CASE STUDIES:
BRAND ENHANCEMENT
SELECTED CASE STUDIES:
CLEVELAND
CARBON FUND
BrownFlynn believes in partnering with other
like-minded organizations to increase awareness
of the sustainability movement and educate the
business world on the benefits of corporate
citizenship. To support the development of a
special projects fund in the carbon reductions
market, BrownFlynn offered pro bono services to
the Cleveland Carbon Fund. The work entailed
supervising the design of a new organizational
identity, readying the organization for a
soft-launch campaign to solicit ongoing
corporate support, consulting for an external
launch and general media relations work.
BrownFlynn developed a strategic soft-launch
plan, crafted key messages and an elevator pitch
for The Cleveland Carbon Fund and edited core
marketing documents to ensure a successful
launch to potential key supporters. In addition
to these services, BrownFlynn was hired in 2008
to develop the organization’s website.
BrownFlynn will also serve as one of the
Cleveland Carbon Fund’s rotating Community
Partner organizations to offer continued
consultation services where needed.
CUYAHOGA COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
Cuyahoga County Public Library contracted
BrownFlynn in 2005 to develop its first-ever
comprehensive marketing communications plan.
During this process, BrownFlynn created a new
vision and brand positioning statement for the
Library and, in conjunction with a design
partner, refined its brand identity, including
the creation of a new logo and tagline,
“browsing is just the beginning.” Since that
time, BrownFlynn has worked to transform
internal employee audiences into effective
“brand ambassadors” for the Library and its 28
community branches. Today, Cuyahoga County
Public Library is considered the number one
public library in the nation, according to
Hennen’s American Public Library rating system.
Circulation has jumped to almost 16 million, and
more children, adults and families are using the
library than ever before. BrownFlynn is proud to
have been able to apply our expertise in
corporate brand positioning and reputation to a
nationally-recognized library system.
HAMILTON BEACH
The International Housewares Association’s
Show is one of the housewares industry’s largest
trade shows in the world, with over 2,000
exhibiting companies and over 60,000 home and
housewares professionals. Hamilton Beach Brands,
a leader in the small household appliance
industry, is among the show’s most prominent
annual exhibitors and looked forward to
participating in this year’s new exhibit of
sustainable products and packaging. Hamilton
Beach’s budding sustainability program also
prompted the company to consider its own “green”
messaging for its 2008 booth. The company sought
BrownFlynn’s advice regarding how best to
communicate its sincere commitment to the
environment without being misleading or
“greenwashing” in any way.
To illustrate the new journey toward
environmental sustainability upon which Hamilton
Beach was embarking, BrownFlynn created a theme
called “Destination: GREEN” for the company’s
trade show booth, complete with design
suggestions for the company’s marketing
department. Based on existing information and
data provided by Hamilton Beach’s sustainability
team, BrownFlynn also offered recommendations
and copy for fact cards to be displayed
throughout the booth. Finally, because Hamilton
Beach’s program was just taking off, BrownFlynn
developed a stakeholder engagement survey for
use at the trade show and afterward, allowing
the company to gather stakeholder feedback about
what mattered most in suppliers’ sustainability
efforts. An emphasis on stakeholder feedback
gave Hamilton Beach the opportunity to better
understand stakeholder priorities, while the
theme and associated communications allowed the
company to be completely transparent about the
status of its new program.
LAKE ERIE COLLEGE
Lake Erie College (LEC) marked its 150th
anniversary in 2006 and, additionally,
celebrated the beginning of a new President’s
tenure and vision. As the College embarked on a
strategic planning process and added new
academic programs and campus activities, they
hired BrownFlynn to help increase enrollment by
strengthening the College’s brand and visibility
in the community.
In just 45 days, BrownFlynn, together with its
design partner Studio Graphique, conceived,
planned and launched the “Get In. Stand Out.”
enrollment “blitz” campaign which delivered
significant results for the College. Within six
months, compared to the prior year, student
visits to the College tripled, applications
increased nearly 90 percent, the number of
unique visitors to the website more than doubled
and requests for student information via the
website more than doubled. Lake Erie College has
fully embraced the “Get In. Stand Out.” theme
both internally and externally, and it has
become a hallmark of the College’s identity in
Northeast Ohio.
THE LILLIAN AND BETTY RATNER SCHOOL
The Lillian and Betty Ratner School is
dedicated to meeting the individual learning
needs of a richly diverse population of
students. In a warm, nurturing environment, the
School fosters respect, creativity and a love
for life-long learning in each of its students.
The Ratner School’s innovative environment
creates a community of learners where each child
thrives. Not only did this style and philosophy
of learning set the Ratner School apart from
other Montessori and Day School programs, the
School was going through exciting, noteworthy
transitions – a 45th anniversary, a new
location, new leadership, a new strategic focus
on building its Day School community and a new,
on-point identity – that spurred an internal
wave of momentum to take the School to the next
level.
BrownFlynn understood the Ratner School’s deep
connection to its educational process and
traditions of excellence. Hired to capitalize on
the “time is now” attitude and motivation,
BrownFlynn created a well-planned, strategic
external communications strategy to promote the
School’s mission and incredible happenings.
BrownFlynn took on the strategic branding
initiative and provided critical consultation
and the marketing communications tools necessary
to launch a new brand identity, establish a
brand presence for the School among its target
audiences, and help the School remain a
top-of-mind leader in education. Partnering with
the Ratner School, BrownFlynn developed key
messages, consultation services for a soft brand
launch to internal stakeholders, drafted copy
for a new capabilities brochure and developed a
high-level, 12-month marketing communications
tactical plan.
MYCOM
In spring 2008, the Cleveland Foundation engaged
BrownFlynn to provide strategic communications
and community outreach support for the launch of
Greater Cleveland’s comprehensive youth
movement. Nearly two years in the making, the
Cleveland Foundation and its planning partners
realized their goal of structuring a
community-based initiative to connect young
people to resources that support healthy
development and success.
Charged with developing an identity for the
youth development initiative, BrownFlynn held
several youth focus groups to determine an
appropriate name and logo – and MyCom was born.
BrownFlynn helped bring MyCom to life by
developing a colorful and engaging logo, and
crafting additional communication materials,
including a mission statement, key messages,
fact sheets, website copy and other
event-specific documents. BrownFlynn also worked
with Meredith Camp to create a live, high energy
launch event at the John Hay High School in
October 2008. The event featured several live
performances by youth-focused groups, including
Distinguished Gentlemen of the Spoken Word and
the Shaw High School Mighty Marching Cardinals.
BrownFlynn and its video production partner,
Glazen Creative, also produced three videos that
debuted at the event. These videos told the
story of several young people, their struggles
and the resources they rely on to enrich and
improve their lives.
THE SUMMA
FOUNDATION
The Summa Foundation engaged BrownFlynn to help
develop and implement a Corporate Relations
Campaign to raise awareness of its mission in
the business and civic communities. The project
included working with a design partner to create
an engaging brand identity for the Summa
Foundation – a logo, color palette and overall
look that would complement and support the Summa
Health System identity and collateral standards.
In addition, gleaning information from internal
members of the Summa team as well as external
members of the Akron community, BrownFlynn
developed a Corporate Relations Toolkit, which
included a 10-page capabilities brochure,
multiple fact sheets, pocket folder, website
enhancements, a quarterly newsletter and an
abbreviated e-newsletter. BrownFlynn created the
materials to speak to a diverse target audience
– donors, potential donors, corporations and
community leaders, and to have a long-standing
shelf life. The Summa Foundation reports using
all of the toolkit components to create a
succinct, cohesive, and visually stimulating
campaign.
