Case Studies

Few business challenges can be addressed by communications alone. But no business challenge can be overcome without communications.

Likewise, no business goal can be achieved without effective communications in place, as these case studies demonstrate.

Prepare Global Account Team to Serve Industry Giant

Role: Help grow new global account serving Fortune 100 tech leader. Coordinate worldwide communications and operations for 350 account team members at direct, interactive, branding and ethnic marketing agencies in 50+ offices worldwide. Work directly with account’s two global leads.

Challenge: Account’s geographic dispersion made on-boarding a challenge, complicated by steep client learning curve (company and culture) and unusual account structure. New account team members and especially new hires needed guidance, at 10,000 feet and in detail.

Solution: To help teams ramp up quickly, develop comprehensive on-boarding presentation customizable by office, covering topics ranging from why the agency was hired to client’s highly complex marketing infrastructure. Conceive and create the presentation (collaborating with agency’s design studio), supervise its worldwide distribution, brief teams across US.

Impact: Presentation’s popularity led HR to make it mandatory online orientation. Was instrumental in rapidly on-boarding new teams in 25+ countries, giving them running start to successfully serve client. Agency eventually won entire global business, locking out competitor agency that had shared the account.
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Marketing to Marketers, Driving Results

Role: Provide strategic counsel to new head of relationship marketing (RM) at Fortune 100 tech giant, who had undertaken unpopular worldwide agency consolidation to drive RM consistency and results.

Challenge: Drive marketing employees to client’s session at largest internal conference (12,000+ global participants). Previous year, client spent $2k on small local agency that blasted all attendees (marketers or not) with promo e-mails.

Solution: Develop picture-perfect RM e-mail campaign with 3,000+ global marketers as audience. Use RM best practices like list segmentation and subject line testing to show thought leadership and value of working with experienced global agency. Review campaign and results at session to reinforce learning and messages. Go from concept to launch in five weeks.

Impact: Session attendance doubled from previous year, with extremely positive evaluations from a traditionally tough crowd. Client had increased promo spend 1,000%. More impact: Designed follow-on internal communications program for 5,000+ global marketers at client’s request, with $1MM+budget.
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Demonstrating One Division’s Business Impact

Role: Provide strategic communications counsel to Chief Learning Officer at Fortune 200 tech company.

Challenge: Help learning division strengthen reputation among executives and teams alike with internal annual report to 30,000+ worldwide employees. Previous year’s report developed by multiple staff members overwhelmed with competing priorities, and it showed.

Solution: Create crisp, eye-catching and highly skim-able report laser-focused on core messages to key stakeholders. Interview CLO and senior staff to pinpoint needed perception changes. Gather, analyze and synthesize data from ~20 team members. Supervise outsourced graphic designer.

Impact: Exceptionally positive feedback from within learning division and the company, including highly discerning country leads worldwide. Project completed on time and on budget with minimal client oversight and maximum satisfaction, leading to client adding external B2B communications to project portfolio.
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Improving B2B Sales by Improving Communications

Role: Develop sales communications strategies for B2B sales operations director at major wireless carrier.

Challenge: Fix “broken” communications to 500+ B2B sales personnel across the US, and provide strategic and tactical counsel after departure of B2B division communications manager.

Solution: Provide end-to-end, channel-wide strategy: audit all current communications; conduct extensive first-person interviews with sales teams and managers in multiple markets; perform gap analysis based on stated business objectives and team feedback; recommend corrective action and year-long communications plan.

Impact: Client gained valuable insights into field’s needs and an action plan to meet those needs while achieving business goals, including reducing sales team turnover.
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Equipping National Retail Store Teams to Sell

Role: Develop sales communications strategies for retail channel leadership at major wireless carrier.

Challenge: Help drive retail sales by re-engineering store team meetings for consistent nationwide information flow and messaging impacting 10,000+ employees.

Solution: Develop results-driven meeting materials based on defined goals and objectives. Based on input from leadership, create strategic framework for monthly and quarterly meetings, daily updates. Craft contents of leader’s guide and participant handouts. Collaborate with external agency to distinctively brand all materials within corporate guidelines. Coordinate delivery to 2,000+ stores. Design store manager survey. Go from concept to launch in six weeks.

Impact: New sense of cohesion, control of message and improved performance among retail leadership; consistent 90%+ store manager satisfaction.
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“Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Learning Program and Team Awards 2009-2014

ORGANIZATION / CATEGORY DESIGNATION

ASTD Excellence in Practice

Technical Training Award
Training Management Citation (for new programs)
Learning Technology Citation
Workplace Learning & Collaboration–Leadership Development (x2) Award, Citation
Workplace Learning & Collaboration–Onboarding Citation
Sales Enablement Citation

Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning

Best Custom Content Gold
Best in Learning Strategy and Governance Gold
Best Leadership Development Program Gold
Best Innovation in Learning Technology Silver
Best Leadership Sales Training Silver
Best Integration of Learning and Talent Management Bronze
Best Use of Games for Learning Bronze

Brandon Hall Technology Excellence

Best Advance in Social Learning Technology Gold

CLO Magazine Learning in Practice

Technology Innovation Gold, Division 1
Innovation Gold, Division 1
Business Impact Gold, Division 2
Business Impact Bronze, Division 2

 

Learning Organization Ranking Awards

ORGANIZATION / AWARD NOTES

American Society for Training & Development

ASTD BEST #1 (up from #32 in one year)
#2 (up from #37 in two years)

ELearning! Media Group

Learning! 100 #1 (first year on list)

Chief Learning Officer Magazine

LearningElite #1, #4

Training Magazine

 Training Top 125 #1, #2 (up from #41 in one year)
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