Stein + Partners Brand Activation's 25th Anniversary Section in BtoB Magazine. A road map for identifying and becoming an activated brand.

1. steinbrand.com
Stein + Partners turns 25 with a total focus on…
Brand Activation
Which brands in BtoB do you con- But for CEOs and CMOs who brand activation all the way up to
sider activated – meaning brands make the commitment, there our own brand name. That’s how From Insight
that are “firing on all cylinders”? are profound payoffs. “Activated important we believe the concept
Perhaps not surprisingly, the brands aren’t just the global is for marketing leaders today.” to Activation
brands most frequently cited by poster children – the Apples and “This isn’t an easy business to
Stein + Partners takes a
Googles of the world. When you brand new approach
respondents were Apple, Google, succeed in for 25 years,” Stein
IBM and Verizon. “What was sur- drill into specific industries and notes, “especially given the extent
P
prising,” states Tom Stein, “was sectors, there are actually quite a of change that is ongoing. But we R Newswire was looking
how few brands were cited at all. few. They are all category leaders, have always embraced change. In to significantly evolve its
After the ‘usual suspects’, respon- disruptive challengers or category a lot of ways, we straddled the brand positioning – and in doing
dents were very hard pressed to creators. They all believe in digital divide. The agency started so to establish a platform for
come up with any other names what they are doing with passion growing just as digital was rearing Brand Activation.
T his month, Stein + Partners
Brand Activation (SPBA)
celebrates its 25th anniversary. This
other than a few consumer brands
like JetBlue, Zappos and Amazon.”
and purpose. They are willing
to take risks and strike hard
its head. Our growth since has been
fueled by merging the best tenets
It turned to an agency that has
made Brand Activation its mis-
when opportunity presents itself.
special section in BtoB Magazine According to Stein, these research sion and its mantra, turning
They are relentless, and relent-
is intended to chronicle this results weren’t entirely unexpect- it into an actionable approach
lessly accountable.”
important agency milestone. ed. “When you deconstruct an
Stein points out they also are
“Activated brands that enables brand and business
“We are thrilled to have this ‘activated brand’, there are many
facets. A brand with a clear and all extremely successful. “Look believe in what success. That agency is the newly
named, 25-year-old BtoB expert,
section devoted to SPBA, and
particularly thrilled that clients compelling purpose that is at stock performance and valua- they are doing... Stein + Partners Brand Activation
tions. Look at M&A activity and
have acknowledged our contribu- embraced across the enterprise.
outcomes. Look at the respect
with passion (formerly Stein Rogan + Partners).
A brand with key leadership
tion to their businesses by par-
and functional alignment – earned among analysts and influ- and purpose.” “PR Newswire pioneered the
ticipating in the section,” states commercial news release distri-
C-suite, marketing, sales, IT, encers – and the loyalty earned
Tom Stein, a founding partner of bution industry, and has been
product, HR, customer care. With among customers.”
SPBA and its president and chief the market leader ever since,”
a true belief in the wisdom of its of brand stewardship with the
creative officer. states Tom Stein.
customers. With innovation that Activating brands for propulsive power of digital in all
“As we thought about the section, 25 years…and counting its manifestations. This is what has “But two things had changed,
is integral. And with a belief
though, our thoughts turned from enabled us to be ‘Brand Activators’ and changed dramatically. First,
that marketing can be the brand/ “As we grew up as an agency,”
the past to the future – and we for clients in so many sectors.” PR Newswire’s core vertical mar-
demand catalyst.” comments Moore, “we positioned
decided that instead of looking kets – the public relations and
“It takes a lot for a brand to get ourselves early on and clearly as SPBA Account Services VP Sue
back we wanted to look ahead,” investor relations industries –
it going good, and even more to ‘The Brand Activators.’ As we con- Guerrero adds, “Brand Activation
Stein continues. were in the midst of radical
get it going great,” adds Marianne templated our 25th anniversary, is what we do – and who we are.
evolution. Second, PR Newswire
This look forward began with a Moore, partner and Chief Strategy we wanted to put this positioning It’s what clients want and need.
had rapidly evolved its solution
simple question. Through research Officer at SPBA. “Once you even more front and center – and Given the accelerated pace of
sets, and was offering a new
fielded across social channels, the get it going great, you have to so we re-branded from Stein Rogan business, of competition, of tech-
generation of multimedia and
agency asked this question of senior work even harder to keep it + Partners to Stein + Partners nology, of customer proclivities,
socially-driven products and
marketing executives: going great.” Brand Activation. We elevated brands have to be extremely
(Brand Activation continued on page S20) (Insight continued on page S21)
S19

2. (Brand Activation continued from cover) ties of roaming, messaging and and vertical market campaigns to industries and enterprises it touches.
10
active. They have to project networking. At the center of the help activate the brand. “Mobile
“It’s no surprise to us that
topicality, relevance and energy. mobile communications universe, communications is inherently
Syniverse’s business performance
They have to start and participate the company keeps people con- complex. Syniverse solves the
has been so consistently strong,
in important conversations. They nected today and forges new complexity,” says Stein. “By doing
or that The Carlyle Group
have to optimize their messages connections for tomorrow. so, Syniverse enables mobility
acknowledged that Syniverse
and synchronize delivery of those to play a greater and greater role
“Syniverse was able to crystalize is indeed an activated brand
messages across media, channels, in business and society, all over
its message with concision and when it purchased it this year
markets and countries. And they
have to do it all in real-time.”
clarity,” Guerrero states. With the
the world. That’s Brand Activation
in action.”
for approximately $2.6 billion,” tenetS
tagline “We make mobile work,” Stein summarizes.
Extreme activation the brand was able to communi- As for its own future, Stein states,
Syniverse has put this clear purpose
cate its essence to all key audi- “In life, 25 years old is the point
One of the brands that Stein at the heart of its business and its
ences – and to absolutely align at which the future is boundless. Activated brands:
points to as an activation exem- marketing. It is driving some of
plar is Syniverse, a global leader
its solution focus, its internal en-
the enormous advances in mobile That’s exactly how we feel. At 25, we you know one
in the mobile communications
gagement focus, and its customer/
communications – from mobile see boundless opportunity ahead. It when you see one
prospect engagement focus.”
G
space. For mobile operators, video to LTE to advanced mobile all starts with Brand Activation.” iven its positioning
cable and Internet providers, and Stein has been an agency partner messaging. Along the way, it is and stated purpose as
enterprises in over 160 countries, to Syniverse for four years now, not just activating its brand, it is “Brand Activators,” it’s not
Syniverse simplifies the complexi- and has worked to develop global activating opportunity for the surprising that SPBA is
frequently asked, “How do
you spot an ‘activated brand?’”
According to tom Stein, the
answer is simple and, though
not meant to, may come off
sounding a bit glib:
You know one when you see one.
More specifically, Stein states
that when you delve into a brand
that is “firing on all cylinders,”
there are clear commonalities.
An aligned senior leadership
team with a clear focus and an
absolute sense of the brand’s
and business’s envisioned future
An enterprise-wide under-
standing and internalization of
this focus – and a shared sense
of an exciting future
A set of internal and
customer-facing values that
have passion as an underlying
constant
A deep desire to know what
customers are thinking, to bet-
ter understand what they need,
and to frame everything the
brand stands for in that context
The translation of all the
above into marketing strategy,
product strategy, sales strategy,
customer care strategy, human
resources strategy, CSR strategy
– all of which are in lock-step
alignment
A brand that projects relevance,
topicality and energy – that is not
afraid to take risks, but that avoids
gratuitous behavior at all costs
A brand that believes and
manifests that what it is doing is
authentic and important
A brand that is a starter of
and a participant in important
conversations
A brand that creates value
and makes things better for all
its stakeholders – and not just
by selling them products
A brand that is in demand,
that inspires people, and that
earns respect
S20

3. From Insight to Activation
(Insight continued from cover) Externally, the company needed Another key Brand Activation “With the PR Newswire team as positioning we needed in order to
services to keep pace with the evolu- to activate its brand so that it tenet is a company’s deep desire a more-than-willing partner, we move forward,” Meranus says.
tion and opportunity,” Stein says. would be more readily and to know what customers are were able to deeply probe for
credibly associated with the thinking, to better understand needs and aspirations,” com- The point of activation
Further, the company was enter-
myriad new solutions it now ments SPBA’s chief “The special ‘Brand Activation’
ing the marketing vertical for the
offered. Internally, the company strategy officer, sauce we cooked up came right
first time.
needed to evolve from selling Marianne Moore. from the insights,” Moore
But the company faced hurdles. a basket of products to selling Stein + Partners’ continues. “Specifically, across
“For the most part, we were still holistic solutions. team covered the PR Newswire’s PR, IR and
known as news release distributors. entire waterfront, marketing verticals, everyone
While distribution was and is still Enter Stein + Partners Brand
conducting exten- was seeking deeper, cross-channel
at our core, we had developed Activation (SPBA), which became
sive research with audience engagement driven by
and launched numerous other PR Newswire’s agency of record
internal stakehold- content. But they also realized
platforms and tools that weren’t in early 2010.
ers, market influ- that engagement is hard to
associated with our brand,” says “One of the tenets of Brand Activation encers, thought- come by given the splintering
Rachel Meranus, VP of marketing is that a company needs to have leaders, customers of audiences across so many digi-
and communications at PR tal and social channels.”
an aligned senior leadership team PR newswire’s “engage Opportunity Everywhere” brand and prospects from
Newswire, which is a subsidiary with clear focus and an absolute existing and new
platform derived from SPBA’s insight-driven process. “The Brand Activation Platform
of United Business Media. sense of the brand’s and business’s markets that PR we developed with SPBA, ‘Engage
From a product standpoint, envisioned future,” states Stein. Newswire wanted to enter. “The Opportunity Everywhere,’ focuses
PR Newswire was all dressed up – “PR Newswire absolutely has this what they need, and to frame agency dove in and got to know on how PR Newswire helps orga-
but from a Brand Activation focus, which is job one in activating everything the brand stands for our business incredibly fast, nizations leverage their content
standpoint it had a long way to go. any brand.” in that context. and they helped to articulate the
(Insight continued on page S22)
Congratulations to Stein + Partners
for 25 years of making brands work.
We make mobile work.
Syniverse.com © 2011 Syniverse Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved. Syniverse and the Syniverse logo are registered trademarks of Syniverse Technologies, Inc.
S21

4. (Insight continued from page S21) selling a holistic program to help Perhaps most impressive are What’s more, the campaign has
25
assets in any format – text, mul- companies take their content and conversion rates. Overall, the been honored with numerous
timedia, video – to engage with use our distribution network to campaign has yielded an astounding industry accolades, including B2
the right influencers, the right send that content out into the click-to-lead conversion rate of and ACE Awards, as well as a PRSA
audiences, the right constituents, digital ecosystem, while using our 43%. Seventy-five percent of leads Big Apple Award for Integrated
literally everywhere. That means tools to measure the impact.” are new to PR Newswire. Of note, Communications in B2B.
across the web and social web, as In the view of SPBA’s Moore, the campaign served as entry point
According to Moore, “Brand
well as across traditional chan- Brand Activation is about much to a new market for PR Newswire
Activation starts with better
(the marketing vertical). Results
YeARS
nels,” Meranus adds. more than a positioning or a cam- insights. Once brands have
paign. “It’s a way of thinking received from this market – from
This Brand Activation platform led them, they’re off to the races.”
about a brand, it’s a way of thinking front-end response rates to lead
to an integrated internal/external For PR Newswire, the brand
about a business and it’s a way volume to prospect quality – have
marketing campaign. The “Engage now has the inside track.
that, we believe, the C-suite and also exceeded expectations.
Opportunity Everywhere” campaign
officially kicked off in October senior marketing leadership needs to
Stein + Partners:
2010 at the Public Relations be thinking about their companies.” An agency activated
Society of America (PRSA) annual At age 25, Stein + Partners has
conference. The campaign rolled The point of return many milestones at which to
out across multiple channels, The PR Newswire campaign has look back. the agency straddled
including online display, search, been a success on multiple levels. the “Internet divide” – and
mobile, social, multimedia It has served as a strong inter- has pioneered innovation while
content marketing, trade show nal statement of purpose, and porting key competencies across
marketing and e-direct. It has galvanized the company around the divide in such areas as
continued in earnest ever since. a shared vision. Overall, results brand/account planning, brand
“Importantly, our sales people have been very strong across all stewardship and integrated
and our internal people are now channels utilized. marketing.
speaking differently to custom- More specifically, online advertising SPBA also can look back at
ers and are having different has out-performed industry many of the “disruptively
conversations,” Meranus says. benchmarks by 2.6X. Other channels innovative” brands it has
“They’re not going in and selling have also been strong performers, the PR newswire brand platform has enabled multi-channel campaigns and activated that have gone on
content marketing that have driven brand and demand in the marketplace.
press release distribution, they’re surpassing benchmarks by 3X. to category dominance – from
Blackboard in the education
technology space, to Cars.com
in the online automotive space,
‘PeO’: the new ‘DnA’
to Symbol technologies, the
inventor of bar code technology
that SPBA helped re-position
as the enterprise Mobility
of Brand Activation
Company – setting the stage for
its acquisition by and ultimate
role as part of the Motorola
Solutions business.
‘Paid, earned and owned’ strategies activate integrated marketing campaigns Here are some recent SPBA
highlights:
In 2011, re-branded as Stein +
Partners Brand Activation (from
I s a brand a starter of and
participant in important
conversations? Does it create
media), and the advances in paid
media, which are being driven in
particular by hyper-targeting.
and dramatic acceleration in per-
formance when you take owned
media – provocative, topically
owned media. As cited in a recent
white paper, titled, “Paid, Earned &
Stein Rogan + Partners)
In 2011, launched the
Owned (PEO) Media: Orchestrating
value and make things better relevant content that a brand
Brand Activation network,
“Paid media – an integrated, Opportunity,” SPBA analyzed
for all its stakeholders? Is it in produces – and leverage that in
a global collaborative of
multi-channel campaign – is roughly 50 million paid online ad
demand because it goes farther
marketing services providers
impressions booked for all clients
to meet needs? across industries. Ad impressions In 2011, launched Pivot, a
The answers to these questions that used owned content as a multifaceted provider of brand/
go a long way to defining an catalyst/call-to-action generated marketing research services
activated brand. They also are a 35% higher response rate than
impressions without specific In 2011, named Agency of
the driving force behind the steps
owned-content CTAs. the Year: BtoB Magazine
brands and agencies are taking to
better understand and leverage “Paid, earned and owned media In 2010, named Agency
what Stein + Partners has dubbed each have their own sets of of the Year: the Business
‘PEO,’ or ‘Paid, Earned and characteristics that make them Marketing Association
Owned Media.’ effective in isolation,” Kohnen
says. “But the key to effective
In 2009, named Agency of
SPBA has codified its approach to the Year: BtoB Magazine
synchronization and campaign
synchronizing paid, earned and
performance is putting the content 150 major creative honors
owned media. This approach is
and information needs of the in the past 4 years alone
now integral to its global go-to-
target audience at the center.”
market planning process – and its theLadders capitalized on PeO through extensive social media and content
marketing integration. In 2008, president/chief
clients’ success.
PEO in play creative officer tom Stein
“It’s our foundation, our planning SPBA’s synchronized campaigns inducted into the CeBA
DNA,” says Ted Kohnen, VP of what clients are most used to paid media campaigns, as well for TheLadders, the leading (Creative excellence in
integrated marketing at SPBA. and comfortable with,” Kohnen as in earned media campaign recruitment solution for profes- Business Advertising) Hall
“It’s our going-in philosophy for says. “What’s of note, though, is adjuncts (social media and sional talent, help illustrate an of Fame
campaign structures that generate that hyper-targeting, down to the PR efforts).” effective PEO strategy in action.
optimal results.” In 2008, launched Kilter, the
group and individual decision- PEO as response activator In early 2010, SPBA was named first content marketing practice
Specifically, Kohnen points to con- maker level – is enabling what AOR for TheLadders’ enterprise
In fact, the agency’s data shows specializing in business brands
verging trends – the growing us- we call ‘targeted ubiquity’ at division, which is charged with
an impressive 35% increase in
age of content marketing (owned unprecedented efficiency levels.” marketing to corporate HR and Since 2001, named one of
paid media response when the
media), the ubiquity of the social “What we also have found,” he call-to-action or action catalyst recruiting teams, as well as third- America’s top BtoB agencies
web and social marketing (earned says, “is that there is an additive is brand-generated content, or party recruiters and agencies. every year
(PEO continued on page S23)
S22

5. (PEO continued from page S22) by 67% – exceeding its own goal interest in “Pass- short code participants who
for penetration and share of port” and spike returned to The Ladders’ booth
“The agency’s initial research
market. booth traffic. for gift cards to cover their
for TheLadders found that
“Leading up to luggage fees home.
what the core benefit recruiters Firing on all cylinders the event, we “TheLadders is a strong example
wanted was a solution that could
Kohnen stresses that a PEO-struc- teased the event of Brand Activation that has been
help them find the ‘best fits, fast,’”
tured campaign has a particularly experience and, driven by the interrelationship of
Kohnen says. “They wanted the
high impact when major conferences during the event, paid, earned and owned media,”
most qualified job candidates,
and trade shows are a focal point. everybody was says SPBA’s Tom Stein.
as quickly as possible, to drive
For example, at the 2011 Society talking about it
competitive advantage.” Kohnen continues, “It’s also a
of Human Resource Management in social media,”
The agency also uncovered great illustration of how acti-
(SHRM) Conference, TheLadders Kohnen says.
another key insight: Most hiring vation is triggered by insight,
tasked Stein + Partners with A PeO strategy yielded massive activation for theLadders at This PEO effort
managers have a “picture” in ignited by outstanding and highly
achieving 500 sign-ups for its the Society of Human Resource Management tradeshow. fueled “massive
their minds of what the ideal can- relevant creative across all chan-
newly launched “Passport” solution. activation” for
didates are for different jobs. For nels, and accelerated by a PEO
SPBA created a fully integrated the TheLadders. approach that is tied to specific
example, a senior sales executive
campaign, called “Passport,” that exhibit space at the conference. There were 1,286 Passport success/activation metrics.”
is seen as strong and driven, yet
was built around a two-level, The agency ran several online, sign-ups at SHRM, 157% above
also personable. A senior market-
40x50 jet – TheLadders 747 – social and mobile promotions the goal, as well as thousands of
ing executive is viewed as more
that served as the company’s featuring owned media to drive booth visitors and hundreds of
of a “mastermind,” with the abil-
ity to “think big” while also being
buttoned down and accountable.
Position accomplished,
brand activated
SPBA used these insights to create
one of the most critically acclaimed
PEO campaigns, based on the tagline
“Position Accomplished.”
Congratulations to
Paid media – online and print –
leveraged several personas
that embodied the ideal $100K+
professional talent job managers
have in their minds’ eye when
they start a search, such as “The
Tom Stein
Machine,” a CFO who crunches
P&Ls with ruthless efficiency, and
“The Hammer,” a top sales execu- and
tive who knocks down quotas.
Earned media, specifically social
media, played a significant role Stein + Partners Brand Activation
as well, in the form of branded
Twitter and Facebook pages
for each of the “characters” on
in the campaign, as well as
RecruitLadders ‘social team’
profiles on Facebook, Twitter
and LinkedIn.
25 Years
From an owned media standpoint,
SPBA research revealed the of Innovation, Creativity and
emergence of a new KPI in the
enterprise recruiting space – Service to the Business-to-Business
quality of hire (QoH). The agency,
in turn, developed a series of Advertising Community.
white papers and other assets to
create a body of high-value owned
media around quality of hire.
Your tireless effort and insistence on excellence
“The synchronization of PEO
activity was designed to lift the have netted you 10 Top Agency awards
performance of each channel –
and to lift overall performance,” from BtoB since 2000.
Kohnen states.
And it did. The results of the cam-
paign exceeded all expectations –
both hard “demand” metrics and
As one of your clients, we know why!
brand metrics. SPBA exceeded an
aggressive proforma conversion
goal by 12% and delivered quality
leads at a cost per lead 33% below
projections. In social media,
Your friends at
within six months, SPBA gener-
ated over 7,000 qualified connec-
tions across LinkedIn, Twitter
and Facebook, enabling TheLad-
ders to connect and engage with
highly qualified and targeted
individuals and companies. Most
important of all, TheLadders was
able to drive enterprise revenue
zde_congrats_b2b_x1a_jnr_v3.indd 1 9/29/11 1:59S23
PM

6. Purpose and Passion: the Active Ingredients
Software testing provider uTest accelerates from start-up to sprint
T he world’s largest market- software testers, to app developers, the conversation with the which are really neat ideas, to the The two-pronged approach by
place for software testing and ultimately to consumers and company’s stakeholders. much bigger and more essential Stein – changing the conversation
services, uTest taps into more businesses dependent on the concept of ‘where the best test.’” about uTest’s products and services,
“One of the challenges we threw
than 45,000 quality assurance performance of their applications. while simultaneously positioning
out [to SPBA] was that we wanted a He adds that feedback on the
(QA) professionals in 180 countries. the company as a leader in a new
“The brand umbrella that we had tagline that was more emotionally rebranding from both tester
It started in 2008 based on a category, has paid off, Johnston says.
and customer and prospect
closely-held belief that software communities has been “immediately While still early, the company
testing in a controlled lab envi- and resoundingly positive, and has seen a marked increase in
ronment is insufficient in today’s that’s – in my experience in BtoB – website metrics, particularly
app-driven world. very rare.” stickiness as measured by page
In doing so, uTest embodied views per visit, as well as the
one of the core tenets of Brand Brand activation percentage of repeat visitors, on
Activation as espoused by Stein + gone “wild” the rebranded uTest.com. The
Partners, the agency that recently Another aspect of uTest’s re- launch of InTheWildTesting.com
undertook a significant re-brand- branding was the most elusive at TechCrunch was also immensely
ing project for the software tester. of BtoB goals – category creation. successful based on prospect
According to SPBA, a brand that “We wanted to harness the inherent feedback at the event and growing
believes – and manifests – that value of crowdsourced testing,” engagement post-event.
what it is doing is authentic and Johnston says. “By extending “From a top-line perspective, it
important is well on its way to companies’ software testing out has set us up to expand outside
being an activated brand. ‘in the wild,’ closer to their users, we of functional testing into security,
SPBA helped utest bring its purpose into clear focus through brand positioning,
design, website development and thought leadership. help them launch better products.” load, localization and usability
In September, this aspect of the re- testing – which has a direct, addi-
branding went live with the intro- tive impact on the top line. From
“A brand that built wasn’t big enough to fit five evocative, as opposed to the very duction of InTheWildTesting.com, a tester perspective, it’s been not
believes what it different testing types underneath,” literal, descriptive ‘On-demand which launched at the TechCrunch only great for recruiting, but for
is doing is authentic says Matt Johnston, chief marketing testing,’” he says. “We also needed Disrupt conference. loyalty and affinity within our
officer of uTest. “We needed a something that applied and existing community,” he says.
and important unifying approach.” appealed to both the company’s
The website is a hub for thought
Johnston admits that he was not
is well on its Said another way, uTest needed community of testers, as well as
leadership in the software testing
space. It features analyst and surprised by the results.
way to being an a brand voice which reflected its customers and prospects.”
media reports on In-The-Wild-
activated brand.” purpose and passion. And so, He adds, “It was interesting to
the company engaged Stein + hear testers say, ‘Where the best
Partners Brand Activation. test. That’s terrific because I’m a
top tester.’ So, it’s very aspirational.
In uTest’s case, the company
A purposeful pivot
Flip that around and have a
turned its belief into a radical “When clients come to us, they’ve
conversation with a customer
approach to testing – crowd- recognized the need to pivot – to
who says, ‘That’s where the best
sourced testing – that has turned develop an evolved or different
products and applications are
the market upside down. The idea brand narrative that unlocks
tested. That’s me!’ So, I watch
of allowing a huge community of opportunity,” says Michael Ruby,
two people look at a tagline and
professional testers to test outside creative director of SPBA.
absolutely internalize it to their
the so-called firewall – while For uTest, it was a matter of own situation.”
disruptive to the status quo – communicating the scope
In addition to the new tagline,
has proven immensely successful and benefits of its enhanced
SPBA re-vamped uTest’s brand
with companies that had been offerings – and putting aside
design across all touchpoints, and
wrestling with the problem of any assumptions about its target
re-launched its website to high- IntheWildtesting.com: a hub for thought leadership in the software-testing space.
apps performing differently audiences, Ruby says.
light the company’s new testing
outside the firewall than inside
“You think application develop- services – and to put its purpose
their own QA labs. Testing, along with lessons on “I have worked with Stein three
ers, and you think very technical, front and center.
In fact, in the three years since even wonk-ish. But we did some how such testing complements times, so I knew what to expect,”
“Today, when brands and customers
launch, uTest’s customer base has crowdsourcing ourselves among and enhances in-house QA to help Johnston says, referring to en-
can directly engage in real time
grown to more than 1,000 compa- the target, and found there’s a companies create high-quality gagements with the agency while
via online and social channels,
nies, including AOL, Google and definite emotional aspect. First, applications. It also showcases he was a marketing executive at
purpose is the difference maker
Groupon. business success for most com- the benefits of deploying In-The- both Mimeo.com and OnForce.
in terms of brand storytelling
panies hinges upon getting their Wild-Testing via testimonials and “When Brand Activation is done
Earlier this year, to accelerate its and engagement,” comments
apps right – and right out of the success stories. right, it’s the difference maker,”
growth and take the brand to the Ruby. “Engagement is as much,
next level, uTest unveiled a new gate. Second, the guys who “What’s most important, and he states.
if not more, about why and how
business strategy. The company conceive, make and test apps what comes through all of this
a brand does something as it is With SPBA’s help, uTest has
decided to move beyond its origi- are wired. They’re determined to work, is that stories are told with
about what it does.” graduated from being a start-up
nal focus on functional testing make great apps that will make the real passion of the brand,” brand to one that is sprinting to
their customers happy,” Ruby states. With uTest, that meant elevating
to a full suite of software testing Ruby said. “It’s not phony; there’s global success...actively.
As part of the major rebranding the brand narrative above simply
services, including load testing, true care and real purpose
what it tests, to what it aims to help Johnston says. “My experience is
localization testing, security test- that launched this August, SPBA behind what uTest delivers for its
customers and testers achieve. that Stein raises the stakes, and
ing and usability testing. What changed uTest’s tagline from customers and testers. The voice
delivers.”
remained constant was the com- “On-demand testing” to “Where Johnston says, “We broadened the is entirely authentic because
pany’s passionate belief that its the best test.” Johnston says story from, ‘Oh, it’s crowdsourced we’re speaking with the voice of
model adds value everywhere – to the new tagline helped to change testing, or on-demand testing,’ the customer.”
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7. market drivers are dramatically gives BtoB marketers integrated Founding members of the Brand
changing the content game: access to a broad range of capabil- Activation Network include:
CRM and marketing automa- ities to activate success globally. AAC Global/Interverbum, global
tion platforms have become With SPBA serving as the point- transcreation leaders
ubiquitous. They are voracious of-integration, BAN gives market- B2BMarketing, a leader in
content consumers. ers a single point of access to the data-driven marketing
The Social Web and the shift to best independent agencies and
Bizo, the world’s largest
inbound marketing have content service providers encompassing
business audience marketing
at their roots. most key capability areas:
platform
A need and hunger has Brand strategy, positioning
Kilter, the BtoB content
emerged for information to assist and architecture
marketing leader
Kilter: Content at the in decision-making – and not nec-
BAN: Brand Activation Brand design Middleberg Communications,
essarily from traditional sources
core of Brand Activation goes global one of the premier public
such as media companies.
A
Brand and market research
A
cross the business marketing cross all company sizes and relations firms in B2B
The interconnection and
landscape, the ascendance verticals, marketers are Pivot, the highly innovative
interplay of paid, earned and Integrated, multi-channel
of content to its role as a primary faced with increased complexity brand/market research provider
owned media are entirely reliant marketing
component in the mix is manifest. and attendant service and resource
on content. Stein + Partners Brand Activation
And with this ascendance, the requirements. These requirements Content marketing/thought
need for brands to step up their Add in new content distribution/ may have to do with the range World Media, a leader in global
leadership
capability to deliver an increased engagement technologies and of marketing services required, media planning
quality and quantity of content to platforms, as well as sophisticated with the regions in which these Data-driven marketing According to Stein, “The challenge
fuel their marketing and thought measurement schemas and services are required, or both. companies face is in meeting
leadership machines is ascending platforms, and the opportunity Demand generation widespread and global needs –
“From large to mid-sized to smaller
as well. to differentiate brands, products and how best to do it. They may
companies, most BtoB brands Public relations and investor
and solutions via content comes prefer a centralized marketing
Founded in 2008, SPBA’s Kilter need to integrate a multiplicity of
into clear focus. relations
was among the first content mar- marketing capabilities and also to model, a decentralized model,
keting practices specializing in With Kilter, brands can quickly have a global footprint – whether or a hybrid. They may prefer
Social media and CSR
business brands. Through Kilter, add the bandwidth, capabilities, in a couple of key markets or many to work with agency networks,
brands gain a greatly enhanced processes and structure to markets across all theaters,” states Search engine marketing with best-of-breed providers,
ability to develop content strategy become brand publishers, Tom Stein. or a hybrid.”
and create rich, relevant content and to continually stream Mobile marketing “Through the BAN model, we
In response, SPBA spearheaded the
across social, online, search, mobile, content to constituents and believe we can step up to meet
launch of the Brand Activation Global media planning/buying
viral and traditional channels. receive back streams of insight any need, anywhere in the
Network in June 2011. BAN is a
and opportunity. world,” Stein continues.
While branded content has been collaborative of best-in-category Global transcreation and
on the scene for many years, key marketing service providers that fulfillment
This year, you won 33 ACE Awards.
Frankly, we’re getting kind of tired of congratulating you.
The Business Marketing Association New York Chapter extends its heartfelt congratulations
to Stein + Partners for 25 years of success, and for its continued support of the BMA-NYC.
www.bmanyc.org
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8. Brand Activation isn’t
just what we do.
It’s who we are.
Over the past 25 years, Stein Rogan + Partners has activated B2B and
prosumer businesses to drive both brand and demand.
now, we’re ushering in our second quarter-century with a new name that’s
reflective of our laser focus on what we do best – Brand Activation.
Stein + Partners Brand Activation’s new name comes with an even stronger
commitment to activating clients’ brands and businesses globally – to accelerating
awareness, driving demand, creating momentum and positioning them to
capitalize on opportunity.
Gain and leverage deeper insights. Innovate, excite and engage with inspired and
inspiring creative. Create and syndicate rich, relevant content. Synchronize and
optimize paid, earned and owned media. Activate your brand with SPBA.
See Brand Activation in action at steinbrand.com
2011 BtoB Magazine Agency of the Year | 2010 BMA Agency of the Year
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