Words have consequences.
This is why an authentic brand and culture strategy must be in writing for organizations that are approaching a brand refresh. Words: discussed, debated and written down. Only then should they consider the fun stuff — names, colors, fonts, logos, taglines, websites and marketing.
That is the advice Aartrijk gave the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research a few years ago. And here they are, emerging recently with a new name, logo, tagline and URL.
How did The Alliance get here? It started with research: confidential interviews with constituents. We looked at strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Second, selected staff and volunteer board members participated in several workshops to assess the brand. These key stakeholders — those with deep knowledge of the organization — scrutinized the current state. What aspects of the 50-year history should be honored and treasured at all costs? What course corrections or new directions did they aspire to go to? What pieces of the brand and culture strategy were missing?
We refined and built nine components, following Aartrijk’s structured conversation around:
1. Mission: What you do, in a sentence or two. This is not a business plan.
2. Vision: Why you do what you do, what are you working towards, what is the better state of affairs for your audience if you are successful? Again, not a business plan. Moreover, the vision is not about you; it’s about customers and business partners.
3. Values: How do you do your work? How do you treat customers and each other as teammates? This list of 5-7 action statements is the only HR manual you really need.
4. Persona: If the organization was a person, what are your desired attributes?
5. Target: Who is the primary audience, and what needs do you meet for them?
6. Narrative: What is your origin story? Who founded the organization, and why?
7. Position: Where do you operate in the marketplace vis a vis competitors?
8. Evidence: In what aspects are you better, best, only, first, etc., if you had to prove these as facts before a judge?
9. Essence: What are one, two or three words that sum up the other eight components? This is your mantra or brand essence.
For The Alliance, all of this was discussed, debated and written down among the key stakeholders. They enthusiastically agreed to the final wording. That is why the new name, logo, tagline and URL (riskeducation.org) are so well aligned.
In the end, the brand strategy is authentic because it was conceived and refined on the inside.
And now, it will be shared enthusiastically on the outside.
Aartrijk is proud to work with this venerable organization now called the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance. Here’s a toast to all the fine risk and insurance professionals associated with it — staff, faculty and students alike. The new tagline perfectly describes the future for dedicated insurance professionals: “Own your potential.”