Brand Development Services

The vendor is required to provide brand development services to research, define, and implement a comprehensive brand strategy to enhance visibility, strengthen stakeholder engagement, and ensure consistency across all communication platforms and media outlets.
•    Provide professional brand development services by partnering closely with stakeholders to research, define, and implement a comprehensive brand strategy which enhances visibility, stakeholder engagement, and consistency across all communication platforms and media outlets. 
•    Reenergized marketing program, the project will initially be completed in three (3) phases (the “phases”). 
•    Identify any outstanding research needs and define a learning plan to help our organizations understand current brand metrics and benchmarks, including how perceived by its audiences, and opportunities for optimal positioning going forward. 
•    Before engaging in any new research, the parties would leverage the recently completed executive interviews to help us frame our approach.
•    Completing additional qualitative and quantitative research. 
•    Marketing will look for the development of the brand position and narrative, along with the visual id and design system for the new organizational brand. 
•    This will include logo design options, color palette exploration (taking accessibility into account) and the development of high-level, initial brand guidelines.
o    brand book: the key deliverable will be the development of a brand book that pulls together all the brand development work and begins the development of the updated visual identity for the organization.
o    Visual identity: includes updates to logos, tagline logotype, logo lockups and brand hierarchy.
o    Includes color palette and typography updates and styling direction for photography (stock, original or ai produced), graphics devices or assets, patterns and social tags and direction integration of all organizations within university.
•    The launch, activation and implementation for promoting the new brand to the market and create a base creative execution. 
•    Anthemic video that launches the brand message and positions it for up state’s audiences. 
•    The video package to be run on platforms including linear tv, CTV, YouTube, social media, and other internal and external platforms. 
•    Post-launch support (e.g., the six [6] month renewal option) shall address the on-going needs of marketing after the new brand work has been launched publicly. 
•    Post-launch services may include brand performance evaluations (i.e., awareness or perception); benchmarking; brand optimization (i.e., adaptions based on feedback); media outlet strategy adjustments (i.e., budget reallocations); training sessions or workshops (i.e., toolkits to address pain points); and periodic brand audits, content and creative support and reputation management (e.g., crisis response toolkits).
•    Audiences for whom marketing has created materials, communications, or campaigns include:
o    General public – includes prospective patients and employees – and by demographic sector. 
o    The engaged public – includes former and current patients, class attendees, event participants, anyone who has a direct encounter. 
o    Elected officials, board of trustees, agency leaders, council. 
o    Community members, near neighbors, community agencies, business associations and potential partners, center state CEO. 
o    Prospective students, parents, continuous learners, non-traditional students, graduate medical education. 
o    Philanthropists, donors, grateful patients, alumni. 
o    Volunteers, preceptors, volunteer faculty, board members, advocates and auxilians. 
o    External clinical network, such as referring physicians, site preceptors, EMTs, also reframing relationships with mission “competitors”. 
o    Agency partners, educational partners, research partners, intra-agency peers. 
o    Employees including faculty, staff, residents, post-docs. 
o    Internal subgroups, such as leadership, administrative assistants, medical staff, site specific.
•    Paid advertising is tied to up state’s strategic priorities. 
•    The biggest “tent poles” for visibility come from the hospital strategic plan, overall elevation of the brand, and other needs as defined by leadership, including within departments which have new services or needs. 
•    Access to services is required for any type of advertising. 
•    Current paid placements include print, radio, tv, outdoor, transit, digital display, search engine marketing, out of home, sponsorships and direct mail.
- Marketing uses the following measurements to gage success of campaigns and related initiatives:
•    Perception surveys: over the past several years, up state has retained and gained in positive community perception. 
•    We keep an eye on that through a national health measurement tool. 
•    Clicks and google analytics: for each online search and campaign, we receive reports on results from the vendor but take an approach of “trust yet verify” and we compare to what is seen here. 
•    Organic search is supported by analytic tools. 
•    Patient volumes. 
•    Student queries. 
•    Market data. 
•    Participant count: this includes attendance at events, as well as our own programs such as the annual 3,000 unique participants in oasis; 1,150 in chronic disease self-management (chronic pain, arthritis, diabetes and will soon be reimbursable, another measure) 30 health link seminars with 1,520 registrants, and more additional viewers as all seminar content is posted. 
•    There is a strong correlation between attendance at a health link seminar and seeking care at upstate. 
•    We also track for activities that we help to promote, such as open houses, fairs and events and engagement with branded booths. 
•    Viewers and listeners: experts were interviewed for the informed patient, airing on 14 NPR stations. 
•    The corresponding podcasts on YouTube were viewed 11,700 times in six months. 
•    Passersby: we measure car traffic for billboard placements and for out-of-home venues such as branding in the university and the Syracuse airport, which is surging in volume as well as anticipated to take on another carrier soon. 
•    Distribution: we measure numbers of recipients for our magazine and e-newsletters. 
•    Readership and viewership: these data are supplied by the media outlets and purchases are adjusted to take advantage of seasonal and special programming, such as su basketball.

- Contract Period/Term: 1 year