State Agency Rebranding
Key concepts: Branding • Advertising • Positioning • Telephone Surveys (CATI) • Focus Groups • In-depth Interviews
A top-five-market statewide unemployment benefits agency initially sought to learn which of its several brands should be marketed as the primary one. With Saurage Research’s assistance, the research strategy focused on understanding expectations and concerns about agency processes from beneficiaries’ viewpoints.
Resources were redirected to explore perceptions of employers, employee candidates and the general market, using telephone surveys, web surveys and Touchpoint Experience Mapping qualitative to understand awareness, expectations, and client success at achieving customer objectives.
Saurage Research learned that issues and concerns were “louder” than selecting a primary brand from among the many being suggested by the agency. Additionally, the agency’s objectives for the project were suffering from scope-creep which Saurage Research redirected to the correct performance and delivery objectives.
RESULTS: Once a brand and name were designed and tested to respond to all stakeholders, measures were put into place to track brand growth, development, profile and efficacy with target markets. Recognition of the new brand grew at a double-digit rate in a three-year period, from no recognition at all to more than 50 percent, to become known by a majority of employers and citizens. Its redefined attributes and profile (designed to be on par with for-profit employment agencies and headhunter firms) expanded rapidly to become a best-in-class model that was emulated statewide.