Last September, BendBroadband CEO Amy Tykeson and her team made a bold move. In the midst of servicing one of the most economically challenged markets in the United States -- Central Oregon -- Tykeson and her team "em-barked" on a re-branding strategy.
Nearly a year has passed. Today, they boast the premier local IT service provider spot, and have preserved their profits in a price-conscious, pit bull industry.
BendBroadband is also perceived as an innovation pioneer in a mature, increasingly regulated, volatile telecommunications field. In that spirit of innovation, Amy and her team took a bold step last September and re branded the company in a way unlike any other regional provider has done.
In the days of yore, BendBroadband held "top dog" status as a monopolistic cable services provider. Things have certainly changed. First, The FCC doesn’t make it easy to stay there. Industry executives fear that the FCC is looking for ways to further regulate their space and impede innovation. This has caused some sector downgrades by analysts.
Second, Google is trying to steal market share by building fiber networks in rural areas across the U.S. Finally, competitors boast much larger ad budgets. BendBroadband also competes with nationally known satellite companies such as Dish Networks. (Did I already mention Google has entered this space?).
The industry is changing so rapidly that many companies--including BendBroadband--consider themselves operating in different sectors, ranging from telecommunications to IT services to cable television.
It would have been much easier to compete on price and hold on to their market share for dear life. Or position the company for a fire sale. That’s what many companies do when faced with competitive behemoths. Amy chose a more courageous option.
In this three part video interview, you will hear:
* The driving forces behind re-branding
* The mindset required to embark on a branding initiative
* How branding can protect you against formidable competitors
* New innovations and markets that BendBroadband plans to pursue
* Why traditional ROI practices do not apply to branding initiatives
* Amy's sage advice for companies facing competitive behemoths
Think about the parallels in your own industry. Are you experiencing pricing pressures, longer selling cycles, and surprise competitors? Are you are taking similar proactive measures to be well positioned when the recovery is in full swing—or are you falling behind your competition and becoming a prime takeover target? Amy’s perspectives on the tight connection between branding and innovation will help you choose the proactive option. Your company just might win "Best in Show."
Here are the video links:
Copyright 2010, Lisa Nirell. All rights reserved.
