"Arcane phrases laced with undecipherable, coined acronyms described nebulous product features in a mélange of serif and sans-serif typefaces. A bizarre cartoon character with a frenetic grin juggled computer monitors and a cartoon stick world aloft in presumptuous quasi-Atlasian poses.  Yet, there was one real gem buried in the debris."

The first of the Three Big Problems. During a pre-hiring interview, my boss-to-be at IPeria, then Vice President of Marketing, probed for my approach to solving the company's "Three Big Problems." Paramount among these was the need to clarify the company's marketing message. He had been hired only a few weeks before my interview, and was still visibly dismayed at the company's chaotic branding and "look and feel."

Copy and design problems. I eventually discovered perhaps half a ton of unopened cartons containing beautifully printed but obsolete data sheets, brochures, and kit covers in coat closets and several cubicles around the office, all of which I personally carried to the trash. Not only were the writing and design poor, but the material also failed in its primary mission: to present a compelling, current benefits message that could entice a prospect to further investigate the company's product.

Arcane phrases laced with undecipherable coined acronyms described nebulous product features in a mélange of serif and sans-serif typefaces. A bizarre cartoon character with a frenetic grin juggled computer monitors  and a cartoon stick world aloft in presumptuous quasi-Atlasian poses. A potpourri of illustration styles clashed and cluttered the pages. Layouts grew from one to two to three-column formats and back. On the basis of appearance, each piece, each page, each column might have come from different companies. The company had no consistent style...and as a consequence, no Style Guide.

One gem in the debris. There was one gem in the debris. One design asset worth carrying forward -- a distinctive corporate logo that had been designed by an outside boutique agency. However, I quickly learned that despite IPeria's approximately $10,000 investment in this logo, it had never been trademarked and was ripe for piracy.

Lack of benefits messaging. The fundamental question that an organization's marketing communications must answer for a sales prospect is: "How will this product or service make my company more profitable?"  In the telecommunications industry, job one is quality of service; job two is profits. But IPeria's collateral failed to address how IPeria's software would improve a telco's service or generate incremental profits. The company's tagline, "Changing the way the world communicates," was not only a cliché, unfortunately, it was also being used by at least one competing company!  

My assignment. It was no surprise when the first of the "Big Three Problems" assigned to me by my new boss was to develop entirely new branding, messaging and "look and feel" scheme for IPeria. 

RESULTS. 

Copyright secured. I  immediately contacted Hale and Dorr, the law firm retained by IPeria, and had them register the corporate logo with the U.S. Patent Office. At least the firm's name was now safe!

Positioning tagline created. With that administrative step out of the way, I tapped a local, brilliant ad agency, (they earned this link!) founded by former colleagues with whom I had worked years before at Kaufman Associates (see my resume). After a number of animated meetings and only a month's time, we had a new tagline, "Upgrade your bottom line," which I immediately submitted for trademark production.

New Look and Feel adopted. A clean new design was cast into working formats for collateral. The design featured two colors, PMS 141 and 241, which my boss subsequently nicknamed, respectively, "butterscotch" and "grape".  A new product name "ActivEdge" and logo, were created, and then approved by senior staff. I immediately submitted them for trademark registration.

Style Guide written. I formalized everything in a Style Guide, which I e-mailed to everyone in the company and posted on the intranet.

Budget maintained. Everything was achieved in less than a month at a total cost to the company of $20,000 -- a fraction of the cost the executive team had expected.

Examples of integrating look and feel into various document formats: