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Q2 2012 AN OVERVIEW Proprietary and Confidential
Q2 2012
AN OVERVIEW
Proprietary and Confidential
OUR MISSION:
TO CHANGE THE WAY PEOPLE SOLVE BUSINESS CHALLENGES
About Sparks Grove page 2
Our clients come to us with questions, opportunities or problems. We use business insights, marketing skills, applied experience and proven processes to deliver answers and recommendations.
OUR DEFINITION OF MARKETING
Mar ket ing /mahr-ki-ting/, noun.The science of identifying and anticipating customer needs – and the art of satisfying them.
About Sparks Grove page 3
FROM INSIGHTTO IMPACTSparks Grove is the marketing division of North Highland, a global consulting firm with offices in 49 cities across the U.S., Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
Combining the scale, results-oriented focus, and consulting expertise of North Highland with Sparks Grove’s unique perspective on solving marketing problems enables end-to-end client support; from solution design to solution delivery.
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Locations21 U.S. offices17 countries
HeadquartersAtlanta, Georgia
Professionals900+ in U.S.2,200+ Worldwide
Private company, employee owned
North Highland Service
Areas
Operations
Information Technology
Finance & Accounting
Strategy
Customer Experience & Engagement
Human Capital
Execution
About Sparks Grove
SPARKS GROVE + NORTH HIGHLAND:
A MARKETING TEAM ABLE TO ADDRESS ANY CHALLENGEWe intentionally attract and select people with diverse talents and experiences. We then unite our team around shared values and a passion for solving complex business problems. This passion extends to all that we do – personally, professionally and in the communities in which we live.
page 5About Sparks Grove
ENABLED BY DIVERSE EXPERTISEEach engagement team is comprised of individuals with the right combination of skills and experience to solve the unique challenge at hand. We’re all united by shared values and passion for complex problem solving.
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Application Architects
Art Directors
Brand Strategists
Business Analysts
Channel Strategists
Communications Strategists
Copywriters
Designers
Developers
Digital Strategists
Marketing Planners
Production Engineers
Researchers
User Experience Architects
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OUR DIFFERENCEIS OUR PERSPECTIVEWe measure success by the results we deliver. Our unending focus is on producing tangible business value for our clients. Everything else – from ideas to strategy to creative execution - is the means to that end. We find this to be an uncommon perspective among other marketing service providers. And we relish the difference.
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$63MMProjected 5 year return of new divisional business and marketing strategy for leading CPG client
700%Annual customer acquisition increase for national energy client post Sparks Grove agency assignment
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99.96% Percentage of stakeholders with positive response to new compensation program developed for U.S. publishing client
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OnePatent filed for based on marketing technology deliverable concepted, designed and developed for Fortune 10 client
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34%Reduction in customer churn post customer experience improvements for global telecommunications firm
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FourthTo First – ranking change in annual survey of global airline client post Sparks Grove agency assignment
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549%Increase in year-over-year website traffic post new product marketing campaign for U.S. quick-serve restaurant
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PROVEN EXPERIENCEWe’ve been fortunate enough to partner with a wide variety of leading organizations – across multiple channels, media and platforms.
The one constant that ties each relationship together is our mutual passion for fresh and engaging solutions that challenge conventional thinking and achieve breakthrough results.
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SELECT CLIENTS
American Red Cross
Arby’s Restaurant Group
AT&T
Bank of America
Cox Communications
Delta Air Lines
Dunkin’ Donuts
Equifax
Georgia Power
Genworth Financial
The Home Depot
InterContinental Hotels Group
Lowe’s Companies
McKesson
Nissan USA
Scholastic
SunTrust Banks
Turner Broadcasting System
Wells Fargo
INDUSTRY EXPERTISE
Automotive
Consumer Products
Distribution
Education
Energy
Financial Services
Government
Food Service
Healthcare
Hotel & Hospitality
Leisure
Media & Entertainment
Non-Profit
Pharmaceutical
Professional Services
Retail
Technology
Telecommunications
Travel
Business-to-Business (B2B)
Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
Business-to-Employee (B2E)
Business-to-Executive (B2X)
About Sparks Grove
OURMETHODOLOGY
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START WITH THE CUSTOMER
Identify and anticipate customer needs
ASK TOUGH QUESTIONS TO GET THE RIGHT ANSWERS
Understand the barriers to - and opportunities for - customer engagement
DEVELOP INSIGHT-BASED STRATEGIES
Design a solid foundational engagement strategy based on the intersection of customer needs and business objectives
CREATE MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCES
Re-design the relevant aspects of the customer experience (product, sales, service, communication) to deliver impactful business results
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Our clients come to us with questions, opportunities or problems. We then use our skills, experience and proven processes to deliver answers and recommendations. The tools we employ may vary, but our method remains the same.
RECOGNITIONOur work has been validated with honors from multiple organizations including the American Advertising Federation (AAF), the American Marketing Association (AMA), the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), and the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), among many others.
We are especially proud that North Highland currently ranks #3 on Consulting Magazine’s Best Firms to Work For list – our 5th consecutive year in the top four.
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American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA): SEED Award for Web Design
American Marketing Association: AMY Award for Online Advertising
CMA (Creative Media Awards): Branded Content/Product Placement
Emmy Nomination for Best Use of Commercial Advertising (Personal Computers Category)
Internal Advertising Business Communications (IABC) Golden Flame Award: Best Digital Design
MIXX Bronze: Brand Awareness/Positioning
OMMA (Online Media, Marketing & Advertising): Best of Show
Printing & Imaging Association of Georgia (PIAG): Award of Excellence
Silver ADDY Award: Digital Marketing
Silver Quill Award Southeast Regional:Award of Merit, Marketing Strategy
SNCR (Society for New Communication Research): Corporate Division/Online Video Category
Webby Award: Viral Video
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WE’RE FULLY CAPABLETo satisfy the complex needs of our clients we bring Research, Strategy, Technology and Creative all under one roof. We use many tools, depending on the challenge at hand. All are informed by customer insights and lead to creative, results-oriented solutions.
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OUR SERVICESBy combining agency innovation and creativity with a consultancy focus on business results, Sparks Grove delivers a full spectrum of integrated marketing solutions.
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+ Internet & Intranet Strategy
+ Mobile Application Design & Development
+ Online Advertising
+ Social Media Marketing
+ Website & Email Design
+ Channel Migration Planning
+ Customer Experience Strategy
+ Data Visualization
+ Future State Visioning & Visualization
+ Marketing Plan Development
+ Campaign and Program Implementation
+ Marketing Analytics
+ Marketing Systems Implementation
+ Organizational Design
+ Process Improvement
+ Customer Experience Audits
+ Customer Personas
+ Ethnography
+ Focus Groups
+ Surveys
+ Brand Positioning & Architecture
+ Concepting & Ideation
+ Employee Engagement
+ Marketing Campaign Planning
+ Naming & Identity Design
DIGITALSOLUTIONS
MARKETING &CHANNEL STRATEGY
MARKETING OPERATIONS AND EXECUTION
CUSTOMER RESEARCH
& INSIGHT
MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
About Sparks Grove
Customer Research & InsightYour customers have the answers to most marketing questions.
We specialize in extracting and interpreting data to develop those answers. Our consultative approach combines analytics with strategy.
• We don't employ researchers. We are business strategists who understand research.
• We don't deliver survey results. We uncover actionable insights.
• We don't use research for the sake of it. We use research as a tool for solving business problems.
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+ Ethnography Data collection through field studies including participant observation and/or in-depth contextual interviews
+ Customer PersonasThe development of customer portraits that include deep description of key needs and motivations
+ Customer Experience Audits Evaluation of customer & company sales, service, product or communication interactions
+ Focus Groups Guided discussion with targeted participants to inform marketing activities and/or strategy
+ SurveysInvestigation of experience, opinions and possibilities via questioning
Marketing & Channel Strategy
+ Data VisualizationGraphically communicating complex information to users; simultaneously clarifying and contextualizing
+ Customer Experience StrategyImproving business performance by optimizing the interactions between a company and its customers
+ Channel Migration PlanningDeveloping approaches, strategies, plans and measures to fulfill customer needs via preferred, new, or beneficial interaction points
+ Future State Visioning & VisualizationIdentifying, then bringing to life through words and imagery, a world where customer experience solutions are generating marketing success for our clients
+ Marketing Plan DevelopmentAligning sales opportunity, strategies, resources, tactics and timing against product/service, customer and competitive dynamics
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The future belongs to those who see what’s possible.
Bold marketing solutions anticipate worlds that don't exist - yet. We start with helping our clients clarify growth opportunities, anticipate new technologies and trends, project changing customer needs, and head off competitive threats.
Then together, we envision, plan, and execute customer experiences that solve these business challenges.
Marketing Communications
+ ConceptingBuilding creative ideas and hypothesis that could achieve objectives or yield solutions
+ Campaign Planning & ImplementationDevelopment, delivery, management and execution of integrated marketing efforts to achieve pre-determined objectives
+ Brand Positioning & ArchitectureDetermining and aligning the essence who you are or wish to be with the rationale, emotional and experiential needs of your desired customers
+ Employee EngagementDriving business results by increasing the commitment, efficiency and effectiveness of employees
+ Naming & Identity DesignProducing elegant and evocative visual reflections of a company, entity, product or service
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Successful brands are defined from the inside out.
The relationship between a company and its customers is a conversation. How a company presents itself is the essence of its brand. We help our clients better use their brands to reach, teach, and engage customers through elegant design and compelling messaging.
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Digital Solutions
+ Online AdvertisingDetermining and delivering digital contact strategies, concepts, campaigns and tactics
+ Mobile Application Design & DevelopmentDeveloping user-centric mobile solutions that integrate and enable access, content and context
+ Internet & Intranet StrategyDetermining and designing the optimal digital approach to satisfy internal or external customer needs
+ Social Media MarketingDriving business objectives through participation and engagement
+ Website & Email DesignArchitecting, concepting and creating in the digital medium
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Win customers by engaging on their level.
Digital solutions create meaningful interactions. Customers use digital technology to take control of the relationships they have with the products and services they buy. It's where "useful" is the new cool.
We are always looking for new ways to help our clients overcome challenges by creating meaningful customer experiences through digital interaction.
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Marketing Operations & Execution
+ Marketing System Implementation (MRM, Campaign Management)Applying technical expertise to meet evolving business needs
+ Marketing AnalyticsOptimizing ROI and exposing opportunities via thorough measurement, management, and analysis of performance metrics
+ Complex Campaign and Program ImplementationLeveraging deep knowledge of rigorous program management methodologies to launch and manage multi-channel marketing campaigns
+ Organizational DesignAligning structures and roles to effectively meet business goals and enhance collective efforts
+ Process ImprovementOptimizing business processes to better meet objectives through holistic factor analysis and root cause determination
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Results require a foundation of delivery excellence.
A successful marketing strategy is only as good as its execution. We combine complex project and program management expertise, technical savvy, analytical aptitude and transformational change management experience to help our clients turn vision into reality.
THANK YOUSparks Grove offers business leaders an accountable, sole-source partner for the ongoing resolution of complex marketing challenges.
We appreciate the opportunity to present our capabilities to you and welcome further conversations about how we may be able to help you achieve your objectives.
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SELECT WORK EXAMPLES
About Sparks Grove
AT&T Business Services engaged Sparks Grove to help them enter the social media space. Through Current State Analysis, Design, Development and Optimization, Sparks Grove developed a unique, customized blog experience. Utilizing out-of-the box technology to make efforts easily updatable, and incorporating an extensive content and editorial strategy, results have surpassed all internal projections.
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AT&T BUSINESS SERVICES
About Sparks Grove
Coca-Cola engaged Sparks Grove to create a brand position and brand mark for a new joint venture designed to serve B2B clients – Coca-Cola Supply.
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THE COCA-COLA COMPANY
About Sparks Grove
Sparks Grove was named Delta Air Lines Business-to-Business (B2B) agency of record in 2011, and charged with refocusing Delta’s existing consumer advertising to target corporate clients, travel agents, small business owners and meeting planners.
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DELTA AIR LINES
About Sparks Grove
Dunkin’ Donuts reached out to us for a fresh look at their customer loyalty and rewards programs. We developed a unified strategy that fit perfectly within the Dunkin’ Donuts brand character.
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DUNKIN’ DONUTS
About Sparks Grove
Nissan North America came to Sparks Grove looking to design an enhanced digital shopping experience for preferred customers, employees and suppliers.
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NISSAN
About Sparks Grove
PGi charged Sparks Grove with creating their 2013-and-beyond future state customer experience, so we set out on a multi-stage effort including customer research, luminary interviews, persona development, ideation and future state visioning. The culmination of these efforts was a comprehensive “customer experience playbook” – the ideal, yet realistic view of what the PGi customer experience can and should be in 2013.
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PGi
About Sparks Grove
When Spark Energy expanded into newly deregulated electricity markets throughout the United States, Sparks Grove was charged with quickly establishing strong brand awareness.
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SPARK ENERGY
About Sparks Grove
A Top 5 U.S. Bank discovered that over two dozen intranets across multiple platforms were being used by its employees and engaged Sparks Grove to create a vision for better organizing and streamlining their data. After conducting a thorough research project involving over 200 employee interviews and persona development, we created a future state intranet framework. This framework consolidated all intranets into one customizable dashboard with a contemporary design that brought the portal to life.
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TOP 5 U.S. BANK
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPlease contact:
Rob SherrellVice PresidentSparks [email protected]
3333 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 800Atlanta, GA 30305USA
sparksgrove.comlinkedin.com /companies/sparks-grove
