Do you know that your corporate image significantly influences customer satisfaction and loyalty, which then plays into higher performance and better sales?
Yet, corporate branding is a process companies often overlook.
If you want to scale and drive sustainable growth for your business, you must prioritize building a corporate brand that reflects its core values, resonates with its audience, and is consistent across all communication channels.
In this interview, Willoughby Design co-CEOs and owners Megan Stephens and Nicole Satterwhite, as well as Managing Director Katy Briggs join us to discuss:
- Why involving all key stakeholders in the branding process matters
- How corporate culture helps define brand identity
- Best practices for corporate brands to adapt to the future
- Key signs brands need a refresh
- Willoughby Design’s strategic approach to creating lasting brand impact
Who Are Megan Stephens, Nicole Satterwhite, and Katy Briggs?
Megan, Nicole, and Katy each bring their own kind of expertise to Willoughby's client satisfaction and business growth.
Nicole oversees the design side of the business and Megan oversees strategy and voice. The duo has collaborated at Willoughby for more than two decades on the creation of hundreds of brand experiences.
Katy brings a distinct perspective to the team with her breadth of agency and client-side experience leading strategy and building consumer brands through an understanding of human behavior and purchasing decisions.
Together, they form Willoughby’s leadership team, satisfying client needs with creative, business, and data-driven solutions.
Megan believes that businesses often fail to recognize the importance of human-centric branding, authenticity, as well as leadership, and employee involvement. Here’s what she has to say:
- Human-centric branding
"Just because a brand is ‘corporate,’ doesn’t mean it can’t have the unique personality and emotional appeal of a consumer brand. It needs to resonate with people and therefore, it needs a human-centered approach to connect meaningfully." - Authenticity
"Corporate brands should be grounded in a deep understanding of the company’s history, core values, authentic culture, reason for being, industry, and competition. As brand creators, we work with leadership teams to uncover the authentic truths that exist within the company as a starting point for brand creation." - Leadership and employee involvement
"The best corporate brands are built from the top down and the inside out. It will be difficult to get traction if leadership is not fully involved and committed to the brand development process. And the employees must be brought along and believe in the brand since they are at the front lines selling it. When internal buy-in is strong, it radiates outwards to customers."
“Companies often spend most of their time and money on their product and service brands or their direct sales efforts, and the care and feeding of the corporate brand takes a back seat,” Megan says.
Previously, we spoke to Ushi Inc. founder Ushi Patel who discussed why authenticity is the only loyalty strategy executives need. Watch the video to learn more:
Nicole adds that Willoughby consistently reminds businesses that keeping corporate brands updated and relevant is important, and for several reasons:
- Customers are more interested than ever in understanding what a corporate brand values and stands for when purchasing.
- A strong corporate brand can aid in talent recruitment and retention.
- A strong corporate brand, when applied consistently across all communication channels, brings credibility and clarity to the entire organization.
Studies support Nicole’s claim; in fact, Lucidpress found that brand consistency can increase revenue by 10 to 20%.
Driving Brand Success with Leadership and Stakeholder Alignment
According to Katy, corporate brands should not have a different formula than consumer brands, as all of the same rules apply from strategy to visual and voice perspectives.
“All stakeholders should be considered. Involving sales teams and customer service at the outset of any branding initiative will help guide the process and ensure that there is a holistic view from within the company.
Bringing everyone along on this journey requires commitment from all stakeholders but will result in well-developed, authentic solutions,” Katy adds.
Additionally, Megan highlights that identifying all key stakeholders is part of Willoughby's discovery phase.
“Understanding drivers for each of these stakeholders provides context for how to connect across the organization and beyond.
We also work closely with our clients to plan critical milestones along the way so that we can support stakeholder engagement to ensure alignment and build champions for the brand,” Nicole adds.
The Power of Corporate Culture in Defining Brand Identity
I was curious to hear what role corporate culture plays in the branding process.
Megan says that corporate culture must guide the branding process to ensure that the brand is an authentic reflection of the business.
“Your culture is a key indicator of what your brand should stand for — the values, beliefs, and behaviors that define an organization and guide internal and external interactions and engagement,” she highlights.
Nicole added on by saying that brand origin stories that are built into a corporate culture have great potential.
Proof of this is how Willoughby Design rebranded a boutique dog treat company founded to meet the special food needs of aging dogs from KC-K9 to Three Dog Bakery.
Creating a unique and relatable brand identity based on the personal story behind the business and opening a flagship store where people treat their dogs like children resulted in global success with stores now spread across the U.S., Canada, Hong Kong, and Korea.
A business should ensure that its value and culture are reflected in its brand identity by working with a branding agency that takes the time to get to know them from top to bottom.
“Our team meets with leadership and employees in a variety of roles. They might suggest interviews or an online survey.
This work contributes to the definition and adoption of a clear brand strategy platform. If the design is guided by these factors, the right direction for the brand identity becomes clear,” Katy says.
Adapting Corporate Brands for the Future
With consumer expectations evolving, we discussed how corporate brands should adapt their strategies to stay relevant and avoid being left behind.
Nicole says that brands need attention. Beyond brand creation is the ongoing work of refining and iterating.
“There will be moments of heavy lifting when a brand is being developed or refreshed, but the work never really stops because it does not exist in a vacuum.
The constant changes happening in the market, the industry, and the world all impact the relevance of your brand.
Keeping a close eye on both internal and external factors and knowing when to pivot requires discipline and an objective perspective that a partnership with a trusted branding agency can help to create,” she explains.
Watch our video to discover the key steps of a rebranding process:
As we move into 2025, Katy advises corporate brands to:
- Play the long game
Look beyond the immediate future to plan for what lies ahead for the business and the industry. - Be known for something
In a sea of corporate sameness, businesses must stand out and be known for something. It’s better to be something special to a specific audience than to just be “something” to a large audience. - Never stop working on your brand
You can’t just design your brand and be done. Think of your brand like a lab. You need to constantly be listening to your customers and evolving to meet their needs. - Keep it simple and consistent
There is so much information overload now. A clear, simple, and consistent message is the best way to break through the clutter.
To capitalize on these, Megan says that brands should start with a core purpose and understand the fundamental reasons why their company exists.
“Once this is pressure-tested and refined, it can be used to create a very simple elevator pitch that can be a powerful tool to unite a leadership team around the essence of the brand,” she adds.
A good example of this is how Willoughby Design created a new brand architecture for MMC Corp, uniting several companies with one identity under the name ‘CERRIS.’
“Now, every marketing dollar goes to reinforce one master brand name instead of four separate brands. They are positioned for continued national expansion under one unified identity, bringing shared strength to their entire portfolio,” Nicole shares.
According to Katy, these are key signs that a brand should watch out for to know that it needs to refresh its identity:
- Progress
A company’s brand should be a reflection of its promise. Therefore, a brand refresh should come with new news. Whether it is a big announcement or something that signals a commitment to growth through a long-term shift in strategy, it is important for branding to celebrate wins that build for the future. - Credibility and relevance
Innovation and thought leadership are critical to success in all sectors of business. It is difficult to be seen in this light if you have a corporate brand that feels dated. - Evolution
When a company has evolved and its name and identity no longer reflect what it does or why it exists, or when competitors start to look and sound too similar, it's time to evolve to stand out again.
Rebranding your business is a powerful marketing strategy that can help you better serve your customers.
Willoughby’s Strategic Approach to Creating Lasting Brand Impact
Finally, I asked how Willoughby Design helps corporations ensure that their brand is not only engaging but also fostering the creation of long-term value and growth.
“From an in-depth Discovery process to stakeholder interviews and client workshops, we begin all engagements with a focus on understanding the business and challenges facing the brand.
Our strategy work is pressure-tested along the way and refined through ongoing collaboration with our clients,” Megan says.
This upfront work allows Willoughby to identify the challenges and opportunities the brand faces and create a strategic approach that culminates in a brand strategy roadmap.
As the agency moves through the strategy, it also begins to incorporate visualization with mood boards to bring the positioning to life before identity design begins.
“Having a repeatable process allows us to confidently guide our clients through each phase of work and ensure that the brand will remain relevant for the long term,” Nicole concludes.
Willoughby Design’s proven expertise in brand development, combined with its tailored approach to each client’s unique needs, makes it a reliable partner for businesses aiming to evolve their corporate brand and create long-term value.
