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INSIGHT: EXPECT SURPRISES Every community works hard to keep its collective ear to the ground. What are residents in need of? What’s our best draw for new businesses and new visitors? What’s getting in our way? What’s our biggest selling point? But in virtually every community branding effort we find there is at least a handful of surprises uncovered by the research — a big idea no one saw coming. Example: “Make this about our whole neighborhood” was a message that surfaced during stakeholder research for the Northalsted Business Alliance, the business development group of Boystown. Our solution — stay true to a community identity rooted in Pride, but build on it. That’s how we came to the tag line: Chicago’s Proudest Neighborhood. One thing never delivered by sparc is “creative for the sake of creative.” In other words, if it isn’t on strategy, it’s not in our plan. That is a key reason we also build on the branding methodology and structure that says “A brand is the sum of all the promises and perceptions a city wants its stake- holders to believe about the community.” Our track record of successes that have followed that methodology tells us that each of the demonstrations of strategic thinking required in the RFP are an ideal match with the sparc branding process: • Research affiliates or internal research resources available to sparc design, inc.: Jackie Short, Quantitative Research; Mary Ann Rood Qualitative Research. • The sparc method for identifying key target audiences and the appropriate media to communicate with them: After completing both quantitative and qualitative research, we have a clear picture of what the audience pays attention to and which channels of communication move them to action or develop a perception. In the interview process we probe for what sources the audience really goes to for information versus what they feel they’re supposed to read, watch or listen to. That often means paid media (advertising, promotion, etc.) or earned media (PR events or placement) may be elements of a marketing plan, but success also requires other channels such as neighborhood meetings, police walkabouts or “coffee with the mayor.” • Experience with creative or non-traditional strategic alliances/sponsorships to implement a PR program: When Ocean Spray decided to team with Nabisco to develop a Cranberry Newton Cookie, it required more than your average new product launch, e.g. a booth at the National Food Processors show. The PR answer: The wedding of the cranberry and the newton cookie at — where else? — Newton, MA town hall. They mayor of Newton presided. CEOs gave away the “bride” and “groom”. Coverage by AdWeek and the NBC Today Show delivered the visibility most new cookie launches can’t manage and took an immediate bite out of competitors’ market shares. • Experience with measuring PR results: Beyond counting clicks on sites such as PR Newswire or contracting with firms specializing in measurement of PR reach, many small communities look to other, more cost- conscious methods. We are firm believers that it’s also important to measure results, not just placements. For example, building in to event planning tactics programs to keep close tabs on attendance at community events, year-over-year, compared with any changes in PR and promotion give great guidance. This gives actionable data, not just placement counts. • Experience in developing strategic PR and crisis management plans: Team member Mary Ann Rood is an experienced crisis manage- ment and communications professional. She is a graduate of the MIT/Harvard Program on Dispute Resolution, “Dealing with Angry Publics,” and the University of Southern California Center for Crisis Management. She has been a lecturer on crisis management and communications at Tufts University and DePaul University. However, it is the ethics policy of sparc not to disclose examples of crisis work. At the request of most, we do not ever discuss the specifics of our work for any crisis client since that demands disclosure of proprietary information. We would make the same promise to Sunny Isles Beach. However we can say her work has supported companies and organizations in the food and beverage industry, higher education, financial services and city government. 8. Strategic Thinking 32 SPARC DESIGN INC. | RFP 19-07-02 | CITY OF SUNNY ISLES BEACH | CITYWIDE RE-BRANDING