Demulen, a combination estrogen and progestin oral contraceptive was a well-established, under-resourced and undifferentiated brand in a very competitive category. And in a perceived parity-based market, it lacked any singularly unique attribute or benefit. It also lacked the clout of Johnson & Johnson's Ortho Division, the overwhelming market leader.

Differentiation had to happen by creating a persona that would stand apart from the highly technical, detail-oriented pharmaceutical ads to physicians. Demulen needed to establish an emotional connection to the consumer while avoiding the cliché of most contraceptive ads. The creative centered on the relatively straight-forward mechanism of action of all oral contraceptives: They work by stopping a woman's egg from fully developing each month; the egg can no longer accept a sperm and fertilization is prevented.

Ownership of the very simple core category benefit was obtained with an irreverent and unexpected communications approach: We illustrated the mechanism of action in a way that captured the spirit of the drug - playful, straightforward and effective. Awareness skyrocketed and new prescriptions grew 19% within the first six months of the campaign's launch.

A brand with 99% household penetration in the U.S., Dove is a jewel in the Unilever crown. But when it came to extending the brand to the beauty category - to launch a line of face care products - Dove faced the same problems as any new brand. Dove was looking to build on its inner beauty equity so it could successfully compete in the marketplace where promises of transformation and outer beauty are the price of entry.

To solve the problem, research uncovered that many women are put off by the implications of transformation. Women don't want to look flawless. In fact, what some might call flaws, are what many women consider characteristic of their unique beauty.

This insight was the foundation of a launch campaign designed to disrupt the category. It asked women "What's you beauty mark?" and gave women reason to celebrate their unique beauty, their Real Beauty. It repositioned the empty promises of transformation from other brands as fake beauty. Thus, it established that Dove was now the trademark for this genuine, lasting beauty. The strategy was contagious. It went on to inspire the development of an interactive global corporate campaign celebrating the real beauty of women.

Evista, a selective estrogen receptor modulator for osteoporosis launched by Eli Lilly and Company, brought forward a new theory to the therapeutic category: prevention as the cornerstone of women's health. It also brought forward a new way of working for the company: functional alignment. Lilly sought to develop a global strategy that would be embraced by affiliates, and a process to ensure that all functional groups executing pre-launch or launch tactics united around it.

Evista's innovative therapeutic offering and the emotional benefit of "the preservation of the strength of women" were the building blocks of the brand strategy. We began with this foundation, developed it with the cooperation of regional affiliates, and together built a multifaceted, flexible communications program. We delivered collaborative strategy via a pre-launch kit and a launch brand book. The flexibility built into the materials allowed all constituents to access and adapt the strategies and program elements they needed to accomplish their local goals.

As a result, all functional groups adhered to the strategy. In doing so, all centrally or locally developed clinical curricula, pre-launch publication plans, pre-market conditioning campaigns and launch communications were completed aligned and on strategy. Evista proved the importance of the strength of women. It also proved the strength of integrated communications.

Humalog, a rapid acting insulin created by Eli Lilly and Company, offered new hope to people with diabetes to successfully manage their disease. It also offered a new hope to the company to achieve the promise of global branding. Lilly was looking for not only a global brand built from the ground up, but also a process to ensure that the global affiliates would embrace it.

We conducted global research in key European and U.S. markets and learned that universally, people with diabetes are "invested" in whatever insulin regimen they currently follow. We came to understand that to overcome the inertia created by established therapeutic patters, the concept of flexible insulin administration would have to resonate rationally and emotionally with both professionals and patients.

Thus, the symbol of the therapy and the brand became of prime importance. It was arrived at through a unique qualitative exploratory conducted in the U.S. and Europe. To cover the full range of functional and emotional propositions, five symbolic systems were tested. The one that rose to the top in all major global markets - a flexible human form that could change shape to suit the circumstance - was selected. This process validated the strategy and its expression, and ensured that affiliates would embrace it and launch it with confidence.

The "Wireman" icon for the new brand proved to be the perfect symbol of a brand that fits the real life of patients - and the real life of global affiliates, who adapted the materials delivered in the Humalog global brand program to stage successful launches in the respective markets.

The Inova Health System is the dominant healthcare provider in Northern Virginia and the area's largest employer behind the Federal Government. Changes in the local healthcare environment (cost containment, nursing shortages, ageing population, encroaching competition, etc.) forced this cornerstone of the community to reconsider and redefine its value proposition. Furthermore, the Inova brand promise needed to be relevant to six diverse primary audiences (physicians, clinical staff, administrative staff, consumers, community leaders and donors.)

In depth research revealed that the equity of Inova was strong but inconsistent across its 33 facilities and across all service lines. Nor had the equities that rose to the top coalesced to create an image or identity for the higher "System" level.

Our task was to create a unique and differentiated multi-dimensional brand that would function not only as a product and service brand, but as an employment brand, a philanthropy brand and a corporate brand as well.

The cornerstone of the new position rested in the unique experience - a feeling of enduring, positive change - that arises from the combination of the system's resources and the quality of care provided by each of the passionate individuals who work at Inova. A new identity and image campaign entitled "Agents of Change" launched across all major media outlets in the Washington DC and Northern Virginia markets. As a result, not only patients, but employees, physicians, donors, all members of the community, understood how Inova helped them realize a (personal or physical) change for the better.

While the award-winning "Priceless" advertising campaign defined a new heart and soul for the brand and gave consumers a new reason to consider the value of MasterCard, the corporate brand remained undefined and lacked emotional appeal. MasterCard's business-to-business communications needed to be energized with the same emotional relevance as the "Priceless" campaign. Those communications would be used as part of the association's on-going efforts to establish itself as the global payments industry leader. Target audiences included member banks, merchants, and businesses that rely on electronic payments processing.

An audit of MasterCard's corporate and business-to-business materials revealed a significant disconnect between how the company wanted to be perceived and the way the company portrayed itself. MasterCard celebrated the value of human transaction to the consumer, but to professional audiences it positioned itself, its products, and its services as the star attractions rather than focusing on the customers.

We concluded that MasterCard wanted to be known as the company that forged authentic partnerships, putting customers and their needs ahead of its own. In almost every respect, this insight was parallel to the highly successful "Priceless" consumer insights.

Internal training and communications programs were developed to help MasterCard reorient its approach. Overnight, the customer and their business relationships became the centers of attention. Instead of communications describing how products worked, they focused on how they helped customers improve their business. The Ôwins' that MasterCard helped provide were recognized and from then on, described through the eyes of the customer.

Post-launch tracking research among member banks demonstrated that MasterCard became more of a trusted advisor dedicated to their customer's success rather than a provider of global payments solutions.

Penguin Computing, a San Francisco-based provider of high performance Linux computing systems and software, came to Big Arrow looking for a differentiating position and brand identity.

We learned that Linux, the open source computing platform, not only offers great freedom to its users, but stokes their passion for computing. But when it came to enterprise computing, these same IT professionals were unable to achieve the same sense of enjoyment at work: Fortune 500 companies avoided Linux for their most critical applications because of the perception that it is labor intensive to implement and maintain. The passion that had originally attracted them to computing was not available at work.

Enter the Penguin.

Penguin Computing, unlike its competitors, offers turnkey hardware and software solutions, backed up with 100% Linux focused support. This allows Penguin Computing's customers to enjoy immediate success with Linux and restore their passion for computing at work.

This was the basis for the new brand strategy that encourages IT professionals in Fortune 500 companies to put the benefits of Linux to work for their businesses and get back to loving what they do. These print ads, a radical departure from the "hardware catalog" look of the category, signal that Penguin Computing offers something unique.

Philips Electronics, one of the top electronics companies in the world, quadrupled the size of its medical products division with the acquisition of Agilent Technologies, ATL, ADAC, and Marconi. At the time, many medical professionals were unaware of the Philips brand. What recognition they had was limited to technological superiority and ease of use.

Research uncovered that Philip's current positioning was not relevant to the true purchase of high-end medical equipment, the hospital administrator. A solution was needed to address the overriding concerns of clinicians with the needs of the economic buyer.

An insight emerged upon which the new brand was built: although most high-end medical equipment provided information, it was the clinician's skill (elevated with Philip's innovative technology and ease-of-use) that provided more actionable information faster and more efficiently. This argument provided clear economic benefits for the purchaser.

Equities from each of the new divisions were united under the existing Philips promise. "Let's make things better." A global corporate campaign communicated a commitment to not only improve healthcare, but also to improve the economics of its delivery. Major technological and clinical benefits were explained and made relevant to the economic buyer.

Today, Philips is challenging GE for leadership across a variety of categories and has successfully integrated each of the acquisitions under the Philips name and brand. It has achieved #1 or #2 positions in cardiac monitoring, diagnostic imaging and ultrasound.

For most of its modern history, W.R. Grace focused on individual products and business units rather than the corporate brand. This "holding company" approach - coupled with high profile environmental events - left outsiders with a distorted view of Grace. Customers, communities, regulators and politicians had an incomplete and oftentimes distorted picture of what Grace was and the value it brought to everyday life.

Grace was determined to strengthen its image and sought our guidance on how to transition its brand from that of a holding company to a modern, vibrant industrial entity. Our initial focus was the Grace name. By determining the value of the name and its potential to add or detract from the brand's image, we began to define an architecture, create a single voice for the brand, and develop a strategy to establish Grace as a leader in materials science.

We investigated Grace's reputation among its many stakeholders. We reviewed Grace's communications and plans. We studied competitor materials and media. We documented cases from other corporations who faced similar situations (name change, bankruptcy, crises). We conducted significant quantitative and qualitative research with customers and employees across Grace in North America and Europe.

The findings were compelling: Grace was a mark worth retaining. Thanks to its product portfolio, it is associated with performance and quality. Thanks to its people, it is associated with professionalism and service. We recommended a newly relevant position and value proposition for the Grace corporate brand, one that capitalizes on its current associations and leverages the individual equities of its business units to fill the void inadvertently created by its prior holding company focus.

As a result, the name of Grace lives and is being reinvigorated with a sense of higher purpose and pride.