Not only do consumers routinely confuse Opticians with Optometrists and Ophthalmologists, but many perceive Opticians as people who only sell glasses, not recognizing them as professionals who have the significant technical skills and knowledge that help people see the best they can.

To solve this problem, Outsidein Communications and our creative partners Bau+Wow Design were engaged by the Opticians Council of Canada to create a national brand for the Opticianry profession to clarify its role for the public and raise awareness.

The Brand: After much research, we differentiated Opticians as the professionals who make you see better. To reinforce that Opticians were trained and regulated professionals, we positioned them as “Licensed” Opticians. The tagline “Vision refined” speaks to the distinctive value proposition of an Optician. The visual logo reflects a contemporary, confident and intelligent profession.

Raising Awareness: We created and executed on a strategy for an integrated awareness campaign directed at both the 6000+ Opticians across Canada, to engage them in the brand and awareness process, and at the general public. We told the Opticians story through a brief multi-media clip. We used direct mail to tell Opticians about the campaign and to drive them to the Licensed Optician website where they could access tools and get involved. For the public, we created educational material, a Find-an-Optician online tool, as well as a TV ad targeted at women 35+ years.

Results: Already many Opticians have signed up via the website to engage in the campaign. Website traffic for the public to find an Optician is growing and Youtube, where the ad is available, is showing very encouraging stats.  This is the first wave of a long-term campaign strategy. 

Building a client-focused website for BC Safety Authority

Websites are like gardens. Without careful planning, weeding and pruning they become unmanageable.

As a busy, growing and complex organization, the BC Safety Authority knew its website needed an overhaul. Without a clear website strategy or a way to govern content, the website had become hard to navigate and unmanageable. Because clients couldn’t find the critical information they needed they resorted to calling Customer Service. Outsidein Communications and our web partners, Domain7, were engaged to do an overhaul.

We started with internal and external research to determine the organization’s shared vision for the website and what clients would find helpful. Based on that, we created a long-term web strategy so the website could grow with the organization. We took a client-focused (outside-in) approach to the site map and created a content strategy to re-write, reduce and re-organize information. We added strategically useful functionality such as notifications and sign-ups. To keep content consistent, current and relevant we developed a governance strategy, content and website management process that would ensure that the evolution of this large and complex website would always support the strategic goals of the organization. Check out the new website here.

Results: The new website was just launched in May and although activel promotion has just started, in its first month the BC Safety Authority has had a significant number of clients sign up for notifications. Google Analytics also show that the most popular page is now one that is key to BC Safety’s business success indicating that clients have begun to return to the site and find the information they need quickly and easily.
 

See project summary and visuals.

Check out the new project summary and visual brand.

As the guardian of an organization’s reputation, Corporate Communications has a significant and strategic role to play in working with HR and marketing to develop and align your employer reputation with your corporate reputation. By not getting involved you risk exposing your company to mixed messages and damaging the reputation you are bound to protect.

Being an employer of choice is fast becoming a key strategic priority for organizations looking to attract and retain engaged talent. This panel session explores the links and gaps between your corporate and employer reputation. Does the right hand know what the left hand is doing? Is HR making promises your organization can’t keep? Are your staff informed and engaged in ways that strengthen your reputation? Corporate Communications plays a vital and pivotal role in reputation management ensuring that the inside matches the outside.

Peter Reek, founder and owner of Smart-Savvy, a marketing recruitment company, will moderate a lively panel discussion. Panel members: Catherine Ducharme, Employer Brand Specialist, Outsidein Communications, Robin Sauve, Director  of Employee Engagement, BC Housing and Karen Berkout, Director of Communications and Engagement, Van City.

Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS)

Sharon and Catherine will present at this year’s annual BC Human Resources Management Association Conference.

Organizations may do a good job at selling the employer brand story to potential employees, but they have a harder time delivering the brand experience consistently to employees on a day to day basis. With today’s inviting job market, you can’t afford to have a disconnect between your employer brand promise and the actual employee experience (your culture). The two have to be aligned; delivering a consistent, authentic experience that jazzes, engages and motivates staff, drives performance and improves retention and commitment. 

So what role can the employer brand play in helping organizations achieve this nirvana? This session, presented by Outsidein Communications explores how you can anchor the employer brand into the culture of the organization to support organizational performance and effectiveness.

"Both Catherine and Sharon of Outsidein Communications understanding what it takes to place companies in the forefront for Employer Branding. I would not hesitate to recommend them to any of my clients!"

Kristi Searle
Peoplebiz Solutions

Presented by Catherine and Sharon. Vancouver.

An increasing number of successful companies have implemented internal branding strategies to increase engagement
and inspire external brand advocacy among employees. Simply put, if your employees identify with your brand, then their level of commitment and loyalty will increase. This session will discuss effective internal branding techniques and how you can engage employees to create brand pride.

• Internal branding techniques: what’s in your tooolbox?
• Ways to engage employees to identify with the brand and the brand promise
• Increasing employee involvement to revitalize your brand
• Motivating employee brand loyalty and advocacy
• Increasing and stabilizing your pool of talent through branding
• Driving brand fulfillment for customers through employee commitment

In this session you’ll learn:

• How to build a business case for your employer brand and secure the budget you need
• How your employer brand and corporate brand power each other – and what that means to your company
• How you build and tell your employer brand story to position your company as an employer of choice
• New ideas and different ways to communicate your employer brand so you attract and retain your top talent
• How to market your employer brand in the web 2.0 world, through HR PR, and through your staff

Presenters

Outsidein Communications in collaboration with CareerBuilder.ca will be presenting this session. Sharon Habib and Catherine Ducharme of Outsidein are seasoned communicators specialized in brand and communications. Their unique difference is they specialize in both internal and external brand and communications. Their perspective will add unique insights into harnessing the power of employer brands. Outsidein serves a range of clients in a number of sectors including technology and life sciences.

As the U.S.’s largest online job site, and one of the largest in Canada, CareerBuilder puts over 1.6 million jobs in front of poised job seekers wherever they are - at home or work - in print and on the Internet. More than 23 million unique visitors in the U.S. and over 1.2 million in Canada come to the site every month to check out opportunities in every industry, field and job type.  Chris Huggins, a Major Accounts Executive, focuses his energy on his clients’ business by studying social media, online recruitment trends and the latest technologies and brings the latest trends and research on what’s working and what’s not.

So what does this have to do with marketing? Isn’t this an HR issue? Quite simply your corporate brand and your employer brand are inextricably linked and if marketing is not part of the employer branding process and the brands are not aligned, you risk sending mixed message to staff who are the ones who deliver the corporate brand promise to your customers, and play a big role in representing the brand on a daily basis.

This presentation provides an overview of employer branding; how it all fits in with the corporate brand; who the target audiences are; and the vital role that both marketing and HR have to play in making it succeed. It also demonstrates how the "internal" brand powers the "external" brand and how if you look after your employees they are more likely to look after your customers.

If you are interested in having Outsidein Communications present this topic to your organization or group, please contact us.