Case Studies

The Situation
Blueprint Income, a Series A Fintech startup, had a new type of annuity to improve the retirement prospects of middle-aged Americans. The only problem: an unscrupulous category had given Annuities a bad name. Blueprint Income needed a positioning and brand identity that could set them apart.

The Insight
With the disappearance of the pension and the shrinking of social security, Americans have entered a new era of DIY retirement planning — where the question of how much you will need is impossible to answer, and the fear of outliving your money is omnipresent. And without a reliable source to trust for retirement, 1 in 3 Americans have nothing saved for retirement.

The Brand
Positioned to “take the question out of retirement,” the Blueprint Income brand identity delivered certainty, simplicity, and trustworthiness across touchpoints, elevating confidently beyond retirement industry clichés.

The Result
Significant growth in customer acquisition and industry credibility, leading to acquisition by MassMutual in 2021.

The Situation
Dell had recently merged eight technology companies into one industry-leading B2B offer, perfectly positioned to answer COVID-driven demand for enterprise technology. But with a marketing budget dwarfed by Microsoft, and a brand best known for budget laptops, Dell needed a bold platform to announce their B2B ambitions.

The Insight
Dell Technologies is known as a computer brand. But beneath its hardware and software is a relentless drive to solve complicated and meaningful human problems.

The Platform
The “We Stop at Nothing” brand platform debuted during the 2021 World Series, creating a new north star for the organization. Anthemic TVC spots for Remote Work and Multi-Cloud offerings rolled out over the year, punctuated by customer success stories and thought-leadership content.

The Result
Increased brand awareness and preference among enterprise technology decision-makers, and a lift in perceptions of brand leadership.

The Situation
Percolate, a SaaS marketing automation leader, gave its Fortune 100 customers a powerful platform to streamline its marketing operations. But to continue growing, it also needed to help its Fortune 100 customers identify the places in their own organizations where Percolate could have the greatest impact.

The Solution
Percolate’s expertise in marketing automation didn’t just apply to the deployment of software—it could proactively apply to the mapping and analyzing  of customers’ global marketing infrastructure as a consultative service.

The Product
Percolate’s Marketing Assessment service, a 6-week, $100k consultative offering, mapped global marketing infrastructure, workflows, pain-points, and priority optimizations across the entire marketing and communications lifecycle.

The Result
Generated $1mm+ in new revenue in the first year of deployment, and contributed to Percolate’s acquisition by Seismic in 2019.

The Situation
Harley-Davidson came out of the Great Recession in bad shape. Their core customers were still buying bikes, but they were failing to reach the new generation of riders they would need to remain relevant and profitable. Harley needed a top-to-bottom marketing rethink in order to connect with young, digitally-savvy riders who didn’t want their dad’s old bike brand.

The Insight
For older riders, membership in the Harley-Davidson brand was a coveted insider status. But younger riders no longer wanted to belong to a brand, they wanted to align themselves with brands that could belong to them.

The Initiative
A global research and insights initiative brought Harley face to face with their next generation of riders; their wants, needs, and the macro-forces shaping the world in which they would soon live and ride. 

The Result
A multi-year agenda of initiatives across Harley-Davidson, from digital transformation of the Harley Owners Group brand community, to the refresh and redesign of Harley’s lineup of Cruiser bikes, to the creation of its best-selling LiveWire electric bike platform.