Challenge
This financial services firm had lost its brand. What Martin D. Braver began as a small accounting firm called Martin D. Braver and Company in 1950 had grown successfully in size and services to include accounting, wealth management, business strategy and technology consulting to entrepreneurial and mid-sized businesses. In the early 1990s, the company changed its name to B&C Advisory Group, with several separately named subdivisions, in an effort to adopt a brand more relevant to their expanded size and offerings, and given the fact that Mr. Braver had not been active with the company since 1977. The result? A total loss of name recognition and brand value. Braver and Company’s strong reputation was no longer associated with the firm.

Solution
O’Neill and Associates was retained to help the firm transition back to the name “Braver,” and develop a brand identity that could be shared by all divisions and would strongly position them among their competition. O’Neill and Associates studied the firm’s current messages and materials as well as the messages and materials of its top competitors. O’Neill and Associates then lead a messaging workshop with Braver’s key senior executives to discuss “what the firm does and does well” and then agree on the firm’s strongest selling messages. O’Neill and Associates also interviewed several of the firm’s clients, some of whom had been with the firm since the early days and others who were newer. Lastly, O’Neill and Associates interviewed junior and mid-level firm employees.

Results
The effort yielded a key insight that was consistent across audiences: the firm’s main differentiator was its client-focused customer service. While the large firms in their market offered a breadth of services with low partner accessibility and others focused on “solutions and results,” this firm was positioned to “own” the market space for multiple services and personal client relationships. O’Neill and Associates developed a brand identity, with the tagline “Braver: It’s the Way We Do Business,” that differentiated the company from its competitors and allow all employees to speak consistently about the value of the firm and work daily to “live the brand” and deliver that client responsiveness for which the firm is now positioned to be increasingly known.

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