Brand Communications
Branding and communication strategy starts with your story — tell it right.
Why Does Brand Communication Strategy Matter?
Your brand is the first thing potential customers will know about you. And an identifiable, successful brand is something customers will remember long after a conference or ad impression. The consistency of good branding simplifies future planning, streamlines creative work and informs everything from corporate social responsibility initiatives to culture, but it also offers tremendous benefits to the bottom line.
CONSIDER THESE EYE POPPING FIGURES:
Consistent branding across all channels increases revenue by
Those same loyal customers stay with a brand for an average of
5.1
YEARS
and will recommend the brand at a much higher rate, 71 percent vs.
45 percent
Brand awareness and the associated benefits are ultimately built on brand experiences. In the quick moving world of marketing and advertising, brand work of any kind is a long-term play that is easy to overlook in favor of faster ROI, but the opportunity cost of not taking the time to build a thoughtful brand communications plan is considerable. Without integrated marketing communications planning, brands lose the opportunity for meaningful and consistent engagement with their target audiences, and ultimately, the chance to make a lasting impression.
Our Approach to Strategic Brand Communication
We all spend a lot of time, effort and budget working to understand our audiences. But how are we supposed to tell them who we are to them if we don’t know ourselves? Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) believes a thoughtful, consistent brand supported by strategic brand communication is an essential effort that supports everything from sales and marketing to employee retention.
Ready to find out what a brand communications agency can bring to your marketing initiatives?
Clients Past & Present
A Brand and Marketing Communications Solution for Many Challenges
No two brands are alike and no two situations should have precisely the same solution. To that end, we approach every branding challenge from a single guiding question: What problem are we solving? Brand work isn’t just one thing. It takes many forms and answers many challenges, both expected — inconsistent visual identity — and unexpected — poorly defined product or service. Branding and communication strategy can be the answer to all of those problems, and then some.
In particular, CSG offers support for:
It’s What People Say About You When You’re Not in the Room
The right brand message, a well-chosen look and the right medium in which to share them can be the difference between controlling the conversation around your brand and letting others do that for you. While love at first sight is still up for debate, it’s important to note that awareness at first sight is unlikely.
In Fact It Takes:
Fortunately, we also know that there is a science to what makes branding stick with potential customers.
Similarly,
Finding the correct combination of messaging and visuals to bring your marketing communication and brand strategy to life is a critical exercise that creates internal alignment and lays the groundwork for external recognition.
With these tools in place, every part of your marketing team — from the creative team and the social media team to a digital agency — can work from a single source of truth and create integrated communications with efficiency and consistency.
CSG FREQUENTLY CREATES ALL OF THE FOLLOWING RESOURCES IN SUPPORT OF STRATEGIC BRAND COMMUNICATION EFFORTS:
- Brand guidelines
- Visual identity, including: colors, fonts, graphics and photography
- Logo development
- Brand story
- Voice and tone
With a cohesive and thoughtful brand communications framework in place, a creative branding agency can effectively bring your vision to life across any medium, channel or implementation. The strategic writers and designers at CSG are well-versed in bringing brands to life with purpose.
BRAND GUIDELINES
VISUAL IDENTITY
Industry Expertise
There’s an old adage that says to write well, you have to write what you know. We believe that logic applies to work as well, and we’ve made it our business to understand the nuances and landscapes of the industries we serve.
Case Studies
Show, Don’t Tell: CSG Creative Work
Using Content Marketing to Launch a New Insurer as a Lifestyle Brand
Brand Communication Four Ways: A Solve for Any Challenge
The value of their work and their flexibility with the process was excellent, this was a differentiator compared to other consultants we have worked with. CSG really took a proactive approach to understand PCL and our business while at the same time challenging us to approach things differently.
Jaime McGavin
Manager, Human Resources Programs, PCL
CSG took the time to understand our organization. They continue to remain curious about who we are, what we do and what makes us different. The CSG team is made up of excellent listeners, talented strategists, creative writers and skilled collaborators. CSG has been able to walk us through a brand refresh, helping us to brighten and clarify our language and graphics. Through every step of our engagement, they have aimed to understand our story and support us in telling it in a way that has created renewed excitement for our products and helped us build the foundation for a smarter marketing strategy.
Sara Fluskey
Director of Marketing & Communications, NOVA
Do you have an agency that gives you a great idea or new perspective every call or meeting? We do — and it’s CSG. With a deep bench of big thinkers that scaffold a strong communications plan effortlessly, they mix traditional approaches with cutting-edge strategies and techniques that take your plan to the next level. Communications framework development and content marketing has been a powerful differentiator.
Brenda Andolina
Director of Global PR, Fisher-Price and Thomas & Friends
The CSG financial services team has a deep understanding of the financial planner community and professional. They’ve been a fantastic partner in helping us rethink our business model and content strategies.
Ron Zwerin
Former CMO, Financial Planning Association
CSG is truly part of our team, which has allowed us to align our communications efforts to the broader strategic priorities of the firm. This tight partnership has made a tangible difference for Janus.
Robin Beery
Former Executive Vice President, U.S. Distribution, Janus Henderson Investors
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