebee’s chain in 2007. Baker named and branded the new company, also creating the tagline, “Great franchisees. Great brands.” We continue to work with the company on various programs and communications initiatives.

CEO Julia Stewart supports the franchise model because it reduces costs and increases profit, and the numbers support her claim. The company’s stock is up more than 8% this year. To read the entire article, click here.

To learn more about our work with DineEquity, click here.

Congratulations, DineEquity, on achieving your goal and a successful year!

As a creative director, one of my consistent objectives is to look at problems from new and different perspectives. Each one of us has a unique thumbprint, DNA and personal style. These contribute to an almost automatic approach to problem solving. The universal challenge is after you have exhausted all the ideas that come naturally — how do you push yourself further? How do you explore new angles that typically aren’t your first thoughts?

In a recent article, Tina Seeling, a PHD in neuroscience at Stanford University, offers many excellent examples and analogies on how taking different perspectives can lead to breakthrough thinking in any industry. Read, enjoy and apply!

Imagine that you’re a physician, ready to work with your patients and help them thrive. Your patients come in, and you try taking a family history, doing a complete physical and ordering appropriate lab work before diagnosing the problem — and suggesting an approach. But alas. Your patients aren’t interested because they already know that all they need is a new bottle of…

Oh, I feel your pain, frustrated physician. Employee communications often suffers from this same syndrome — capabilities misunderstood, value uncertain, leading to less-than-optimal results.

And frankly, it’s understandable. As a profession, we’ve gone through a huge amount of change over the past 10 years. Go on, tell me what comes to mind when you think about employee communications:

• Writer
• Researcher
• Benefits communicator
• Newsletter editor
• Speech writer

And you’d be right. We do all of that, and we have to do it well. But while that’s necessary, it is not sufficient. Because employee communications should be so much more. Here’s what comes to my mind when I think about employee communications:

• Influencer
• Coach
• Advisor
• Risk manager
• Engagement expert
• Change agent
• Truth teller

Yeah, yeah, I know. You’re thinking that I have a rather grandiose view of my profession. And I do. But only because I’ve lived it and have seen the difference it can make to the culture and success of a company. Let’s look at an example that is very fresh to all of us — a high tech company which made an important announcement.

Yahoo

The story is well known by now. High tech company struggling to rebuild its products, culture and reputation announces a new “work only from the office” policy. Proverbial you-know-what hits the fan. Howls of protest from employees. “They don’t get it” criticism from the media. Defenders of the decision, pointing out the advantage of in-person teamwork in an innovation company.

Here’s the email from Human Resources that started it all:

YAHOO! PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION — DO NOT FORWARD

Yahoos,

Over the past few months, we have introduced a number of great benefits and tools to make us more productive, efficient and fun. With the introduction of initiatives like FYI, Goals and PB&J, we want everyone to participate in our culture and contribute to the positive momentum. From Sunnyvale to Santa Monica, Bangalore to Beijing — I think we can all feel the energy and buzz in our offices.

To become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side. That is why it is critical that we are all present in our offices. Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings. Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home. We need to be one Yahoo!, and that starts with physically being together. Beginning in June, we’re asking all employees with work-from-home arrangements to work in Yahoo! offices. If this impacts you, your management has already been in touch with next steps. And, for the rest of us who occasionally have to stay home for the cable guy, please use your best judgment in the spirit of collaboration. Being a Yahoo isn’t just about your day-to-day job, it is about the interactions and experiences that are only possible in our offices.

Thanks to all of you, we’ve already made remarkable progress as a company — and the best is yet to come.
Jackie

Was the email well written? Why yes, it was. Was the messaging clear? Yep, it was crystal clear. Was it obvious that this was for internal purposes only and wasn’t to be shared? Uh huh.

There was clearly a good writer at work. A lot of thought went into the messaging. From a tactical standpoint, it’s hard to criticize this communication.

Except it failed spectacularly.

Because this was far more than a tactical communication issue — it was a strategic communication issue, involving change management, leadership and cross-department collaboration.

Instead of sending an HR memo out to employees, suppose this had happened:

1. The business researched the impact of work-at-home employees and has decided that the best way to maximize innovation and grow a healthy, productive culture is to have all employees work from the office.

2. A meeting is called with internal communications, external communications and human resources. Actions prior to communication are identified.

3. A change management plan is put into place, analyzing stakeholders, potential risks and opportunities, and putting great clarity around communication objectives of knowledge, attitude and action.

4. With the results of the change management plan in place, it’s clear that highly personal, sensitive and strong leadership is an imperative for success. The CEO is set up as the champion of the change, and the main spokesperson for it. Key stakeholders are informed of what is happening and why in advance of the communication.

5. On announcement day, the CEO holds a global town hall. With use of technology, she acknowledges that this was a difficult decision to make, because it does impact employees so strongly. She then sets out the business case for it, clearly explaining what’s in it for the company and for employees. Her comments are followed by 45 minutes of questions and answers.

6. Managers are given support materials to explain the change in the context of their own departments.

Will Yahoos be happy employees after this announcement? No. It’s bad news for them no matter how you paint it. But at least they’ll understand the reason for the change, and they’ll respect their leadership for having the guts to personally talk about it and openly answer questions in an adult, straightforward way.

So what do employee communicators who are at the top of their game do? I repeat:

• → We’re risk managers, protecting our companies from rash actions.
• → We’re coaches and advisors, helping our executives communicate in a way that enhances their reputations and ensures communication success.
• → We’re change agents, leading the change management effort to make sure the communication, when it happens, occurs in the optimal environment.
• → We’re influencers, using our knowledge of employee perspectives and business needs to shape the discussion.
• → We’re truth tellers, willing to talk about the ugly truth, even when that’s painful.

Writers? You bet. Deck creators? Of course. But the very best communicators do so much more. And your company is healthier and stronger for it.

A member of the Baker Network
Terry McKenzie brings over 25 years of experience in change management, internal communication, strategic communication planning, and implementation for corporations and agencies. In addition to applying her knowledge and skills to building informed, engaged and aligned workforces, Terry is a trainer for Melcrum’s prestigious Black Belt communication courses. You can follow her thoughts on life and work at tmacwords.wordpress.com.

Move over G3. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is on track to finalize G4 reporting guidelines by May 2013. Significant changes will have a major impact on the 3,900+ companies that use the GRI standard for corporate responsibility (CR) communications. Here are some things you should know.

Goodbye Application Levels

There’s been too much confusion about what application levels mean. Calling the levels “A,” “B” and “C,” gave the mistaken impression that it was an indicator of sustainability performance or quality of reporting. Neither is the case. The new proposal is based on “in accordance” criteria.

Good news for beginners and smaller companies

A big emphasis on user-friendly guidance should make the guidelines easier to use and understand, especially for people new to sustainability reporting. A web-based version of the framework will be available — a welcome option to the current hefty PDF. Smaller companies will have an easier time reporting, because the number of disclosure items will be reduced for them, a recognition of their relative lack of complexity compared to larger organizations.

“As people become more aware, and actually see more information, they actually become more skeptical.”

— JAMES CERUTTI of BRANDLOGIC

Focus and clarity

The goal is to produce more focused reports that are specific to an organization’s key operations and challenges. The trend has been for organizations to produce glossy reports with generic content. As a result, a company like BP could produce outstanding GRI-based reports that don’t focus on real challenges. Improving the technical definitions should make it easier for organizations to get external verification of reported information.

This is evident in the disclosure changes for Anti-corruption (in a new Ethics section) and GHG Emissions Indicators (grouped into three subsets). Energy Indicators also have been modified for more streamlined reporting.

Changes to management approach disclosure and reporting boundaries will require more specific information on how organizational strategies are implemented and how far impact disclosures should go. Product and supplier disclosures bring supply chain into closer view.

Harmony

The new guidelines are designed to better harmonize with other internationally accepted standards.

MORE IS LESS

Most companies are doing better at sustainability performance but many aren’t getting credit. That’s one finding in the 2012 Sustainability Leadership Report by Brandlogic and CRD Analytics. Key audience perceptions aren’t rising at the same rate as their performance improvements. That may be because more reporting can simply mean more information that people can’t evaluate.

No Integrated Reporting Guidance

While integrated reporting remains the goal for many organizations, there is no internationally agreed-upon standard yet. Organizations pioneering this effort are inventing it as they go. Standards will likely emerge in future GRI versions that codify the best practices of these leading edge organizations.

Will there be a grace period?

This is not expressly stated yet, but a grace period of up to 2 years was given with previous framework updates. Since this is a major upgrade, a similar grace period is likely.

The bottom line

This is a step forward for sustainability reporting in a landscape that’s fast evolving. While the GRI framework is only a guideline, it’s a great tool that promotes consistency and clarity. We’re ready to welcome CR 4.0.

Head to the GRI site to learn more about the changes or to read the G4 Exposure Draft.

The idea of marketing to your brand’s influencers is not new. But it’s important to understand who they are and what will influence them. Finding out how you should rev up or change your messaging to meet their particular needs is also key. We’d like to offer some basic considerations on how to do that. But keep in mind that re-evaluating who your influencers are — and changing your approach and researching the affects of your actions — should be an ongoing process.

Identifying your influencer: Who?

There is never just ONE influencer. Identifying your audience(s) is essential. Let’s say you work in marketing at Bacardi. Your influencers can be anyone from the bartender, server, food and drink bloggers to the retail sales person at BevMo — you name it. The best way to identify these groups is to ask the following:

• Who recommends my product/service?
• To whom do I want to recommend my product/service?
• Whose opinion would I trust about my product/service?
• Who would I ask when deciding products/services?

The “I’d Google it” response is simply not sufficient to answer these questions. How do you know what articles or resources to trust?

Engaging your influencer groups: How?

Marketing to your influencer is probably the most difficult part. Often, it will come down to trial and error. Although we have laid out the steps above in a linear fashion, many times the research needs to come before the initiative. We’re all inundated with consumer product marketing in our everyday lives. Influencers are too, so keep the following suggestions in mind:

Be authentic. Why do YOU recommend your brand? If you are Vizio making TV sets for far less than the competition — but you have a killer story and the technology to match — talk about it! Engage your influencer with emotional brand stories — the kind you buy into, like the ones that made YOU drink the company Kool-aid in the first place. Influencers are influencers because they are seen as experts in “this thing,” not because they can spew back marketing speak.

Teach them. Many influencers don’t know anything about your competition. They have their go-to brands and products — and that is what they recommend. This has worked for them in the past, so why stop? When you are not the company being recommended…teach them. Spend dollars educating your influencer on your product. Retail sales associates across the globe have to know about the products they are selling, so training initiatives can be vital. That’s why manufacturers often use existing marketing budgets earmarked for field marketing and other purposes to finance product training.

You’ll need to go through some trial and error to figure out what works and what doesn’t and what may need to be revved up. Maybe you have a killer field group, but you have been trying to educate influencers through digital webinars. Step back and consider the big picture. Then adjust your approach according to your strengths.

Research: Why?

This is all about follow through. Over and over again, we hear “what you measure, you improve.” So measure it! Of course, this will involve time and money, but it’s important to track how your initiatives are affecting your sell-thru and impacting your bottom line. Obviously, this action will help champion future influencer programs with your company’s leadership. But it can also show you where your initiatives are working and where you need to try something else.

Recently, we stumbled across a company called MSS (http://www.mssmulti.com/) — Multi-Sponsored Surveys. They primarily focus on point-of-purchase influencers, but what they offer can be invaluable. It can help guide every aspect of your marketing and branding. With multiple competing brands, they survey influencers to find out what they recommend, why they recommend it, what questions they get asked, what the market looks like, etc. Of course, using MSS is not the only way to do this kind of research. The important thing is to just get it done. However you research your influencers and what moves them will change how you market, price and develop future offerings. Essentially, it will help you make your business more successful.

Today companies face similar brand and culture challenges, which limit their potential.

We’ve seen it with our own clients. Case in point: We are currently helping several companies transform their businesses and evolve their cultures and brands to better reflect their potential today and their vision for tomorrow.

These companies are in different industries. They range from 20 to 98 years in business, and have revenues ranging from $200 million to $6 billion. Despite the differences in industry, size and age, they all face similar challenges: They lack a clear vision, purpose and set of values. They have poor internal communications. And their brand stories and differentiators have not kept pace with how the world has changed over the past decade.

The factors that are holding these companies back fall into two categories: culture and brand. Both are mission critical to any company’s success — and when not handled properly, can even threaten an organization’s future growth and sustainability.

Cultures need leadership, purpose and alignment.

Many leaders have excellent backgrounds and track records in operations or engineering or finance. However, they lack a clear and consistent vision and do not possess the communication skills to effectively reach their people. For employees, that translates into the feeling that the company’s leadership is either weak or confused — or both.

In addition, the demands of downsizing, right sizing and every one doing double and triple what they once did is also taking its toll — translating into lackluster earnings and employee performance. It’s commonplace for employees today to be burned out, apathetic and ineffective — issues that all come to light in the Towers Watson 2012 Global Workforce Study which highlights issues such as employees’ stress and anxiety about the future and job security, and doubts about the level of interest and support from upper management.

Having a cultural common purpose does impact a company’s bottom line. In IBM’s recent CEO study, Leadership Through Connections, three imperatives were found essential for outperformance: empowering employees through values, engaging customers as individuals and amplifying innovations with partnerships. CEOs see greater organizational openness ahead. As rules are redefined and collaboration explodes, having a strong sense of sense of purpose and shared beliefs to guide decision-making will be key to avoiding chaos, protecting a business’ future, and delivering stellar results.

Companies need to practice brand basics.

For a variety of reasons, many companies have not invested the time, resources and money into developing effective brand fundamentals such as platform tools, consistent and aligned touch points, and internal methods for disciplined brand stewardship over time.

We often encounter companies that have not adapted or evolved their brands, even though the world and the marketplaces in which they compete have changed significantly. As a result, their brands look dated and their messaging and positioning are no longer appropriate or relevant.

A good brand positioning is a differentiated market position that no other company can legitimately claim, captured in a powerful brand idea. It should be simply worded and function as a totem pole around which actions, behaviors and communications are aligned. The brand idea must be used internally as an affirmation of a distinctive and dedicated culture and externally as a competitive advantage.

Another frequently missed opportunity is the lack of emotional connection to a brand. Companies need to make a connection with their audiences with compelling messaging and a riveting, authentic brand story. The story helps people connect on an ethical, logical and emotional level to capture hearts and minds.

It is also imperative to have the right touch points for your audiences to receive your messages. Today corporate communications is a two-way street. All audiences expect to receive it the way they want — when and where they want. Only by knowing your audiences intimately will the right delivery channels become apparent — social, digital as well as traditional.

In conclusion

So, what will help you become the market leader your company has the potential to be? It’s simple. Make an investment in integrated brand tools and acquire the discipline to execute your brand across company silos, as well as media channels.

Manage for your long-term success and sustainability. Brand development is not inventing what you should be. It’s uncovering the potential of what you are. Help your company develop a distinctive culture and strong brand that’s unique. Then, reinforce the connection between your brand and your audiences — both internally and externally. In doing so, you’ll create employees and customers that will be ambassadors and advocates for life.

Read more of our thoughts on our website here!

Calls to action are nothing new. Whether you’re aware of them or not, you hear them every day. Companies fly banners and shout rallying cries constantly to get you to march in line with them; “Just do it.” “Think different.” Why do they have these? Because they work. They speak to the core of what it is to be human. They tap into our personal beliefs—both about ourselves and the world at large.

Consumer facing brands have long understood the power of a rallying cry to encourage people to buy their products. Companies have the same opportunity to attract and retain employees with internal branding. They can use the rallying cry tool to allure the type of talent they want, engage their employees and create loyalty within their ranks. As mentioned before, calls to action are effective because they’re simple and speak to our emotional core—our “gut” as it were. Finding this core, this “gut instinct,” within your company’s values is the secret ingredient to developing an effective call to action. Simon Sinek asks, “Why do you do what you do?” Surprisingly, this is a challenging question for many organizations. He then goes on to state “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” If you can accurately and simply express what it is you believe, you’ll attract like-minded people who align with your purpose and vision. They will be your fiercely engaged employees, your brand advocates and ambassadors. Your call to action is simply the expression of your company’s core belief and the rallying cry you use can garner the culture and talent you desire.

Follow this link to find tips on creating your call to action and see how other companies are utilizing their rallying cries

What do the above words have in common? They must be something to do with the impending global big business/sporting event you think to yourself. Although, if you are a British business or organization and dare to use one or more words from the left column combined with one or more from the right column in any form of ambush marketing/promotion then you will be liable to be fined up to 20,000 quid. It has become a criminal act to use these common nouns as well as any depiction of the Olympic “rings” be it in floral, bagel, sausage or hula-hoop form. Almost 300 purple-hatted “Advertisement Enforcement Officers” will ensure only “official” sponsors get to use these particular phrases.

The exclusive deals of McDonald’s, Visa, Adidas, Coca-Cola, Dow, Samsung, and the games’ other multi-million-dollar sponsors with the British government have essentially wiped away free speech. It doesn’t stop there either, turn up as a spectator wearing your Pepsi t-shirt (or other official sponsors’ competitor-themed item) then you have a good chance of being turned away. If you actually manage to get in & decide to film any part of the Olympics & upload to Twitter or Facebook, then, unbelievably, you will be breaking the law.

So, what to do when free-market capitalism is starting to look like a corporate dictatorship with its own brand army? Bring on all the clever & witty strategies you can think of to subvert these Draconian laws and support freedom of expression! Let the Games begin.

“Don’t write because you want to say something. Write because you have something to say.” F. Scott Fitzgerald

He’s referring to PURPOSE.

Purpose powers anything meaningful and lasting. It is the deepest expression of a brand, drawing on its essence to determine its path in the world. Purpose captures the relationship between organization and community, integrating financial, social and environmental arenas into a single clearly articulated and demonstrated approach.

Every brand makes a promise but a purpose is what defines and truly separates one brand from the next. Making money allows the organization to STAY in business.

Purpose is WHY they are in business.

Purpose can’t be faked.

Building a brand on a purpose helps consumers understand what the brand stands for, but there’s more to it than that. Perhaps more critically, it helps employees become brand ambassadors by having them understand why are we here? Because Apple, Google or Whole Foods employees understand their reason for being, it not only clarifies their roles but also signifies their intrinsic value to the organization and its reputation as a brand. An organization whose employees can answer why are we here? will be the one that makes stronger connections with consumers in search of solutions to life’s challenges. Essentially, it’s building a strong organization from the inside out. Actions directed by the brand purpose can unlock an organization’s true potential for growth and success on every level.

Consumers are smart and will identify a fake. Posing can lead to permanent damage of the brand. Purpose should be something that the consumers are able to sense, not something they are to be told explicitly. Authenticity is very essential for the success of a brand. If a brand gets that right, it can take on competitors of any size and number.

It’s great to be wanted.

As competition increases, the challenge of attaining and retaining consumers increases as well. Consumers believe, until they are shown otherwise, that the hidden motive of any brand is to sell something. This reduces their affinity towards a brand, and with the growing number of options available, it is easier than ever for a brand to lose consumers to competition. But if the brand is able to prove to the customers that its profit making is only a by-product of a larger purpose, it gains the affection of the customers—making it harder for the competition to break this customer-brand bond.

Be honest with yourself.

To define your purpose, you need to ask yourself questions. What is your organization’s passion? What are its greatest strengths? What need do you see in the world that you are ideally placed to address?

These answers are the essential start to a great brand. Let’s get to work!

This isn’t really a rant against stock photography nor a critique on a particular style of book cover design — it’s just something I’ve been noticing. We all know the perils & pitfalls and yes, the advantages, of instant stock imagery but in the long run, perhaps it’s best to have your own unique, original imagery and if you can’t afford that then a really good designer. The same can be applied to brand building and the layers of meaning attached to a logo or a product. Visual positioning is essential for brands and, let’s be honest here, we do judge books by their covers, don’t we?

In most cases the image on the right is the most recent version. Thank to the internet for all sourced imagery.

Flipping the image — no one would notice, would they?

At least there was a little color adjustment going on here.

The transparent overlay of skyscraper and clouds really didn’t ‘cover’ this.

It’s all a bit grotty 70′s motel, but at least Peter Handke’s original story DID come out in 1974.

No comment.

Adding illustration, flipping the image and increasing color saturation helps, but it’s not really new, is it? Even the titles are in the same place.

Apparently these two almost identical books came out barely a month apart.

An ever-so-slight color adjustment made here.

These two even kept the same sepia tone.

OK, we get it.

For those that need a palette cleanser, visit “The Book Cover Archive” and Surrounded by Colours, “Polish Book Covers.”