Alan M. Siegel's Blog

Beyond algorithms: why vision demands originals

This article originally appeared in Raconteur.

In the early 19th century, Napoleon Bonaparte developed from a modest Corsican officer into one of history’s most visionary leaders. His genius went beyond battlefield tactics to imagining futures no one else could see and then rallying entire nations to march towards them. In a way, fighting wasn’t his thing. Instead, Napoleon excelled at setting directions and turning ordinary men into believers, willing to endure extraordinary hardship for a greater cause.

That ability – to dream beyond the visible horizon, to galvanise others through conviction – is what separates a leader from a manager. And it’s exactly what separates a great brand from a functional one.

When efficiency becomes a trap

AI has entered the corporate bloodstream and created an understandable hunger for optimisation – faster insights, cleaner dashboards, predictive analytics at the touch of a button. Walk into any boardroom today and you’ll hear the same discussions.

But here’s the danger: when efficiency becomes the north star, ambition quietly shrinks and vision is reduced to a set of probabilities. Brands that follow only the logic of algorithms will never achieve truly transformational goals.

Roger Martin, former dean of the Rotman School of Management and strategist extraordinaire, once argued that too many executives adopt a deterministic mindset, one that prioritises the most efficient, risk-averse decisions. It’s a mindset that mirrors AI itself: cold, predictable and relentlessly optimised.

This comes at the expense of a probabilistic mindset, which emphasises the human capacity to consider divergent futures, embrace uncertainty and choose paths other than the one of least resistance. Efficiency reduces; imagination expands. Determinism produces safe choices; originality produces bold visions. And CMOs must understand that no algorithm will ever dream big on their behalf. While AI can tell you what is, only humans can dream of what could be. This is where business leaders must reclaim the human edge.

The human edge in the age of AI

It begins with intuition, our innate ability to sense which problems matter most, the empathy to read unspoken needs and the foresight to chart a worthy course.

Reclaiming the human edge requires creative divergence – the willingness to generate abundantly, to explore improbable paths and to embrace doubt as fuel for new ideas. With AI converging toward sameness, leaders must diverge to paths less trodden.

It requires timely judgement. This means not acting at the speed of the algorithm, but at the rhythm of human preference. In other words, it’s about knowing the right moment to leap – and then doing it.

Such human qualities flourish through influence and multiplication and the distinctly human ability to galvanise others. Just as Napoleon could turn common soldiers into believers, great CMOs can inspire entire organisations, transforming individual sparks into a collective blaze of creativity.

And finally, the human edge rests on system reinvention. This is the courage to not just improve existing processes but to ask bigger questions. Why are we doing it this way? What if we started fresh? AI can optimise and predict, but only humans can re-map the playing field.

The call to leaders

With AI quickly becoming a commodity, brands that dare to be human – to lead with imagination and inspire others to believe in a future no one else can see – will have the edge. The next time you are setting a brand vision, leave the predictable, controllable cocoon of AI behind and summon your inner Napoleon by asking:

Does it paint a picture of the world we want to create? 

In the early 90’s, Microsoft envisioned a “computer on every desk and in every home.” Make it future-oriented.

Is it aspirational yet achievable with effort? 

Amazon set out to be “Earth’s most customer-centric company.” Make it ambitious.

Is it tied to why we exist, not just what we sell? 

Nike aims to bring “inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.” Make it purposeful.

If the answer to these questions is “yes,” you’re thinking expansively and acting with courage. You’re adopting a probabilistic mindset – and that’s a great place to start.

Because, in the age of AI, the most valuable asset in business is not efficiency, but the originality of us humans.

 

Patrick Kampff is Senior Strategy Director at Siegel+Gale, a global brand consultancy.

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From chemtrails to Cracker Barrel, Americans are creating wild conspiracy theories about brands

This article originally appeared in Business Insider.

It seems like lately, there’s a new — and confounding — political melee surrounding a company branding decision every other week. One company sniffles, and someone declares it woke. Another coughs, and it’s white supremacist. Just look at what happened with American Eagle and Cracker Barrel over the summer. Or a couple of years ago, when the green M&M got sneakers. The near-constant meltdowns over simple business moves are a sign of the times, though. Americans are seeing everything as politically coded, even when it’s not.

Corporate America has played a role in fostering all of this culture war tea-leaf reading. Over the past decade or so, more firms have waded more explicitly into politics, often because it seemed good for their bottom lines, and now many are trying to reverse course. Companies are backing away from any moves that might rock the boat and taking a real “nothing to see here” approach to their messaging. But the blandification is too late, given how polarized the country has become.

“People are putting a political overlay to everything,” says Kevin LaneKeller, a marketing professor at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business.”There are a lot of minefields out there.”

The United States is turning into a nation of conspiracy theorist consumers. We’re doing QAnon, but for capitalism — and people of all political stripes are strapping on their tinfoil hats.

Trying to explain the dustup over Sydney Sweeney’s ad campaign for American Eagle in July makes me feel a little bonkers. The actor was featured in spots declaring that “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,” the play on words being that she also has great “genes,” as in, she’s good-looking. Some progressives and people online read the ads as being “Nazi propaganda,” a “dog whistle,” and promoting white supremacy and even eugenics. Conservatives swept in to defend Sweeney and claim her as one of their own. But the point of the ad wasn’t that Sweeney is a Republican(though she is reported to be registered as one) or that American Eagle thinks Adolf Hitler is good (no) — it’s that Sweeney is hot.

August’s blowup over Cracker Barrel’s new logo made the American Eagle tussle look like small potatoes (which, to be fair, it was). The restaurant scrapped the old guy leaning on a barrel from its corporate logo, opting for what I’m sure some consultant told them was a sleeker, more modern look. The right, however, decided it was a signal that Cracker Barrel had gone woke and that the decision to abandon its old aesthetic reflected an abandonment of traditional values. Its stock dropped. Cracker Barrel tried to explain that it was just a simple branding tweak. PresidentDonald Trump weighed in. After about a week, the company said it would change its logo back. To all the people losing sleep over the cartoon guy, congrats.

There are a lot of minefields out there.

Plenty of companies have stepped in it in the past, misfiring with an ad campaign or a rebranding effort. Both Tropicana and Gap wound up rolling back their logo redesigns in 2009 and 2010, respectively, after public backlash. Calvin Klein commercials in the ’90s were criticized for being too sexy. But historically, outside a few fringe culture warriors, the public conversation has been more “this is ugly” than “this offends or aligns with my deeply held political sensibilities.”

The mood around these corporate quarrels became noticeably more intense in recent years — and explicitly partisan. The Bud Light controversy of 2023 wasn’t political. Yes, politics took hold of it, but there’s nothing inherently Democratic or Republican about sending a transgender woman a six-pack of beer for a single Instagram post. But conservative commentators seized on the decision and made it into an us-versus-them battle for the soul of the country.

“Everything has become a Rorschach test,” says Sadie Dyer, strategy director at Siegel+Gale, a global branding agency. “Everyone is looking now at brands and reading these brand moves and trying to suss out what it’s signaling and if the brand is trying to send a message or trying to shift their purpose or signal a change in their identity or the audience they’re going after.”

It’s no secret that Americans tend to wrap up their identities in the things they buy. Through our consumption, we signal that we are cool or care about the environment or love America. As the country has become more politically polarized, we’ve started to graft politics onto our purchasing habits, too.

People have increasingly sorted their brand preferences in a partisan manner, says Oded Netzer, a business professor at Columbia University. His research finds that since the 2016 elections, brands’ online followings have become more split along partisan lines. That was especially the case for Democrats after their first loss to Trump: Many started seeking “Democratic” companies to buy from, even if the companies themselves didn’t change. After Trump lost in 2020, Republicans started picking their own corporate champions more. It’s a form of “compensatory consumption,” Netzer says, when people buy things to make up for some sort of perceived deficit or reinforce their identities.

“Our political identity is much stronger than it was before. It spills over to our day-to-day life and to things that are seemingly nonpolitical,” Netzer says. Ten years ago, the Cracker Barrel branding change probably wouldn’t have made the same waves as it has today, he says, “because we are all living with a political identity that is much more salient.”

Companies have always done politics to some extent — making donations, lobbying for lower taxes, etc. But they were generally pretty quiet about their activities. Elisabeth Kempf, an associate professor of finance at Harvard Business School, says businesses’ recent, more public engagement with political topics may have had the “unintended consequence” of changing people’s perceptions of corporate America. Companies talk about politics more, and people have gotten used to it.

“That maybe has changed the level of scrutiny, so that now people are trying to read signals into more messages or advertisements that companies are putting out there,” Kempf says.

When companies have taken political stances in the past, many of them didn’t really mean it. It just looked good to say they supported Black LivesMatter in 2020 or were serious about corporate responsibility and ESG after major investment leaders, who also happened to be massive shareholders of public companies, made a fuss about it. Kempf notes that businesses in more competitive industries have tended to engage in more political messaging as a way to differentiate themselves and as a reaction to external pressures. It’s another piece of evidence that the talk has been more about winning than believing. And partisanship aside, brands have done a lot of legwork to develop and reiterate identities over time that consumers are constantly reading into. When company logos have little Easter eggs in them and commercials come with winks and nods, people start to map a deeper meaning onto things.

“We have been ensuring that every touchpoint and experience that surrounds a brand communicates what that brand stands for and how we want to be perceived in people’s minds,” Dyer says. “We’ve trained the general public to look at every detail, to look at the smile in the Amazon logo and that it goes from A to Z, right?”

I don’t want to place all of the blame on the business world here because it really is facing quite the conundrum. I sincerely doubt anyone on the American Eagle marketing team thought they were sending a subliminal message about Nazism, or anyone at Starbucks was out to take down Christmas when they gave plain red cups the go-ahead for the 2015 holiday season. But that won’t stop easily riled-up people from getting easily riled up.

For older brands such as Cracker Barrel, heritage is always a “double-edged sword,” Keller says. “It helps you in the way of a lot of emotional attachment and feelings, but at the same time, you’re not maybe seen as relevant. You are boring,” he says.

Brands have to move forward and become more modern, especially as their original customer bases age. At the same time, the move can’t be so drastic that it puts existing fans into a tizzy, especially now that that tizzy might catch fire online. Angry letters have always existed, but now some clout-chasing guy can post that letter on TikTok and X and try to get others to cosign.

“These things snowball. That’s the problem,” Keller says.

There’s money to be made in manufacturing outrage. Partisan media ecosystems thrive on ginning up anger over contrived controversies. There’s a financial payoff for influencers who blow whatever whistle of the day. And the social media algorithm is designed to surface and circulate emotion-fueling content — the madder people are, the more ad cash comes in.

I don’t want to place all of the blame on the business world here because it really is facing quite the conundrum. I sincerely doubt anyone on the American Eagle marketing team thought they were sending a subliminal message about Nazism, or anyone at Starbucks was out to take down Christmas when they gave plain red cups the go-ahead for the 2015 holiday season. But that won’t stop easily riled-up people from getting easily riled up.

White-collar work is breaking people’s brains. Some are turning to unorthodox coaches for a fix.

Slop bowls have always been yucky. People are just now figuring it out.

Some companies may make the calculation that it’s just best to forge ahead in this environment, but a lot of that depends on understanding who their customers are. If you’re Nike, you’ve got a lot more leeway on the “woke” stuff than if you’re Bud Light. American Eagle has said its Sydney Sweeney campaign — plus a collaboration with Travis Kelce, the NFL star who’s Taylor Swift’s new fiancé — has been a boon. And if you’re Target, it seems like everybody’s probably going to be mad at you, no matter what you do.

“The first thing is to realize that you do live in a different world where you are going to be interpreted politically,” Netzer says.

Keller says this level of hyper reactiveness among consumers has led him to shift his thinking on ad testing. “I always felt like, do the research before you create the ad,” he says. It used to be that if you knew your customer well enough beforehand, you could be creative in crafting an ad and send it out with confidence. Now, companies and marketers might decide it’s worthwhile to test specific ads before releasing them to the general public to get ahead of any problems. “The money you spend on that is well worth spending versus having your brand dragged through a bunch of negative mud and everything, however long,” Keller says.

Good business leaders are accustomed to undertaking financial calculations ahead of any ad campaign or brand change. Now, they’ve got to make some political calculations, too.

“You have to market and explain what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and how you’re doing it, and for whom you’re doing it,” says Edward Segal, the author of “The Crisis Casebook: Lessons in Crisis Management from the World’s Leading Brands.”

We’re living in a day and age in which it’s getting harder to know what’s real. AI slop runs rampant on the internet. Online provocateurs and influencers grab onto tiny morsels of information, true or false, and run wild with them. People don’t trust institutions or one another. Politics feels inescapable and hopeless at the same time, and so buying something, or getting mad at a company that sells something, is the best approximation some people have to doing something. It’s quite the hellish little situation we’re in. It would be neat if everyone could take a breath and chill on turning everything into a political debate. Like, don’t be the guy at the party everyone low-key avoids because he gets weird and annoying really fast. And right now, a lot of us are being that guy.

By all means, shop your values, but within reason. Ads and redesigns often don’t have deeper meaning; a brand would just like to sell you things and remind you that it’s there. And remember that companies really have only one core value: making money for shareholders.

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Siegel+Gale’s Phillip Davies makes the case for simplicity

This article originally appeared in The Drum.

In an era where brand messages fight for oxygen across an ever-expanding list of overcrowded channels and platforms, Philip Davies believes there’s one discipline marketers can’t afford to lose: the ability to keep things simple.

Davies, EMEA president at Siegel+Gale and the vice president of the jury for the Design categories in this year’s The Drum Awards Festival, argues that while marketing has never had more tools at its disposal, the proliferation of platforms and messages has made clarity of purpose more critical than ever.

He says: “One of our key ambitions is to help brands uncover what’s truly interesting about them – the thing that will genuinely resonate with the people they want to reach. Guided by our ethos of Simplicity, it’s about stripping away the unnecessary, focusing on what’s essential, and building the ultimate currency of trust.”

Founded in 1969, Siegel+Gale is a global brand consultancy specializing in strategy, design, experience, and naming, helping organizations cut through complexity to connect more meaningfully with their audiences. Its client roster spans multiple sectors, including CVS Health in healthcare, the US Army in government, Wells Fargo in financial services, and SAP in technology, reflecting its ability to simplify even the most complex brands.

In Davies’s view, the brands that articulate their truth concisely and consistently not only stand out in the noise but build a long-term bond with their audiences. The challenge, he says, is that many brand owners have become enamored with showing rather than connecting. The result? Drifting from the art of persuasion.

“It’s not enough to simply present yourself,” says Davies. “Brands today need to persuade – but many still lack a real connection with buyers. True persuasion comes from charm, wit, and entertainment, qualities that aren’t as present as they once were.” For Davies, persuasion isn’t about gimmicks; it’s about delivering relevance in a way that inspires people to act.

And yet, he believes this ability has been dulled by a culture of caution at the top of many businesses. When asked why brands seem reluctant to take creative risks, Davies says: “Too many finance directors are becoming CEOs. Natural caution, shareholder value, and people being concerned about making bold moves. The way humans communicate and interact has become textbook. That’s led to similar, formulaic work. The freshness goes out of it, which is why awards are important – they spotlight what’s new, obvious and useful.”

 

It’s an assessment grounded in the realities of corporate governance. For Davies, the answer isn’t to abandon rigor, but to pair it with curiosity, courage, and a willingness to surprise.

One of the tools he uses to cut through is borrowed from an unlikely place: US patent law. “Is it new? Is it non-obvious and is it useful? If a brand or an idea can say yes to all those things, then you’ve probably got something that is saleable and relevant. It’s a very useful rule of thumb for is this a good brand idea?”

This simple framework, he says, forces both client and agency teams to focus on what will genuinely resonate with audiences rather than what will simply tick an internal approval box.

Like most leading brand agencies, Siegel+Gale is integrating AI into its workflows, but Davies is quick to position it as an enabler rather than a threat.

 

“We work with it in a complementary way, rather than trying to compete with it. Every client will have asked AI the same question they’re asking us. Siegel+Gale’s distinction is our experience, relationships, and discernment. The final 5% of almost anything makes all the difference, and that’s still very much a human component.”

From accelerating research and synthesizing large datasets to generating creative variations, AI has already changed the agency’s pace of delivery. But Davies insists the decisive factor is still the human judgment to spot when something is truly fresh, relevant, and brand-aligned.

Internally, the business has created an AI specialist team with representatives from each office to track emerging capabilities and feed them into a bespoke Siegel+Gale AI model. This, he says, is being used to maintain brand tone of voice globally and ensure consistency across teams and markets.

Davies likens his approach to a philosophy shared by one of his sporting heroes, Formula One champion Niki Lauda: “There’s no secret. I just try to win going as slowly as possible. I love that philosophy that there’s a simplicity there, which is like, okay, look, I’m removing friction, I’m taking away complexity and I’m gonna be successful. There’s something really quite beautiful about that.”

In branding terms, that means ensuring implementation is seamless, messaging is instinctive, and teams can confidently express who they are.

 

As judging day approaches, Davies has a clear vision of the work that will stand out to him in this year’s Design categories. “Relevant work that has absolute clarity. Delightfully surprising things. Great language – people remember words and design that feel like they haven’t been used before. Original thinking, fresh language and work that is useful.”

“I always enjoy seeing the best out there. I got into this business because I’m a practitioner. I love to see the work and still enjoy assessing and analyzing it – trying to unpick how it got there. I enjoy it as a practitioner, as an exercise.”

For Davies, trends will come and go, technologies will reshape the design and brand toolkit, and new platforms will continually fragment the media landscape. But the one competitive advantage that will never lose its potency is a brand’s ability to articulate its essence clearly, memorably, and persuasively.

His final piece of advice to any marketer struggling to cut through the noise of 2025?

“Simplicity.”

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Humans vs. robots: battleground website Pt. 3

Welcome to “Humans vs Robots: Battleground Website”—a multi-part series on how generative AI is quietly rewriting the rules of brand visibility. As algorithms take the reins, brands must now exist in two worlds at once: captivating humans with compelling visuals, while ensuring AI truly understands and represents who they are. In this series, we explore what’s at stake—and how you can thrive where human emotion meets machine logic.

 Part 3: 
The visual paradox: designing for human eyes and algorithmic minds

Today, brands face a new digital contradiction: humans crave instant, emotional visual impact, while algorithms—blind to beauty—focus on text and structure. The challenge: deliver for both at once.

We’ve covered how words matter to AI. However, for people, design is everything: 94% of brand impressions are formed in a flash, based on how things look.

This isn’t just a design problem. It’s an entirely new reality. Two audiences with very different needs, both demanding your attention.

 

How to design for both worlds 1. Layered experiences: the digital mullet

Leading brands are embracing layered design. Business in the front, party (of information) in the back. The visible layer is crisp, clean, and emotionally engaging for people. Underneath, a robust layer of structured content feeds the needs of AI.

Take Cotality. The brand’s new platform welcomes human visitors with bold headlines, vibrant color blocks, and immersive photography: a visual experience that feels intentional and uncluttered. Under the surface, expandable sections and metadata-rich components quietly serve up comprehensive information for machines.

What to do:

Look for places where you can add depth without clutter. Try progressive disclosure; keep the surface simple but let users (and AI) dig deeper when needed.

 

2. Design systems that spark emotion

Color isn’t just decoration; it’s a tool for emotion. Smart brands utilize design systems as more than a style guide; they use them to shape how people perceive and feel.

Breakthrough T1D’s new site turns pinks and blues into optimism, supporting their promise of a better everyday life. The site doesn’t just inform; it uplifts. Every element is part of a carefully built system that delivers both feeling and function.

What to do:

Review your design system. Is it just about consistency, or are you using it to create an emotional connection? Ensure that your colors, shapes, and layouts are as effective as your words.

 

3. Invisible infrastructure, visible impact

The best brands build digital experiences on invisible frameworks that serve both people and algorithms.

Chase Bank’s website is a masterclass. It looks simple. However, beneath the surface, products and information are organized to align with what customers want and what AI needs to understand. Their promise, helping you make the most of your money, comes through clearly, for both humans and machines.

What to do:

Map the connections between your offerings. Is your site architecture as intentional as your design? Ensure your promise and your products are linked, visible, and easy to understand.

 

The investment imperative 

None of this is cosmetic. The leaders aren’t just refreshing their sites—they’re rebuilding digital foundations from the ground up. If you focus on surface alone, you risk creating a digital ghost town: beautiful, but invisible.

This isn’t about whether you can afford to transform. It’s about whether you can afford not to.

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Cannes conversations with Philip Davies: The beauty of simplicity

Philip Davies, President, EMEA, speaks to Transform editor Jack Cousins about the AI age, simplicity as a business advantage and the common mistakes creative leaders make when trying to simplify a brand.

 

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Changemaker Series: Gretchen Huestis

This interview originally appeared in LOCAL. 

Welcome to Changemaker Stories from LOCAL – an ongoing series of personal interviews with leaders driving change across every industry and discipline. Because change shouldn’t mean going it alone.

Changemaker Stories sat down with Siegel+Gale’s Gretchen Huestis, a passionate change leader with more than 20 years of experience from consulting and leading Organizational Development teams to running her own business and collaborating with world-class agencies. We talked about the power of emotional connection, the value of experimentation, and how DJing helps her find inspiration and clarity.

Leading change within your organization can be very meta. While you’re guiding your clients and teams through a transformation, you’re working through changes yourself.

One of my biggest lessons in starting a business is to not do it alone. Success comes from shared expertise, trusted collaborators, and a mix of perspectives that push your thinking further.

One of my favorite parts of leading change is seeing the unlock, that moment when something clicks. Whether it’s a frontline employee or a CEO, there’s nothing more rewarding than knowing that I made a connection, offered a new perspective, or helped someone take a different next step.

One of the most important drivers of change is giving people a sense of agency. When they see their role in the change, it gives them power. It invites reflection on how they’re showing up, what they’re doing in the moment, and how they choose to respond to a change.

For senior employees, it goes even deeper. They may not realize how their own sense of agency shapes the agency and outcomes of those around them.

“When people understand their role in a change, they start to see opportunity. That ownership is a powerful motivator.”

I am a huge believer in the growth mindset. No matter how tough or uncomfortable a change may be, working through it will help you grow as a human.

That mindset applies at the organizational level, too. To stay relevant and resilient, a company has to keep evolving, even when it’s hard. Growth is what keeps it alive.

When introducing change, I focus on key cultural factors: comfort with risk, how people interact, the presence of psychological safety, whether trying new things is encouraged, the transparency of leadership, and the organization’s overall commitment to learning and growth.

A growth mindset starts at the top. Leaders set the tone by modeling curiosity and celebrating efforts to try new approaches. Highlighting these successes across the organization sends a powerful message that innovation and learning are valued.

I recently heard the CMO of Duolingo share that he encourages his global marketing team to dedicate 70% of their time to testing and learning, leaving 30% to steadily advance what’s already proven to work. It’s a smart balance between experimentation and execution.

Humans have two innate sides: a creative, emotional side and a rational, analytical one. For change to truly take hold, you need to engage both.

In Switch by Chip and Dan Heath, they use a powerful metaphor: imagine a rider on top of a 10-ton elephant. The rider represents our rational side, planning, analyzing, and setting direction. The elephant is our emotional, instinctive side that actually powers the movement. And more often than not, the elephant’s strength outweighs the rider’s logic.

The most effective change happens when both sides are engaged. Too often, organizations focus heavily on the rational, analytical side and overlook the emotional. To balance this, they need to try approaches that tap into deeper purpose and meaning.

“There is research that shows that the emotional side of our brain has no capacity for words.”

It’s not enough to send out a deck with the business case and all the points on why a change needs to happen. We’ve got to connect to that emotional side to really drive people.

I believe every organization needs a clear, compelling purpose – that unique, passionate reason for being. A strong North Star like this becomes a vital touchstone, especially during challenging times.

Too often, change is seen as flipping a switch or simply following a checklist like Kotter’s eight steps. But from my experience, real change is nonlinear and requires more than just a formula.

A key to success is giving yourself and others permission to experiment. It will get messy at times, but through that messiness, we learn and keep moving forward.

Outside of this kind of work, I’m a DJ. When I need inspiration, I get on my decks and start mixing and experimenting with the music. When I’m finished, it’s amazing. I have so much energy and clarity from being in a state of flow.

 

Gretchen Huestis is Group Director of Brand-led Change at Siegel+Gale, a global brand consultancy.

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Transforming Cotality: building a brand for the future

How a unified vision and partnership with Siegel+Gale helped Cotality unlock its full potential

The need for change

In today’s fast-moving business world, relevance is everything. Cotality, a company long recognized for mortgage solutions, had quietly expanded into government, telecommunications, retail, and more. After years of growth by acquisition, the company’s story had become fragmented and no longer matched its capabilities or ambitions.

To realize its vision as a leader in information services, Cotality needed a brand that would unite its people, clarify its value, and inspire both customers and employees. That was the starting point for our journey together.

Change begins from within

A successful transformation involves more than a new look. It begins by listening. Cotality brought together a diverse group of leaders and employees from teams across the organization. Through a series of collaborative sessions, these stakeholders shared honest feedback and helped guide every decision.

Open communication was at the heart of the process. The trust and clarity developed in these meetings made it possible to shape a brand that felt authentic to everyone involved.

A narrative that makes sense

Every change needs a story people can believe in. Together, we developed a clear narrative that explained the reasons behind the rebrand. This story was more than a script; it became the foundation for conversations across the company.

The CEO introduced the new brand direction at a company-wide town hall, offering context and answering questions. This transparent approach helped everyone understand the vision and created new momentum for the brand.

Empowering leaders and teams

A brand transformation sticks when people are equipped to carry it forward. We created tailored training programs for executives and a practical toolkit for managers. Executives learned how to connect personally with the new brand. Managers received resources to help their teams understand and embrace the change.

With these tools, leaders and managers felt prepared to share the story and answer any questions, creating a unified front throughout Cotality.

Launching with purpose

Rolling out a new brand requires careful planning. Working closely with HR and communications, we developed a launch strategy that addressed the needs of every audience. The plan ensured that employees, partners, and clients all felt informed and engaged from the start.

The entire process took about five months, from initial discovery to launch. Consistent project management and open communication kept everything on track.

Results that resonate

The outcomes of Cotality’s transformation are clear. The new name and identity reflect a company that is collaborative, ambitious, and equipped to lead in multiple sectors. A refreshed brand architecture and visual system tell a unified and compelling story.

The most important result was cultural. Employees felt a renewed sense of pride and purpose. The new brand became a rallying point for growth, both inside the company and with clients.

Looking ahead

Cotality’s brand journey shows the value of clarity, collaboration, and thoughtful leadership. When every voice is heard and the focus stays on what matters most, transformation is possible. With a strong foundation in place, Cotality is ready for the challenges and opportunities ahead.

If your organization is considering a brand transformation, now is the time to start a conversation about what clarity can do for your future.

The post Transforming Cotality: building a brand for the future appeared first on Siegel+Gale.

Transforming Cotality: Building a brand for the future

How a unified vision and partnership with Siegel+Gale helped Cotality unlock its full potential

The need for change

In today’s fast-moving business world, relevance is everything. Cotality, a company long recognized for mortgage solutions, had quietly expanded into government, telecommunications, retail, and more. After years of growth by acquisition, the company’s story had become fragmented and no longer matched its capabilities or ambitions.

To realize its vision as a leader in information services, Cotality needed a brand that would unite its people, clarify its value, and inspire both customers and employees. That was the starting point for our journey together.

Change begins from within

A successful transformation involves more than a new look. It begins by listening. Cotality brought together a diverse group of leaders and employees from teams across the organization. Through a series of collaborative sessions, these stakeholders shared honest feedback and helped guide every decision.

Open communication was at the heart of the process. The trust and clarity developed in these meetings made it possible to shape a brand that felt authentic to everyone involved.

A narrative that makes sense

Every change needs a story people can believe in. Together, we developed a clear narrative that explained the reasons behind the rebrand. This story was more than a script; it became the foundation for conversations across the company.

The CEO introduced the new brand direction at a company-wide town hall, offering context and answering questions. This transparent approach helped everyone understand the vision and created new momentum for the brand.

Empowering leaders and teams

A brand transformation sticks when people are equipped to carry it forward. We created tailored training programs for executives and a practical toolkit for managers. Executives learned how to connect personally with the new brand. Managers received resources to help their teams understand and embrace the change.

With these tools, leaders and managers felt prepared to share the story and answer any questions, creating a unified front throughout Cotality.

Launching with purpose

Rolling out a new brand requires careful planning. Working closely with HR and communications, we developed a launch strategy that addressed the needs of every audience. The plan ensured that employees, partners, and clients all felt informed and engaged from the start.

The entire process took about five months, from initial discovery to launch. Consistent project management and open communication kept everything on track.

Results that resonate

The outcomes of Cotality’s transformation are clear. The new name and identity reflect a company that is collaborative, ambitious, and equipped to lead in multiple sectors. A refreshed brand architecture and visual system tell a unified and compelling story.

The most important result was cultural. Employees felt a renewed sense of pride and purpose. The new brand became a rallying point for growth, both inside the company and with clients.

Looking ahead

Cotality’s brand journey shows the value of clarity, collaboration, and thoughtful leadership. When every voice is heard and the focus stays on what matters most, transformation is possible. With a strong foundation in place, Cotality is ready for the challenges and opportunities ahead.

If your organization is considering a brand transformation, now is the time to start a conversation about what clarity can do for your future.

The post Transforming Cotality: Building a brand for the future appeared first on Siegel+Gale.

Dare to Simplify: transforming for Wall Street and beyond

A night above Manhattan: Lessons from a room full of brand leaders

Last Tuesday, as the sun dipped behind the skyline, something remarkable happened sixty floors above Manhattan. The glittering lights outside were breathtaking, but inside Manhatta, the real brilliance came from the people in the room a gathering of 25 brand leaders spanning finance, technology, real estate, healthcare, consulting, and entertainment.

It’s not often that so many sharp minds converge in one space. Yet, as conversations flowed and laughter echoed, it was clear: the collective energy and insight easily rivaled the city lights below.

Here are a few takeaways that made the evening truly unforgettable:

Trust is everything

We heard it again and again: trust is the most valuable asset in any partnership. It sounds simple, but building and maintaining trust is hard work. It’s the groundwork for collaboration, innovation, and results that last. When trust is present, ideas grow and so do brands.

Clarity is a wise investment

The group agreed: investing in brand clarity isn’t just smart, it’s essential. Whether you’re answering to shareholders or shaping the next wave of customer experience, clarity is the lever that drives transformation and long-term success. In a world that’s always changing, a clear brand is a steady guide.

Community drives inspiration

There’s a special spark that happens when you bring together people from different industries. New ideas surface. Unexpected connections form. Perspectives shift. By the end of the night, many left with not just fresh insights, but new relationships and renewed energy for what’s next.

A heartfelt thank you to our distinguished speakers Leanne Fremar, Chief Brand Officer at J.P. Morgan Chase, and Kristie Stegen, Chief Brand and Communications Officer at Cotality for sharing their stories in a candid conversation with Wall Street reporter Caroline Woods. Their message was clear: in today’s world, clarity is a courageous choice. And the time to act is now.

As we looked out over Manhattan’s sparkling expanse, one truth shone through: when bright minds gather, they light the way forward together.

Here’s to more nights like this, and to the power of community, clarity, and trust.

The post Dare to Simplify: transforming for Wall Street and beyond appeared first on Siegel+Gale.

Dare to Simplify: Transforming for Wall Street and beyond

A night above Manhattan: Lessons from a room full of brand leaders

Last Tuesday, as the sun dipped behind the skyline, something remarkable happened sixty floors above Manhattan. The glittering lights outside were breathtaking, but inside Manhatta, the real brilliance came from the people in the room a gathering of 25 brand leaders spanning finance, technology, real estate, healthcare, consulting, and entertainment.

It’s not often that so many sharp minds converge in one space. Yet, as conversations flowed and laughter echoed, it was clear: the collective energy and insight easily rivaled the city lights below.

Here are a few takeaways that made the evening truly unforgettable:

Trust is everything

We heard it again and again: trust is the most valuable asset in any partnership. It sounds simple, but building and maintaining trust is hard work. It’s the groundwork for collaboration, innovation, and results that last. When trust is present, ideas grow and so do brands.

Clarity is a wise investment

The group agreed: investing in brand clarity isn’t just smart, it’s essential. Whether you’re answering to shareholders or shaping the next wave of customer experience, clarity is the lever that drives transformation and long-term success. In a world that’s always changing, a clear brand is a steady guide.

Community drives inspiration

There’s a special spark that happens when you bring together people from different industries. New ideas surface. Unexpected connections form. Perspectives shift. By the end of the night, many left with not just fresh insights, but new relationships and renewed energy for what’s next.

A heartfelt thank you to our distinguished speakers Leanne Fremar, Chief Brand Officer at J.P. Morgan Chase, and Kristie Stegen, Chief Brand and Communications Officer at Cotality for sharing their stories in a candid conversation with Wall Street reporter Caroline Woods. Their message was clear: in today’s world, clarity is a courageous choice. And the time to act is now.

As we looked out over Manhattan’s sparkling expanse, one truth shone through: when bright minds gather, they light the way forward together.

Here’s to more nights like this, and to the power of community, clarity, and trust.

The post Dare to Simplify: Transforming for Wall Street and beyond appeared first on Siegel+Gale.