stratfor global intelligence brand initiative proposal 24 june 2011
TRANSCRIPT
STRATFOR Global IntelligenceBrand Initiative Proposal 24 June 2011
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Agenda
• Your challenge to us• How we’d approach this initiative• Timing and cost estimates• About T3
Your Challenge to Us
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Create a clear STRATFOR brand
To have a working brand strategy and actionable brand plan that is:– Differentiating– Compelling– Focused on market intelligence as core– Encompassing of culture, value, benefits, offerings– Informative to business trajectory– Viable globally
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What success looks like
“We are a global market intelligence brand.
We want to dominate the business class through our political insight.”
• The STRATFOR brand stands on its own– Lesser derivative brand equity– Greater internal and market clarity around STRATFOR’s mission, value and positioning– Decreased reliance on Dr. Friedman
• It has appeal and resonance with a larger addressable universe– Increased awareness, consideration in key markets– (No direct attribution) Newsletter subscriber growth across individual and enterprise
accounts– (No direct attribution) Increased daily traffic to the website
How we’d approach this initiative
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Overview of our approach
Target profiling & sizing Brand audit Brand architecture
developmentCommunications
briefCampaign
development
Campaign deployment & optimization
STRATFOR re-evaluates
STRATFOR re-evaluates
STRATFOR re-evaluates
STRATFOR re-evaluates
STRATFOR re-evaluates
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Target profiling and sizing
Key activities: Review existing data on subscribership Analysis of STRATFOR’s subscriber survey data Analysis of MRI reporting on target and sizing
Desired outputs: Dimensionalization of
US current and prospective target audiences
Sizing of addressable universe
Because it all starts with your readership, in this phase we’ll look to develop a thorough demographic and psychographic crystallization of your current U.S. target audience. Based on this, we’ll be in a position to be able to project the size of your addressable prospect universe (and thus the domestic opportunity for STRATFOR). This phase is the most critical, as it will serve as the foundation for this brand initiative. Additionally, this synthesis may also provide a vital input into determining if the opportunity size meets your business growth expectations.
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Brand audit: internal
Key activities: Interviews (Dr. Friedman, analysts, sales/affiliates, other
staff, individual subscribers and rejecters, enterprise licensees and rejecters, partners/publishers and rejecters)
Incremental scope: In-market qualitative focus group research (see next slide)
Review current financial modelling and product development Review guiding principles for website redesign
Desired outputs: Synthesis of internal
perspective on current brand, and brand opportunity
We begin our brand audit by speaking with as varied a sample of the brand’s stakeholders as possible — it is these people who ascribe meaning and value to STRATFOR as it currently exists. This allows us to get a firm grasp on current and perceived benefits, challenges and opportunities that are uniquely possessed by STRATFOR. The brand audit is a two-part effort that marries the internal discovery with an evaluation of the market landscape (brand audit: external).
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Brand audit: internal - research
Key activities Option 1: Informal focus group (single market/NYC)
6–8 participants with a mix of subscribers and rejecters in a location where all interested parties sit in an informal roundtable setting
T3 develops screener, solicits participants and provides incentives, creates discussion guide, moderates, and provides transcription, video and report
Anticipated hard costs: $3,000
Option 2: Traditional qualitative focus group (single market/NYC)
Third-party partner provides turnkey, full service solution Anticipated hard costs: $9,000
Desired outputs: As described
The research proposed in this phase would focus primarily on individual/enterprise subscribers and rejecters. Informal setting allows for interaction between the client and the participants, and costs are lower, however a traditional focus group setting makes participants feel more open about what they can say because the stakeholders are not in the same room.
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Brand audit: external
Key activities:
• Identify known and probable competitive set, validated against:
Third-party research tools e.g., Quantcast, Nielsen, Compete, etc.
Upstream and downstream website traffic (referring and adjacent content affinities, keyword searches)
• Competitive analysis, SWOT
Desired outputs: Brand synthesis and
distillation Refinement/iteration
and alignment
We marry our internal brand audit with a robust look at the market landscape, to give us a steer on the “real” competitive set, and what opportunity areas begin to surface for STRATFOR to own.
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Brand architecture development
Key activities:
• Develop, articulate and refine: Key differentiator(s) Brand promise Functional benefits Emotional benefits Brand positioning Messaging pillars
Desired outputs: Validated brand
framework Assessment of non-
communications implications
Once we have agreed upon key strengths and opportunities for the brand based on the audit, we can then begin to paint a more detailed picture of the STRATFOR brand. We’d also recommend validating the working brand framework through research to ensure that the directional brand resonates with your audiences in the U.S. and globally. As an outcome, we may find that the brand refinement has implications on the existing business model (e.g., overseas opportunity, new product ideation). In this case, we would advocate a separate work session, which would be scoped and priced separately from this initiative.
• Validate working brand framework: Qualitative focus group
testing in U.S. and key English-speaking markets (see next slide)
Brand framework refinement based on results
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Brand architecture validation
Desired outputs: As described
To validate brand architecture, T3 recommends qualitative research that allows for smaller samples in disparate locations by doing focus groups via video conferencing or qualitative research conducted through custom-built research bulletin boards. Both types of qualitative research are professionally moderated and hard costs include screener development, recruiting/incentives, discussion guide development, moderation, and reporting. Both allow for inclusion of a small group of English-speaking international participants.
Option 1: Qualitative focus groups using TelePresence Recommend 4 groups with 7 participants each (2 with subscribers/2
with non-subscribers) Split subscribers and non-subscribers into separate groups Split participants in each subset into the following locations:
1 group with 3 participants from NYC and 4 participants from one additional U.S. City
1 group with 3 participants from NYC and 4 participants from London, or an alternative English-speaking overseas city
Anticipated hard costs: $40,000 2 subscriber groups, 2 non-subscriber groups
Note: TelePresence video conferencing provide the platform to research respondents in multiple locations
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Brand architecture validation
Desired outputs: As described
To evaluate brand framework, T3 recommends qualitative research that allows for smaller samples in disparate locations including focus groups via video conferencing or qualitative research conducted through custom-built research bulletin boards. Both types of qualitative research are professionally moderated and hard costs include screener development, recruiting/incentives, discussion guide development, moderation, and reporting. Both also allow us to include a small group of international participants.
Option 2: Qualitative bulletin board Recommend 4 groups with 7 participants each
Qualitative bulletin boards set up for participants; professionally recruited and moderated
Conducted much like a traditional focus group, but discussion guide is revealed a few questions at a time and participants do not see responses of others in the group until after they respond
Split subscribers and non-subscribers into separate groups No travel costs for T3 or STRATFOR teams
Anticipated hard costs: $24,000
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The communications brief
Key activities:
• STRATFOR/T3 working session to agree: Target, markets, campaign budget, timing Go to market plan Test strategy Campaign success metrics
• Develop and finalize communications brief
Desired outputs: Approved
communications brief Go/no-go on ex-U.S.
efforts
At this point, we are ready to make the redefined brand tangible. The communications brief (directing media and creative efforts) is the guiding document that allows T3 to begin to create a brand campaign for STRATFOR, and contains all the necessary information for the agency to commence development. At this point, it is imperative that we align and lock on campaign target, budget, success metrics and timing. If STRATFOR wish to deploy an international campaign, at this point we will need to determine countries and engage T3’s local partners in those geographies (scoped and priced separately; see “About T3” for information about the network one).
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Campaign development
Key activities:
• Media topline, media recommendation, media plan• Creative concepts, campaign iteration
– Note: Creative deliverables priced separately once identified
Desired outputs: Approved U.S.
campaign Approved ex-U.S.
campaign(s), if applicable
In collaboration and in parallel, our media and creative teams will provide STRATFOR with recommendations on campaign specifics, including best-fit media properties and formats, and advertising campaign creative. (Any work on internal STRATFOR properties (e.g., website and e-mail redesign) will be scoped and priced separately.
If this initiative requires an international deployment, our partner agency(ies) from the network one will also be engaged with us to ensure the most resonant transcreation of our campaign in their market(s).
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Campaign deployment and optimization
Key activities:
• Brand campaign in-market• Brand tracking study (e.g. Insight Express, Dynamic
Logic, ComScore if digital)– Note: Brand tracking study priced separately once
appropriate platform / methodology is selected
• Weekly and monthly reporting and creative/media optimization
Desired outputs: As described
The final step, of course, is to go to market with the STRATFOR brand initiative. T3 will launch the new brand effort, and ensure rigorous tracking in order to be able to fine-tune the campaign’s media and creative elements to their fullest potential. We also recommend engaging a third party to conduct a pre- and post-hoc brand study, so that we can objectively determine that in addition to the campaign “working,” that the new STRATFOR brand itself is resonating with our key audiences.
Recap: overview of our approach
Target profiling & sizing Brand audit Brand architecture
developmentCommunications
briefCampaign
development
Campaign deployment & optimization
STRATFOR re-evaluates
STRATFOR re-evaluates
STRATFOR re-evaluates
STRATFOR re-evaluates
STRATFOR re-evaluates
Timing and cost estimates
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T3 charges a fee for service against an agreed scope of work. Our time is all that you pay for. There is no mark-up on production, media, travel or hard costs, ever.
While this engagement would be led from our Austin headquarters, STRATFOR will have access to talent and resources in all three of our offices. Because our offices operate with a single P&L, we can cast T3 talent to the project's needs, regardless of location.
How we’d work
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A preliminary estimate on investment
Phase Agency Fee Hard Costs* (if any)
1: Target Profiling and Sizing $53,000 -
2: Brand Audit $75,000 $3,000 - $12,000
3: Brand Architecture Development $175,000 $24,000 - $40,000
4: Communications Brief Development $44,000 -
5: Campaign Development $220,000 -
6: Campaign Deployment and Optimization $98,200 -
Subtotals $665,200 $27,000 - $52,000
TOTAL ESTIMATED INVESTMENT $692,200 - $717,200
Tool Kit Materials
58% (1,910 hrs) Logo & ID
18% (590 hrs)
Discovery9%
(300 hrs)
Research & Comms Plan11% (380 hrs)
Based on what we know today, we anticipate that an assignment of this nature would require an overall investment of $692,200 – $717,000, about 4–7% of which would go into pass-through hard costs. The agency fee assumes various rates by role. The pie chart illustrates the level of effort and the percentage of budget committed within each phase.
Note: Media planning and implementation labor considered in Phase 5: Campaign Development is based on a $1.5 MM – $3.0 MM media buy.
Phase 1: Target Profiling & Sizing
7%12%
30%
6%
31%
14%
Phase 2: Brand Audit
Phase 3: BrandArchitectureDevelopment
Phase 4: Communications Brief Development
Phase 5: CampaignDevelopment
Phase 6: Campaign Deployment & Optimization
Timeline
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Stratfor Milestones
T3 Research, Analysis, and Definition
T3 Brand and Communication Development
1w 2w
Brand architecture development5w
Develop, articulate, refine2.5w
July 2011 August 2011 September 2011 October 2011 November 2011 December 2011 January 2012 February 2012
T3 Campaign Development and Optimization
Target profilingand sizing
Brand audit(Internal)
2w
Brand audit(External)
Validate working brand framework
2.5w
2w
Develop and finalize communications brief
Media planning 6 – 8 w
Campaign development(Concept creation and presentation) 5w
Campaign production* (Execution of campaign deliverables) 5w
12W
Campaignoptimization
Campaign deployment 2 – 3 w
Mid-July re-evaluate
Early August re-evaluate
Early Octoberre-evaluate
Mid-Octoberre-evaluate
End of Novemberre-evaluate
About T3
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We find smarter ways to connect people and brands.
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We work collaboratively: a fusion of strategy, creative, technology, media and measurable proof.
About us
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170+ thinkers. Independent since 1989.
$313MM capitalized billings.
57 on Ad Age’s largest agency list.
17 among independent agencies.
Top 100 Agency
What we do
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Strategy
Social
Branding
Mobile
Digital
Media
Websites
Analytics
Video
Rich
Media
Our clients
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• An unconventional, yet practical alternative to a traditional multinational network
• Custom-builds international agency networks — on demand, thus affording speed, agility and flexibility
• 330+ agencies in 65 countries• Net fee income $1bn• Media billings $6bn• Multi-award winning agencies
We are a member of the network one
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Partner agencies on demand Albania Algeria Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Belarus Belgium Brazil Bulgaria Bosnia Canada Chile China Colombia Costa Rica Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark
Ecuador Egypt Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Ireland Israel Italy Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kuwait Latvia Lebanon Lithuania
Macedonia Malaysia Malta Mexico Moldova Morocco Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nigeria Norway Oman Pakistan Panama Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Romania Russia Saudi Arabia
Serbia & Montenegro Singapore Slovakia Slovenia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Tajikistan Thailand Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States of America Uruguay Venezuela Vietnam Uzbekistan
Agency in-market Managed from
another country
Thanks.
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www.T-3.com
Lee GaddisChief Operating Officer
O: 512.721.1340M: 512.203.6309