Originally posted in Rochester Business Journal
If you’re trumpeting a strategy, if you’re proclaiming industry expertise in a particular offering, then you sure better practice what you preach.
Which is just what Truth Collective is doing.
Having launched Brand Ever Braver as the new game plan, the Rochester-based marketing agency doesn’t pretend to offer one-stop shopping to every prospective client.
Instead, Truth Collective’s collection of creatives is focused on helping selective clients achieve the greatest possible success in the marketplace. They’re not trying to do it all, just what they’re truly best at doing: elevating brands.
“We saw an opportunity to be much more clear about who we’re for and what clients can expect,” agency founder and managing partner Bob Bailey said. “We don’t think you can be great at everything, so we decided to offer what is truly excellent.”
For Truth Collective, that expertise targets brand identity and brand activation. Brand identity involves the name, the logo and a strategy. Brand activation is telling a company’s remarkable story in a manner that resonates with consumers.
“We help clients stand out and creatively engage with customers,” Bailey said. “Brands often don’t convey their greatness. One of our focuses is helping brands be their absolute best.”
This brand bravery may not be for everyone, however. Bold ideas can trigger internal dissidence. Why rock the marketing boat when the status quo has been working?
Because, Bailey said, too much isn’t working. Up to 83 percent of marketing is ineffective, he said. “That other 17 percent comes from strategies, real creativity. That 17 percent is where customers are engaging.”
And it’s within that 17 percent where Truth Collective strives to put clients.
“If someone wants to do what everyone is doing, we’re not the right fit,” he said. “Bravery is standing apart and having the courage to do so. The new ideas we offer are very uncomfortable and sometimes I think businesses, especially founders, don’t know there’s more to be had.
“We’re putting dull marketing on notice. We bring fresh ideas, fresh approaches, to sector-specific problems because if you have a strong brand, people are going to find you.”
The Brand Ever Braver approach obviously requires client buy-in during what is a very collaborative process.
“They (the clients) almost always have an idea, but that perception often changes through the process,” Bailey said. “And we involve them a lot in the process. They have to be engaged from start to finish, because a brand is really personal, especially to a founder.
“Yes, your brand is this, this and this. But it’s also this thing; it’s inspiring, it’s bigger.”
While Truth Collective isn’t a full-service agency, clients aren’t left hanging when it comes to things like public relations and media buying.
“We’ve started saying no to certain things but we can still help clients with those needs through partnerships,” Bailey said.
Truth Collective’s stable of clients is extensive; most are locally or regionally based – including Cooper Vision, Genesee Brewery, ESL Federal Credit Union, CPL and Willow Domestic Violence Center — along with some national brands.
One new client is Warren County, Pa. Located 10 to 15 miles south of Jamestown, the county is looking to showcase itself as a destination not only for people looking to relocate but also businesses.
But before Truth Collective could begin work on a brand strategy for the county, it first needed to gain a full understanding of the county. So staff members took a trip to Warren, Pa., the county seat.
“We rented a couple houses and talked with residents to learn what makes Warren County special,” Bailey said.
A prominent Rochester example of Truth Collective’s work is painted on the north wall of the Time Square Building in the heart of downtown. The five-story mural provides a vibrant and dramatic message of hope for Willow Domestic Violence Center.
“That’s really a brave way of bringing attention to a problem,” Bailey said. “It’s not your typical PSA (public service announcement) campaign.”
The mural reflects what Bailey says Truth Collective does best. “We help upstate brands be their absolute best.”
Brand Ever Braver also means being bold enough to embrace artificial intelligence, rather than ignore it or hide from it.
“We recognize the power of AI and we’ve been all in for about eight months, trying out different tools,” Bailey said.
People will always be the driving force for brand campaigns, but Bailey said AI definitely has a purpose.
“We’re using AI as a complement to human skills and talent,” he said. “What we do is still human created, but what it’s going to do is make you more effective and efficient. It’s creating those accelerator points so a client can be in the market much sooner, selling much sooner and making money much sooner.”
