After Ketchum announced a new positioning that marked its evolution from a PR agency to a communications consultancy, the brand identity needed to evolve too. The project started with research into competitors, trends and client needs, followed by interviews with senior leaders, heads of business functions, input from senior creatives and large-scale employee "IMstorms" around the world. I came up with tagline "empathy + intelligence" based on some of the insights about our culture that emerged from our discovery sessions. Our design team created concepts for several taglines, but "empathy + intelligence" was the hands-down winner. It captured our approach to finding solutions and stood out from the competition.
Core assets, a Website redesign and a paid LinkedIn campaign were quickly developed, right on deadline for simultaneous launch parties around the globe. Then the pandemic happened. Suddenly that unusual tagline and head plus heart equation was exactly right for the times. Today it continues to be at the core of the company's culture and is mentioned frequently -- including by job candidates during interviews.