SUCCESS STORIES.

hexagrams

While size matters, results matter more.

Our work with these clients is evidence of the power of brand advocacy – applying priorities, principles and pathways inherent in the brand to create capacity for innovation and growth.

AUTOMOTIVE

Ford Motor Company, US
Green Flag, UK
Lithia Motors, US

CULTURE

Am Oved, Israel
Harry N. Abrams, US
Bezalel Academy of Art & Design
Cranbrook Museum of Art, US
Detroit Institute of Arts, US
Metropolitan Museum of Arts, US
Prion Publishers, UK
Progressive Architecture, US
Saudi British Society, UK

ENERGY & UTILITIES

BP, UK
CSE, US

CSE, US – As steward of the state’s Energy Upgrade California brand, the California-based Center for Sustainable Energy sought to improve engagement with small and medium-sized businesses. Ken led the Greenberg team in building a research-based segmentation study to more clearly identify which energy-efficient narratives should be used to target different audiences. The program enabled both the advertising agency and state officials to refine the brand messaging and establish sound criteria for evaluating communications.

Chevron, US
Equinor, Norway
ExxonMobil, US
Israel Electric Corporation
PG&E, US

PG&E, US – As one of the largest investor-owned utilities in the US, PG&E struggled to gain a clear view of its customers as regulatory requirements and management teams continued to change. Over a three-year period, Ken led seminal research assignments that helped establish a renewed understanding of customer needs and informed new communication and product strategies. These programs included Large Enterprise Customer Journey Research, Small and Medium Business Segmentation, Solar Program Evaluation, Mobile Home Research, and Small Agricultural Business Rate Communication Evaluation.

Samarec, Saudi Arabia

Samarec, Saudi Arabia – Prior to its incorporation into Saudi Aramco, Samarec was the downstream refining and retail arm of the Kingdom’s oil industry. As Siegel & Gale’s Executive Creative Director, Ken led a team of 10 designers and implementation experts over a four-year period in shaping Samarec’s brand identity, corporate communications and retail identity. In addition to its important commercial role, the identity program served as a catalyst for stimulating pride and solidarity among citizens and ex-pats during the first Gulf War, one of the most challenging periods in Saudi history.

Schlumberger, France

Schlumberger, France – Schlumberger has a unique culture that grew out of its multinational roots. As the company expanded beyond its core oil and gas heritage, that distinctive edge became blurred where it was needed most – in the hearts and minds of employees. A key goal of the brand development program was to help reignite awareness and motivation to the Schlumberger way of working. Ken led Siegel & Gale’s EMEA team to help articulate the expression of that culture. An employee recognition program introduced along with the new brand, helped galvanize 65,000 employees around a renewed sense of partnership.

Verbund, Austria
Viridos, US

Viridos, US – Founded in 2005 as Synthetic Genomics, Inc, the company was a pioneer in synthetic biology generating more than 100 patents. Spinoffs included platforms for protein-based therapeutics, mRNA replicon optimization, and bacteriophage engineering, as well as the world’s first automated DNA printer. But to be viable the company needed a more focused business model. With a revitalized strategy to apply its algal biotech experience to mitigating climate change, it became clear that the existing name did not reflect the new direction. With colleagues at Two Sides Consulting, Ken collaborated with the company’s leadership team to create a new brand strategy, articulate a new narrative, and write the website to support the launch of the chosen name – Viridos, referencing the Latin word viridis: green, fresh, and lively. The new brand and narrative were endorsed by Exxon, their major shareholder and launched in October 2021 to support the on-boarding of new investors and partners. With its first major deployment – a platform for algae biofuels – Viridos is creating a revolutionary production solution for sustainable fuels for air, rail, truck and marine shipping, sectors which still have no path to decarbonization.

ENTERTAINMENT

Britt Festival, US
CNBC, US

CNBC – CNBC commands the highest advertising premiums in broadcast television. However, the changing media landscape was eroding advertiser confidence and commoditizing its message. Conversations internally revealed the need to strengthen confidence in the brand narrative to an increasingly cynical customer. Ken led the Greenberg team in using innovative qualitative research to identify brand hypotheses that underpinned the value that advertisers could see in the CNBC brand. Quantitative research validated that the CNBC viewer is in a more heightened state of decision making, relative to viewers of other networks. This singular narrative component formed the basis of a powerful new sales video and presentation that gave the sales team the confidence and wins it needed.

Hulu, US

Hulu – With dramatic shifts in viewer behavior, Hulu was unclear of where it fit in the streaming landscape. Increasing competition from Netflix and Amazon and fragmentation with new niche providers meant that Hulu needed a clearer view of customers and a more focused message. Ken led the Greenberg team in conducting research that illuminated new patterns driving video consumption that transcended demographics and behaviors that Hulu had not seen before. Through this research, Hulu gained a new set of filters through which to see the changing media landscape, including the understanding that they couldn’t be everything to everyone. By focusing the right strategy and message toward the right viewers, they were better able to harness their business to new behaviors and cultural changes emerging in a highly dynamic market.

Ticketmaster, US

FINANCE & INVESTMENT

Allianz, Germany
American Express, US
Bancaja, Spain
Bank Hapoalim, Israel
Bank of Hawaii, US

Bank of Hawaii, US – Bank of Hawaii ranks among the top performing banks in the US. But “old money” bias, and internal siloes were hindering its ability to deliver competitive services and create perceptions of value among more affluent customers. At Greenberg, Ken led qualitative research with high-net-worth customers that uncovered the need to empower private banking Relationship Managers and enhance that feeling of community-mindedness and “ohana” (family) that is fundamental to island culture.  In a series of immersion workshops with executive management, Ken adapted the output into a customer experience framework to prioritize actions, resources, and product development.

Charles Schwab, US
BBVA, Spain
JPMorgan Chase, US
National Australia Bank
Nordea, Sweden
Visa, US
Wells Fargo, US

FMCG

Almarai, Saudi Arabia
Briar Ridge, Australia
L'Oreal, USA
M&M/Mars, USA
Proctor & Gamble, USA
Strauss Group, Israel
Unilever, Italy
3M, USA

GOVERNMENT

CPUC, USA

California Public Utilities Commission – California’s regulator mandated a change in how electricity is billed to align use with cost. In such a low-engagement category, communicating this change was a complex marketing challenge. At Greenberg, Ken led a six-person team of experts to establish a statewide marketing program that provided a California-wide blueprint. To overcome the most salient challenge – that customers don’t care about rates – the plan moved the regulator and utilities away from IQ-oriented, rate literacy to an approach based on “emotional quotient”. The strategy was able mitigate the impact of continual rate changes, while gaining acceptance and adoption of new energy habits.

To access the MEO Blueprint, go to either Executive Summary or Report.

United Nations FAO, Rome
Solidere, Lebanon

Solidere, Lebanon – Solidere was established by Rafik Hariri, Prime Minster of Lebanon, as a public-private enterprise to reconstruct Beirut’s city center, devastated by years of conflict. In addition to the challenge of rebuilding the city, Solidere was charged with the even more daunting task of rebuilding Beirut’s image internationally. Ken and his team articulated the vision for the new city center as a meeting ground for its diverse communities. Beirut Reborn, a large format book was conceived and produced to present the aspirations for the capital as the economic and cultural engine of the nation. The document served as an important tool to secure investors and to showcase the ground-breaking work. Today, its message is still used by urban planners and development agencies around the world to tell the story of Beirut as a role model for ‘city making’ in the 21st century.

The Scottish Office, UK

INDUSTRIAL

Caterpillar, USA
Clariant, Switzerland

Clariant, Switzerland – Sandoz (now Novartis) realized that to compete effectively, it would need to focus on its core business — human health. A key part of this strategy was to spin off its specialty chemicals business as an independent company. Ken led the team that developed the brand strategy, name and visual identity for the new entity. Defining the company’s core strengths became the platform for conducting an extensive name development and registration process. Clariant, the chosen name, and the visual identity played a key part in rallying the confidence of analysts and investors to facilitate what would be one the largest simultaneous IPOs on the New York and Zurich stock exchanges.

Cummins, USA
DNV, Norway

DNV, Norway – As one of the world’s most respected certification and classification institutions, DNV-GL must balance its roles between third party advisor and expert consultant with communications that are unequivocal and build trust. As an advisor to the Corporate Communications team for more than three years, Ken led initiatives to clarify brand architecture, improve brand governance and sharpen DNV’s storytelling as a tool to improve internal skills and the quality of its marketing.

Hydro, Norway

Hydro, Norway – For almost a decade, Ken helped shape the brand strategy and communications of this Global Fortune 500 company. As part of the brand management team, Ken led scores of strategic processes across the company and helped raise internal awareness to The Hydro Way. In doing so, he helped embed instinctive application of these principles that continue to enable it to contribute to a sustainable 21st century.

Qatalum, Qatar

PHARMA & HEALTHCARE

B. Braun Medical, Germany

B. Braun Medical, Germany – Although B. Braun had become Europe’s leading supplier of medical products, they were saddled with a confusing array of names and visual identities across Europe. Working with the CEO and management, Ken led a research team to investigate the company’s image among doctors, nurses and hospital administrators. The team used the results to develop recommendations for the brand, among them a new visual identity that was also applied to sales and marketing material and the 12,000+ SKU packaging system. Ken worked with B.Braun management on subsequent assignments including branding acquisitions and rationalizing its brand architecture over seven years.

Covered California, US

Covered California, US – As the state healthcare exchange established in 2010 as part of the Affordable Care Act, Covered California (CA) remains a role model for state-run healthcare exchanges, with 1.4m enrollees in 2016, and reducing the uninsured from 17.2 percent (2012) to 8.1 percent (2015)1. While scale and diversity provide a platform for best practice, Covered CA’s hands-on approach to implementation – including marketing and outreach – have set it apart from other state exchanges. To understand how best to manage its strategy and message during Open Enrollment, the exchange sought to conduct customer research to understand sentient and barriers to enrollment. Over a three-year period, Ken led the Greenberg team in helping the exchange team and its agency shape effective communications that have made the California healthcare exchange one of the most successful in the US.

Esteve, Spain
Novartis, Switzerland

Novartis, Switzerland – Faced with dramatic changes in the industry, life science leaders Sandoz and Ciba-Geigy were convinced it would be impossible to survive independently, and moved to merge. The context for developing the new brand required strict secrecy, given that the talks would result in the largest merger in history at that time. Ken led the creative team, working directly with Daniel Vasella, CEO-designate, and his team in Basel where both companies had been established in the 19th century. The name chosen was derived from the Latin for new skills. And together with the symbol as visual reinterpretation of the pharmacologist’s tools, helped express the vision for the company as the leader in life sciences. That company has retained the brand and visual identity for more than 25 years is testament to its timelessness.

TECHNOLOGY

Apple, US
Dell, US
Intel, US

Intel, US – Most of Intel’s nearly 100,000 employees do not typically engage with end-users. To understand the nuances of who they are designing for, Intel’s engineers and designers needed tools that bring customer into focus. Ken helped lead the development of personas delivered through presentations, video, print and workshops, which have established internal benchmarks for how Intel should view its end customer, whether a digitally savvy millennial or a Chief Network Officer.

Magic Software, Israel
Microsoft, US

Microsoft, US – Wearable, augmented-reality technology holds strong promise but often fails to interest consumers – even early adopters – for everyday use. For Microsoft’s development of Hololens, it needed to prioritize practical use cases to clarify how it would drive purchase intent. To achieve this, Ken led the research to explore technology needs of early adopters and creative consumers in advance of a hands-on demo. We enabled the Hololens team to position the product and launch communications based on relevant application-based experiences.

National Semiconductor, USA
NICE Systems, Israel

NICE Systems, Israel – NICE Systems is a global provider of advanced technology to analyze unstructured data from multimedia sources. In an increasingly fragmented market, with clients ranging from call centers to police to airport security, the company needed a sharper message to convey their complex value proposition. Ken led the team that developed the new message, a new visual tone of voice and revised brand architecture to unify and clarify the brand promise. The updated brand provided a foundational narrative for pushing into new markets, acquisitions and product innovation.

Qualcomm, US
Radware, Israel

Radware, Israel – Radware pioneered internet traffic management, establishing a reputation for innovation and experience. But the company needed to reposition itself in an increasingly competitive marketplace, which included heavyweights such as Cisco and Citrix. Ken worked with the CEO and management team to develop a brand strategy and message that moved beyond a product focus and turned towards what mattered most to their customers – the need for certainty. With a more customer-focused message and a new visual identity to support it, the company reengineered sales and marketing around a more compelling proposition. The new brand helped Radware re-establish its leadership role at a critical point in the company’s history.

SAP, US
Shozu, UK

TELECOM

Cellcom, Israel
Click GSM, Egypt
Era GSM, Poland

Era GSM, Poland  – Research showed that EraGSM, Poland’s largest cellular operator, lacked warmth and personality. The extraordinary demand for mobile communication gave the company an unprecedented opportunity to solve this issue and gain competitive advantage. Ken led the Siegel & Gale team to help EraGSM create a separate brand for Poland’s first pre-paid service. Focusing on the human desire to engage positively with new experiences and people, the brand strategy was translated into a simple name tak, tak, that meant yes, yes in Polish. Demand outstripped the company’s supply and overwhelmed the competition. TakTak and the penguin mascot became a national icon, showing up in chat shows, penguin jokes, and even references in everyday conversation.

Eurotel, Czech Republic
Polkomtel, Poland
Romtelecom, Romania
Telenor, Norway
Telstra, Australia

Telstra, Australia – As part of deregulation in Australia, the government merged its two public organizations, Telecom Australia and OTC. To facilitate the complex political steps the government had to take, the brand development process focused on establishing a holding company to include employees of both entities. This step would help place the trading entity that would emerge, on an equal footing with competitors in the deregulated landscape. Ken led the team that developed the brand strategy and name for both the holding company and new trading entity. Ultimately, the new operating brand – Telstra – provided a distinctive signature the company needed to succeed in privatization and to compete in the increasingly globalized arena domestically and abroad.

Vodafone, UK
Westel, Hungary

TRAVEL & TOURISM

Argentina Tourist Board
British Airways, UK
City of Birmingham, UK
El Al Israel Airlines, Israel
European Union DG XXIII

 

Brand Advocate

Clarify. Prioritize. Grow.