This document announces the unveiling of a new brand and name for APSMA, which will now be called ICON. The name was chosen to represent the brand values and encapsulate the benefits of influence, collaboration, opportunity, and network for members. The rebranding process involved member feedback, focus groups, consultations, and work with a creative agency. The new visual identity and logo are meant to express collaboration and community. Upcoming communications will provide more details on changes and benefits for members under the new ICON brand.

1. 1 June 2017
Welcome to ICON, a new direction and a new brand
You’ve heard about the impending new brand and new name for APSMA. And you’ve read about the
strategic imperatives for doing it. Well, the suspense is over. All of the member feedback, the focus group
workshops, the stakeholder consultations, the strategy discussions and the creative process have all led us
to today. On behalf of the APSMA Board, I am delighted to present to you - ICON - your network for B2B
Professionals. Because the world has changed. You, our members, are changing. You’ve told us you need
and want more. And we’ve responded.
What’s in the name?
We are ICON, because it’s a powerful and evocative name that encapsulates our brand values and sets a
high benchmark for everything we want to achieve and represent, whilst the words that form the acronym –
Influence, Collaboration, Opportunity and Network – perfectly encapsulate the benefits of the association.
Our brand story
We connect the experience of our B2B professionals with opportunities to grow the businesses they work for
and lead. Everything we do has the sole purpose of contributing positively to our members’ careers and
professional growth. Our community continues to evolve – from professional services marketers to a wider
range of B2B professionals – drawing inspiration for best practice and bright ideas across industries.
As a highly engaged community of inspired people, we create an atmosphere that is agile, credible and
social. People come to us to seek inspiration and insightful solutions, to feel empowered and to be
involved. We let our members stand on the shoulders of giants, connecting them with the thinking of
recognised industry thought leaders.
It’s a belief we call ‘combined impact’ and makes us the pre-eminent association in our industries.
Our new identity
The impact individual members can create comes from the strength of our community and being able to
connect with the experience of all our members. The ideas of community, connected thinking and
collaboration to generate impact drive the thinking behind our logo and brand.
The look and feel of our brand is creative, friendly and dynamic, expressing the feeling of collaboration, and
community interaction. Our logo is based on the two shapes of the lower case “I”, the combination of which
reinforces the idea of sharing, collaboration, connections, support and the gathering of people.
Our new visual identity allows us the flexibility to represent the ICON brand in new and exciting ways,
with expressive patterns, imagery and type as well as creating unique applications across digital, social and
print.

2. What’s next?
In the coming weeks and months, you will hear from me about what’s different and what’s going to change
with ICON.
Finally, a vote of thanks…
A project of this scale and quality doesn’t come together easily or quickly. Many dedicated and talented
individuals have helped us to make our biggest change yet in our 24 year history. My sincere thanks go out
to:
• You, our members for participating in our survey and sharing your thoughts
• The Brand Steering Group for driving the project so successfully
• The CMO stakeholder group for your oversight and guidance
• Mr Mumbles for their superior approach, strategic thought and creative genius
Your support of APSMA, from this moment on, known as ICON, is vital. We thank you for your support and
look forward to serving you in new and exciting ways in the future.
Alex Grell

3. 29 May 2017
The Brand Story Part 2…The Next Chapter
The APSMA story has been built over 24 years but the next chapter will see us with a new name and brand.
If you’d like a recap of the story so far, please follow this link…
What are we doing?
Creating a new name, brand and value proposition for the organization that represents B2B professionals in all of
our diversity.
Why are we doing this?
Because the world has changed. You, our members, have changed. You need and want more.
Who’s behind it?
Your Board has led the initiative and the creative genius of www.mrmumbles.com has delivered.
And now for the next chapter …
Together with the creative agency, Mr Mumbles, we explored the essence of our Brand, our DNA…
Our purpose
In a world which is constantly expanding with opportunity and information…

4. We connect the experience of our community to generate impact
Our actions
By connecting in person and through the latest technology – sharing applied skills, offering learning based on
experience and opening ourselves to the expertise of other disciplines…
We create an influential contribution to our members' career
Our tone
With a focus on capability, energy, flexibility and generosity…
We are agile, credible and social
Our inspiration
Reflecting brands which communicate value and benefit, vibrancy and a consumer connection…
We are colourful, fluid but consistent and meaningful
Our community
Celebrating achievement, influence, experience and connectivity…
We stand on the shoulders of giants
Our brilliance
Showcasing our most valuable resource, our members…
We bring our brilliance to life as Connected Thinking
With all of this in mind, Mr Mumbles helped us create two change foci:
Our change conversation:
We aspire to be the association that guides a community of professionals in B2B categories across the
Asia-Pacific. Our work builds respect and confidence so our members can make an influential
contribution that impacts their business and careers.
Our brand change spark:
Combined Impact
In our next email, we will unveil our new brand and visual identity.
Let’s prepare for a bright and energetic future.

5. 17 May 2017
The Brand Story Part 1…The Clock is Ticking…
We start this chapter of the APSMA rebrand story with… “A tale as old as time…”
No, not really, but we really have been thinking about the brand and working on this refresh
for quite some time now.
And the clock is ticking, because the big ‘reveal’ is nearly here. In fact, the next email you
receive will be THE ONE.
But, for now…let’s recap.
What are we doing?
Creating a new name, brand and value proposition for the organization that represents B2B
professionals in all of our diversity.
Why are we doing this?
Because the world has changed. You, our members, have changed. You need and want
more.
Who’s behind it?
Your Board has led the initiative and the creative genius of www.mrmumbles.com has
delivered.
When will it happen?
Turn the page with us…on June 1, 2017.
A lot of questions have been answered but the ultimate question - “What will our refreshed
and rebranded Association be?” - can be answered by looking at what our members told us.
The work undertaken by the creative agency, Mr Mumbles, helped us to clearly define the
new value proposition for the organisation and this has set the direction for the new brand.
We discovered our junior professional members are thought seekers, who are:
• Agile
• Digitally connected
• Skilled researchers of content
We discovered our senior professional members are thought leaders, who are:

6. • Specialists
• Connected through experience
• Contributors of content
We discovered our members want an association that is:
• “Credible”and ‘Consistent’
• Filled with strong, relevant thought leaders
• More progressive, visible and relevant
• A place for sharing real on-the-job skills (not just basic theory)
• A place where they can ask questions that research cannot answer
• A place where they can find a strong value exchange
We discovered the benefits our members are looking for include:
• Mentoring and advice
• Learning and development opportunities
• Career advice
• A strong, credible network
Mr Mumbles also helped us discover that we need a brand that is:
Purposeful, Credible, Reflective but without boundaries,
Engaging, Dynamic, Future-focused and Energetic
Stay with us to see exactly what APSMA will become…

7. 19 April 2017
Meet the experts who have helped shape the next chapter...
We’re moving closer to the end of the rebranding journey for APSMA, and the big ‘reveal’
isn’t far away.
However, before we unveil what will be the culmination of many months of reflection and
creativity (click here for more on the backstory), we wanted to share some more insights
about the journey.
As you know, we’ve consulted members via a survey; we’ve talked at length with chief
marketing officers and we’ve gathered the thoughts and inspiration from our terrific Regional
Committees. We’ve also consulted the experts.
APSMA ran a competitive tender process and ultimately appointed creative agency Mr
Mumbles to take us through the new brand discovery exercise.
Through a series of workshops, interviews and secondary research, Mr Mumbles unpicked
the essence of APSMA and found their way to the core, to the heart of what our members
need and want from their association.
As a result, the Mr Mumbles team identified the pillars that sit at the core of the new brand
and will underpin everything we offer to members. Luckily for us, we also found that the Mr
Mumbles team is pretty patient and clever too.
If you’d like to checkout the brains behind our rebrand, take a look at www.mrmumbles.com.
More coming soon...

8. 5 April 2017
We are compelled to turn the page...
You’ve most likely heard by now that APSMA is turning the page on a new chapter.
We started in 1993 and we’ve come a long way in 24 years but we are focused on the
future.
It’s a future which looks bright... with a fresh look and new name on the way. But before we
get to that, we are taking members on a journey.
Over the last six months, the APSMA Board with the support of a group of Chief Marketing
Officer advisors and consultants have been engaged in a brand planning and stakeholder
engagement process so that the story which is ultimately taken to market is well-considered,
robust in its form and function and which charts a positive future for the association and
delivers real value to you, our members.
In our last “a new chapter” email we spoke of APSMA’s backstory, from 1993 to
now. Today, we’re going to explain “the why”... the key reasons WHY we are rebranding
and why you can be excited about the change...
It’s no secret that the world has changed and keeps changing. Just the fact that professional
services marketers are now sales people, business development professionals,
communicators, bid specialists tell us a lot about why APSMA needs to change.
Our audience – YOU – have changed. You have different skillsets today than you did two
decades ago, and you have different professional development needs and seek broader
networks.
As part of the brand exploration process, we discussed this with senior members of the
profession, and it was clear they felt the same.

9. What do the CMOs say about a change for APSMA...?
• Be more relevant – cater for the diversity of today’s markets professionals – age,
background, location, experience...
• Look outside – seek to involve and learn from others in different markets, perhaps banking,
financial services, insurance and the many other B2B markets; and allow these markets to
learn from our talent pool also
• Teach us new skills and bring us new resources – data and information sources are
overwhelming, help us to identify what we need and what is of value
• Help our people be more valuable and more respected within their firms
• Help us to take our businesses further in a world of rapid change and disruption These are
compelling reasons to refresh, to rethink and renew.
In many areas of APSMA, some of this has been starting to happen organically. For
example, the Shanghai chapter is finding B2B services organisations are now regularly
attending APSMA events and engaging in online discussions. And, there are growing
conversations on social media about the big things affecting us day-to-day.
But, with our rebrand and refocus, we will accelerate this engagement and in doing so write
a new chapter for the association which is much more relevant, more engaging, more
sustainable and of course play a more valuable role for our members.
Please stay tuned and look out for more insights in the next chapter...

10. 29 March 2017
Turning the page on a new chapter for APSMA
Have you heard the news?
APSMA is turning the page on an exciting new chapter.
You, our members, have evolved, as have the organisations for whom you work and the
markets in which you operate. It's only fitting then that APSMA evolves with you. Later this
year, APSMA will usher in a new name and visual identity. You will soon see a new brand -
with a new message and value proposition - which more accurately reflects who we are,
what we do, and the network of professionals we serve across five countries. Over the last
six months, the APSMA Board with the support of a group of Chief Marketing Officer
advisors and consultants have been engaged in a brand planning and stakeholder
engagement process so that the story which is ultimately taken to market is well-
considered, robust in its form and function and which charts a positive future for the
association and delivers real value to you, our members.
But, as with any new chapter, there is a backstory...
This is the first in a series of emails to members explaining the path to the new brand and
visual identity...
Here's the APSMA Story so far.

11. 1993 Launches as the Australian Legal Marketing Association (ALMA), primarily to address
the challenges that marketers in Australian legal firms faced working under a partnership
model. In the years following, legal marketers started to connect the dots with marketers in
other professional services businesses.
2001 ALMA becomes the Australian Professional Services Marketing Association (APSMA)
Still very much the association for marketers working in the legal profession, the appeal of
an Association like APSMA began to extend beyond engineering, with marketers seeking
inspiration on how to help their organisation build stronger client relationships, win more
work, build profile and be competitive.
2002 APSMA extends its membership to organisations outside the legal profession with
marketers inside accounting, engineering, architectural and consultancy companies all
coming together to discuss common issues and to share ideas.
2005 The true role of a “marketer” now broadens across into business development, which
APSMA recognizes and reshape its value proposition to cater for this broader membership
base.
2006 onwards APSMA goes to Asia and becomes the Australasian Professional Services
Marketing Association.
With the rapid expansion of professional services organisations in Asia, APSMA evolved
again to become Asia-Pacific Professional Services Marketing Association by welcoming
members through new chapters in Hong Kong, Singapore and later, Shanghai.

12. A common theme across the years has been the evolution of job titles in professional
services. In 1993 when our association began the founders were all marketers.
Now, almost a quarter of a century later, our members’ job titles have evolved and
diversified to cover business development and sales; communications and public relations;
client insights and experience, customer service and innovation. Today, our members have
diverse yet convergent skills and backgrounds.
In 2017, we are different, yet our core remains the same. We come to APSMA to find our
tribe - a network of like-minded people, market intelligence, solution-focused strategies and
of course, inspiration and motivation. To truly understand what this association means to our
members we spoke to our senior stakeholders. Find out what they said in next week’s
snapshot.