The Competency Brand Trust Driver™
- Reporting
Your expertise and excellence set you apart.
What’s Important
Roadmapping Innovation: Continuous R&D, product iterations, or new solutions that demonstrate a commitment to evolving social or environmental impact.
Building Aligned Teams: A strong culture of collaboration and clarity around mission, ensuring that employees at every level are united in the company’s direction.
Shared Vision: A clearly communicated strategy or design thinking process that the public (and employees) can see and understand.
Design Thinking: Publicly discussing prototypes, roadmaps, or how solutions are tested and improved, indicating a culture of agile innovation.
Competency KBI’s (Key Behavioral Indicators)
Internal KBIs:
- Quantitative:
- % of teams trained in design thinking and innovation methodologies
- Number of innovation roadmaps created and implemented annually
- Qualitative:
- Employee confidence in team alignment and vision (employee engagement surveys)
External KBIs:
- Quantitative:
- Market adoption rates of innovative solutions
- Customer satisfaction scores on innovation and competency (Net Promoter Score)
- Qualitative:
- Industry perception as a leader in competency and innovation (industry analyst reports)
Mapping The Competency Driver
B Corp Standards:
Developed by B Lab Global for businesses to become b corp certified.
WC2: Measurement and improvement of workplace culture.
FW3: Enabling suppliers to pay living wages/incomes.
HR4: Collaboration with suppliers for human rights objectives.
ESC5: Collaboration with suppliers for environmental objectives
SDG Standards:
Adopted by the United Nations to help the world push toward ending poverty, protect the planet and increase and prosperity.
SDG 4: Quality Education.
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.
Trust Signals
Innovation, team alignment, design thinking, impact through product Trust Signals:
Google Partner or Google Developer Certification
IDEO CoLab or HCD/Design Thinking Credentials
Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies
Techstars/Y Combinator Alumni Badge
ISO 56002 (Innovation Management System)
Trusted Competency Focused Brands
Fairphone: Constantly refining a modular, fair-trade smartphone with transparent supply chains.
TerraCycle: Innovates solutions for “hard-to-recycle” waste, including Loop, a reusable packaging system.
Algramo: High-scoring B Corp with refillable packaging systems that save consumers money while reducing plastic waste.
Fetzer Vineyards: Continual improvement in regenerative viticulture; invests in R&D around organic, carbon-neutral wine production.
Proximity Designs: Myanmar-based social enterprise tackling rural poverty with iterative product design for low-cost irrigation.
How Does Competency Manifest In Your Business?
Operations Alignment
When systems, structures, and people move together, your purpose becomes practice.
Organizational Change
We evolve your operations from behind-the-scenes to center-stage—where intention, equity, and performance live side-by-side.
Data Strategy
It’s not about dashboards—it’s was decisions. We’ll help you finally see data as a bridge between our purpose and our people.
Ecosystem Mapping
Discover deeper connections for your business by understanding the values and dynamics of your stakeholders, communities, and associations happening in their real-time interactions.
Our Case Studies
C-Suite’s Guide to Unconscious Bias
"While climate has global effects, the solutions lay within local municipalities across the country." – Rai-mon Nemar Barnes
Brand Strategy + Growth for Energy SaaS
Branding a New Line of Business Without Losing Legacy Clients · Strategy, Execution, and Product Marketing Under One Roof
From Race Concept to Branded Event NYC Business Community
A Race That Needed an Identity Before It Had a Name · Naming, Branding, Sponsorship, Website, and Campaign as One System · Built to Grow Year Over Year
Brand Strategy, Product Design + Campaign for Sustainable Finance Platform
A Fintech Platform That Needed to Educate Before It Could Convert · Brand Strategy + Product Design + #AskSustainable Campaign · A Consistent Voice Across Every Channel and Touchpoint
Branding and Ecosystem Design for a Global FinTech Venture Firm
Values-Driven Finance Needs Trust Infrastructure · Stakeholder Mapping Across Institutions and Individuals · An Ecosystem Strategy That Earns Trust at Every Level
Webby-Nominated Branding and Product Design for the World’s Most Sustainably Certified Seafood Company
A Category Leader Whose Brand Hadn't Caught Up to Its Certifications · Branding, Product Design, and Ecosystem Strategy as One Platform · Webby Award Nominated 2023
Brand Strategy for an AR Experience Company Featured at MoMA and Tied to a Netflix Documentary
An AR Platform Built to Rewrite How We See History · Selected Alongside for MoMA Exhibition · App Launched the Day Trevor Noah Hosted a Town Hall With Will Smith · Branding, Ecosystem Design, Research, and Campaign Strategy
Brand Strategy and Platform Launch for On-Demand Talent Network
A 15-Year-Old Mentorship Organization Needed a Commercial Platform · Brand Identity, Website, and Performance Marketing · NBA Foundation Inaugural Grant: The Work Got Noticed · Brands Including Moët Hennessy, PepsiCo, AT&T, Google, P&G, and Spotify
Brand Strategy + Ecosystem Design for Chicago’s $7.5B Health Innovation District
A $7.5B+ Opportunity in One of Chicago's Most Historically Significant Neighborhoods · Brand Strategy, Stakeholder Research, and Pitch Collateral · 100+ Acres. 20% Affordable Housing. A New Metra Stop. 105% Renewable Energy. · Equitable Placemaking at Scale
Marketing Strategy and Execution for One of the Worlds leading Cultural Institutions
Five-Scholar Curation Council. A Months-Long Festival. A Marketing Brief Like No Other. · Audience Research, Influencer Strategy, and Content Production at Cultural Scale · Transmitting an Undefinable Energy to the Right Audiences
Influencer Strategy + Event Marketing for HBO’s Watchmen Launch
HBO's Own Machine Had a Blind Spot · Partnership With consciously · 400+ at the Atlanta Pre-Screening · Comic Con Activation · Content, Events, and Cross-Community Reach
2 Million Reached: Brand + Campaign for Brooklyn Incubator
One of NYC's Biggest Economic Zones and incubator Needed an · Brand Strategy, Web Platform, and #BuildTheFutureNYC Campaign · 2M+ Reach Across Five Boroughs · A Blueprint Other Cities Are Now Following
Agency of Record Brand Strategy + Content for Identity Security Leader
Unmatched Technology. No Brand Voice to Match It. · Website Rebuild + Brand Strategy + Content System as Agency of Record · From Legacy Web 1.0 to Thought Leadership Platform · A Company Now Trusted by 30+ Fortune 100 Clients
Brand Strategy + Community Health Outreach for National Telehealth + In-Clinic
Funding Cuts. Then a Pandemic. A 100-Year-Old Organization Needed a New Reach Strategy · Audience Research Across BIPOC, Transgender, and Low-Income Communities · Brand Voice, Go-to-Market, Telehealth Activation, and Geofencing · Awareness, Reach, and Foot Traffic All Showed Marked Improvement
AI Company Using Humans for Content — Numerify
Building a Content Machine for an AI Analytics Company
Superbowl Staffing Agency Needs New Thinking — BCforward
Helping an international transformation change agent to define their public expression
Connecticuts’ State Bank Manifests Community — Nutmeg
Connecticuts' State Bank wanted to connect better with it's ecosystem
The Systems Brand Trust Driver™
Your brand sees the bigger picture and works toward interconnected solutions.
National Growth Marketing Campaign for Legacy National Non-profit
Place-Based Community at National Scale · Ecosystem Activation Across Diverse Stakeholder Groups · What It Means to Market Belonging
Brand Identity Refresh + Marketing That Delivered 10x Engagement
A Brand Defined by One Name Needed a Voice of Its Own · Identity + Positioning + Campaign Infrastructure · 10x Across Awareness, Reach, and Engagement
Brand Identity + Messaging for a Regulated HealthTech Company
Regulated Spaces Demand Precise Visual and Verbal Systems · Identity Built for Trust Under Scrutiny · Messaging That Works for Both Patients and Providers
Post-Acquisition Brand Unification as Agency of Record
Two Acquisitions. One Year. Millions of Jira Users Watching. · Brand Strategy During a Global Crisis · Agency of Record: Content, Branding, Social, and Brand Anthem · Three Entities. One Cohesive Brand.
Boston Needs Racial Wealth Equity Data — Boston Foundation
Providing resources for grant makers in Boston and the Massachusetts area.
The Sustainability Brand Trust Driver™
You integrate environmental responsibility into every decision.
The Regenerative Brand Trust Driver™
You challenge traditional business models by prioritizing sustainability and regeneration.
The Culture Brand Trust Driver™
You build trust from the inside out by fostering a strong, values-driven culture.
EASI Demographics: Helping One of the Country’s Largest Data Suppliers Look the Part
Three Distinct Buyer Personas. One Coherent Brand. · Rebrand Built for a High-End Client Roster · Ecommerce and Sales Journey Redesign
Strengthening the Identity of an Organization Focused on Diversity and Equity — Coalition On Race
A New Jersey Community focused on equity for more than 50 years
Aligning Five Acquired Companies Under One Inclusive Brand for Digital Transformation Leader
Post-Acquisition Brand Alignment Across Five Companies · Values Built Into Style Guide and Production Process · Equity as Infrastructure, Not Add-On
