AT&T prioritizes using AI to enhance its core service—like predicting storm impacts to reroute network traffic or optimizing technician dispatch. By improving the actual customer experience first, subsequent marketing communications about reliability and service become more authentic and impactful. The product proof precedes the marketing promise.

A successful rebrand doesn't create a new personality; it amplifies the company's true, existing identity. Just as money magnifies a person's character, a strong brand makes a company's core values—like community involvement—bigger, louder, and more public, forcing them to be more intentional.

Don't expect your organization to adopt a new strategy uniformly. Apply the 'Crossing the Chasm' model internally: identify early adopters to champion the change, then methodically win over the early majority and laggards. This manages expectations and improves strategic alignment across the company.

If everyone in the company instantly understands and agrees with your launch message, it might be too safe. A great launch reframes the market, which should provoke some initial internal skepticism. This indicates the message is bold enough to break through external noise.

Ford's CMO credits their rebrand's success to a two-year process of embedding the new strategy across all departments, from HR to product development. This ensured it was more than a marketing campaign by influencing core business operations and decision-making.

To rally senior leaders around a brand reinvention, AT&T's CMO had them share stories about brands they personally admired. This exercise revealed that brand love stems from product and service—not just ads. It successfully reframed brand building as a collective, company-wide responsibility.

Creating a genuine brand voice requires deep immersion, not just a brief. By spending months interacting with dozens of employees across all departments, a consultant can uncover the shared language and core truths that form an authentic, resonant voice.

A new brand identity gives employees something tangible to rally behind, increasing their pride and sense of belonging. This renewed energy can manifest in unexpected ways, such as employees willingly volunteering their personal time for company events, strengthening internal culture.

Stanford GSB's iconic "Change lives..." tagline wasn't created by executives or an agency. It was forged in a workshop with staff from admissions, fundraising, and marketing, ensuring authentic, organization-wide buy-in from its inception.