Turn on the videosYouTube was a vital medium for Obama's campaign and continues after inauguration. The weekly presidential address, traditionally on radio, is now a video released on YouTube and also on the White House website.
Not many corporations have used the internet to support a rebranding, but when the 2007 ArcelorMittal merger created the world's largest steel company, it was necessary to quickly create a dialogue with 330,000 employees in 60 countries to allay concerns and maintain focus on the business during the five months required to build and launch the new brand. The web played a key role, hosting ArcelorMittal.tv -- a series of 12 films featuring employees raising questions/concerns about the merger, the new company's mission, and business strategies going forward. Management addressed questions in a blog accompanying each video episode. The video series is available on YouTube for the public as well, and it has been downloaded at the rate of 15,000 per day.
Lighten things upObama's campaign was notable for its sense of humor, in many cases forcing his opponents onto the late night talk show circuit to their comparative disadvantage. Levity hasn't played much of a role in recent rebrandings, but two companies have staged launch events in a decentralized way that encouraged employee creativity and cemented their relationship to the new brand.
Financial and automotive giants Grant Thornton and Johnson Controls faced the need to foster greater collaboration between offices across the world and encourage consistent use of their respective corporate identities. Rather than a single, corporate-staged brand launch, these firms had each office create their own event, with management providing only identity guidelines and materials. From office to office there were cakes baked featuring the new company logo, people arrived at work dressed in the corporate colors, offices were painted in the corporate palette, and flag raisings and tent meetings were held. In both cases, the ceremonies were recorded on video and edited into a corporate film that was available to all employees on the company websites. No doubt the freedom of each office to incorporate levity, local customs, and cultures helped build relevance for the corporate brand.
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