How Andrea Littell Created a Brand Strategy to Unify Nationwide Marketing Group & Boost Their Industry Profile
CASE STUDY
“Our profile within the industry has been raised. People know who we are and what we stand for. Andrea’s work in honing and implementing our branding strategy has made that possible. She’s always keeping us at the forefront.”
Nationwide Marketing Group is North America’s largest buying and marketing organization for the independent retail channel.
HIGHLIGHTS
CHALLENGES
Disjointed, mixed messaging following a merger
Geographically dispersed teams with inconsistent messages and standards
No unified brand identity or strategy to rally around
SOLUTION
Conducted internal and external reviews and market research
Developed comprehensive strategy, positioning, messaging, and more
Created branding guidelines to align Nationwide’s divisions and departments
Implemented the brand with a new website and other materials
RESULTS
Stronger brand presence and improved profile within the industry
Clarity and alignment around Nationwide’s unified brand identity
Ongoing efforts to further amplify the brand with actionable metrics
CHALLENGES
Disjointed, Inconsistent Messaging After a Merger
Nationwide Marketing Group connects thousands of independent retailers, rent-to-own dealers, and custom installers with the buying, marketing, and business support that helps them succeed. For nearly 50 years, Nationwide has helped these independent business owners navigate the ever-changing retail environment.
In 2018, Nationwide merged with a competitor, Mega Group USA. Together, the two had more than 5,000 members — and two distinct brands and cultures.
The combined team represented a multi-billion dollar company but struggled to present a unified front to the industry and customers.
“We have people scattered all throughout the country. That creates silos,” Tom Hickman, Nationwide’s president and chief member advocate, notes. “So people do their own work, and there’s not necessarily always cross-platform sharing.”
Worse, customers were getting mixed messages.
“You might have one person or department going down one path with a message and then somebody else going down another path with a different focus,” Tom says.
And while Mega brought new strengths to the combined company, those advantages weren’t reflected in Nationwide’s existing branding. The Nationwide team needed to clarify who they were as a unified company with a compelling brand promise and story that everyone could rally around. Then that promise needed to be translated into branding guidelines that ensured everyone was speaking the same language.
“For example, multiple people had been handling advertising,” explains Amy Croom, Nationwide’s director of public relations and communications. “Things all looked different, verbiage sounded different. You had different tones all throughout.”
Nationwide needed a branding solution that could unite the combined company and resonate with their customers — so they could focus their efforts on raising their profile.
“If you don’t have a targeted strategy, you’re just wasting your money.”
SOLUTION
A Comprehensive Brand Strategy & the Execution to Bring it to Life
Andrea Littell, a brand strategist and business storyteller, was brought in to help develop a comprehensive brand strategy for the newly merged Nationwide. An expert at helping companies redefine their brand identities as they navigate growth or transitions, Andrea used her proven brand strategy development process to dive into the challenge. Rather than heading straight for the creative, Andrea first created clarity around the brand to serve as the foundation for a solid strategy. To do this, she:
Interviewed the leadership team and front-line employees during a series of one-on-one interviews
Conducted a competitive messaging audit
Explored customer pain points
Once she had gathered all the information, Andrea distilled her insights into themes to identify Nationwide’s unique position in the industry.
“She loves to listen to all the different viewpoints,” Amy says. “She’s amazing because she can hear 14 different opinions that go in 14 different directions, analyze it very quickly, and come out with a coherent direction.”
After gaining buy-in from the Nationwide team, Andrea developed a comprehensive branding strategy with:
Brand values
Brand promise and narrative
Positioning statements
Target customer personas
Core stories
Supportive messaging
Andrea also worked with design colleagues to develop a new visual brand identity that aligned with the strategy.
With a solid strategy in place, Nationwide asked Andrea to help implement the work.
“We hadn’t really done a good job of telling people what the new branding was,” Amy says. “They knew the new logo, but there wasn’t a lot of communication on what it meant and its importance.”
As part of that execution, Andrea developed an extensive brand guidelines document that included everything someone needs to know to effectively communicate the brand standards and promise. The guidelines also explained how to use approved logos, fonts, tones, messages, and other assets.
“Whether it’s regions or affiliated organizations or groups, [the brand guidelines] help us align under the same overarching umbrella,” Amy says. “Everything has the same look and feel, speaking the same language with a consistent message.”
Meanwhile, Andrea helped Nationwide completely revamp their website to reflect the new branding, again working closely with all the stakeholders to determine the best path forward.
“She went to all the different departments and divisions to learn what people wanted to communicate on the website, then wrote a compelling narrative that would encourage people to read more and learn about us,” Doug Marsh, Nationwide’s content director, says.
Andrea also spearheaded the national advertising efforts and worked on several other materials across departments and divisions to help solidify the new brand strategy.
“She’s really able to take her branding expertise, partner it with what she knows about our industry, and create a compelling plan and message so that we can act on it and execute.”
RESULTS
An Increased Brand Presence & A Strong Path Forward
With a new website, brand guidelines, and a host of other materials, the Nationwide brand is now stronger than ever and easily understood by employees, customers, and the industry as a whole.
“Andrea has really helped us increase our brand presence,” Amy says. “And so much of what we do is goodwill, it’s brand presence. The members are choosing to partner with Nationwide based on a feeling.”
With that greater presence, Nationwide can better reach and serve its members.
“Helping independent retailers is our passion. We work every day to give our members options and opportunities, and then help them execute for success,” Tom says. “Andrea fits right into that mold. She’s really harnessed and helped us execute on that brand promise.”
But even as her brand strategy gets results, Andrea is helping Nationwide reach higher to extend their brand even farther.
“We were so blown away by our first rebranding experience with Andrea and the responses we received from our strategic partners that we have engaged her to work on additional rebranding efforts for related business units,” Tom says.
Melissa Stenson, vice president of member experience, is eager to continue working with Andrea.
“One thing I really love about Andrea is she’s never satisfied,” Melissa says. “She’s always asking, ‘What can we do better?’ She’s very much a self-starter. She does an analysis and asks, ‘What can we do to help you tailor and share your message?’”
With that mindset, Andrea is helping several Nationwide divisions develop their own prospecting pieces that align with the overall messaging. She is also adding actionable metrics to the website and other campaigns to fuel insights that will inform further improvements.
“Everything she works on is very delineated, very organized,” Amy says. “You’re not wondering what’s going to happen and when. You have a 12-step plan, and it’s very smooth.”
From Amy’s standpoint, Andrea’s personality and trustworthiness set her apart.
“You have to trust the person you’re working with to give them enough information, and then trust the analysis they give back to you,” she says. “Because she is so trustworthy, you’re able to build that relationship and get back some really valuable insights.”
And since Nationwide can trust Andrea’s insights, her work is integral to Nationwide’s success.
“She isn’t like a traditional consultant,” Amy says. “I very much consider her to be a member of our team. She’s always willing to sit in on a meeting or participate, and she loves to listen to all the different viewpoints.”
But the difference is what Andrea then does with that information.
“It’s not just theory,” Amy explains. “There’s not just an idea. She gives us an idea with the execution behind it and the path forward so we know exactly where we’re going and how we’re going to get there. There are no surprises.”
“Andrea cherry-picks the best pieces, builds them together, and then offers a strategy and a path to move us forward. She’s a master at completion.”
