Business Foundations. When additional facts are needed, we can conduct a more extensive assessment of the business situation. This classic study is designed to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, as well as buying dynamics and industry patterns.

Emotional Inquiry. Traditional research methods do not get all the answers our clients seek. Our unique approach addresses the essential emotional drivers behind decisions and behaviors to answer both strategic and tactical questions. This powerful method is particularly effective in situations where the client has tried other methods with little success.

Accelerated Work Session. Our work sessions are designed to accelerate planning, jump-start branding programs, energize a management team, build consensus among the group and inspire fresh thinking. Typically, these sessions are extremely effective at refining points of view and narrowing the field of opportunities. The first part of an accelerated work session is typically devoted to interpreting discovery findings, clarifying a brand promise and deciding the high-level strategy. During the second portion of a session, the team will focus on developing a recommended course of action with clear responsibility assigned for implementation. This approach is successful addressing more complex issues and building consensus among larger groups.

Brandbook. This visually-oriented magazine-style document is frequently used to present the project results to other key audiences including boards, other management groups, employees, investors, ad agencies and design firms. This document can be designed to present historic patterns of success, illustrate environmental drivers, visualize notable competitive activity, encapsulate primary brand guidelines, model expected brand behaviors and describe the desired future state. This document can help all constituents understand where the brand has been, why it has succeeded, where it is going and how it plans to get there. The Brandbook can be a powerful way to guide the organization.

Appreciative Inquiry. When the focus is on key internal constituents (such as employees, partners and investors) this confidential study may be appropriate. By focusing on what works well and why, our appreciative approach can clarify underlying issues and identify patterns of success.

Contextual Inquiry. Observing people where they work and live is the ideal starting point for many projects. Our two-week deep-dive approach is designed to uncover the actual real-world behavior of customers. This technique provides a rich source of insight for new product development, service enhancement or any situation where expected target audience behavior doesn't align to actual behavior.

Executive Summary. This classic document blends the discovery findings and the session conclusions with Brandtrust's recommendations. It is an easy-to-consume collection of the project findings and outcomes.

A practical application. The overall process involves four distinct phases that include multiple elements. This modular breakout allows us to create customized programs that are tailored to the needs of each client while maintaining the efficiencies of a proven process.