The NorthStar branding methodology includes an:

• archeological dig into the history of the organization, the product, and prior marketing successes;
• assessment of the organization's culture and values;
• investigation into the deep essence of the product category;
• analysis of the competition, through the archetypal lens;
• exploration of the deep structures of customer motivation; and
• enthusiasm/impact check to be certain key stakeholders can support this identity over time.

The NorthStar brand-building approach includes:

• expansive studies of the story patterns and images that best communicate the deeper meaning of the brand;
• organizational and product development, leadership coaching, troubleshooting, and creativity services to help tell the brand story in everything you do, and to do so with sufficient flexibility to adapt to new challenges and times; and
• ongoing research about public attitudes, current events, and consumer behaviors.

Distinctive NorthStar Services include:

Inventory of Customer Attitudes and Archetypes

The archetypal roots of consumer motivation are revealed through the administration and analysis of the Pearson-Marr Archetype Indicator, a well-researched instrument assessing archetypes active in individuals.

Brand Essence Studies

Research that delves deeply to uncover the "soul" of a brand—its most potent differentiating equity. Results are translated into "Brand Bibles," guidebooks for successfully evolving, nurturing, and managing the essence of the brand.

Organizational Culture Analysis

Results of the administration and analysis of the Organizational and Team Culture Index (OTCI), an instrument that teases out the underlying stories being lived out in the organization's values and behaviors, are paired with other nonintrusive means for observing the root values, taboos, and core beliefs of an organization's culture. Such studies allow for the creative alignment of brand identity and organizational essence, making consistent communication that reinforces a brand's identity relatively effortless.

Story Pattern Research

This creative development research, which helps to align communication with timeless and universal story structures, provides a variety of stories to tell and retell in endless variations to communicate your brand's essence. Such patterns not only can form the basis for commercial messages, they also provide a framework for all the ways a company and its leadership can tell their story.

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