The Future of Innovation: Re-Branding the Council on Competitiveness

The Council on Competitiveness, a unique alliance of corporations, universities, and labor organizations, approached Songmasters with three needs: to establish the Council as the "go to" resource on innovation and economic competitiveness in the US; to increase and expand membership and heighten its relevance as a think tank, economic policy formulator, and innovator; and to increase awareness and impact of the Council's work among the general public.

Songmasters responded by developing an Innovation Campaign which re-positioned innovation as a strong, upbeat and fundamental aspect of the American identity; heightened brand association of the Council as the leading force in innovation policy and implementation in the US and beyond; and led the visual re-design of its communications and outreach platforms by targeting, simplifying and re-casting the core messages on its website and in its technical and policy messages to reach more constituencies, including the general public.

Songmasters developed a renewable platform for the Council called I-Five®, which defined and built upon the basic elements of innovation: Imagination, Insight, Ingenuity, Invention and Impact. We developed a strong visual component for I-5 with the help of Poulin & Morris, the renowned design agency. Songmasters, engaging the involvement of Soulellis Studios and Emerald Strategies, re-designed all visual and functional elements of the Council's communications in every format - from the functionality and look of its web site, to its logo and letterhead, from the look, names and staging of its own publications - such as the groundbreaking re-framing of the Competitiveness Index: Where America Stands - to the highly publicized presentation of the Council's ambitious and forward-thinking policy agenda through an exclusive three-part series in Fortune magazine on The Future of Innovation on then game-changing topics such as Sustainability, High Performance Computing and Enterprise Resilience. 



I-Five® became a multi-pronged tool for the Council to achieve its goals: it became a brand slogan for its campaign; an identity asset for its communications vehicles; a targeted public relations platform for its public outreach, industry conferences, fundraising and membership activities; a basis for innovation recognition instruments and awards; and a framework for its substantive and distinctive agenda on innovation and competitiveness.

Other examples of our work:

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Mass Appeal: Building an Audience for Komen's Race for the Cure