Case Studies

Business Challenges/Situation:

Jamba Juice, once known only for its fruit smoothies, was expanding its product base. Facing the challenge of redefining its product mix, Jamba needed to become a destination for customers at all times of the day. Central to that effort was the successful launch of new products. 

Objective:

Build passion and commitment among Jamba employees around the company's new vision, strategies and product offerings.

Our Approach:

AMF conducted an initial assessment that uncovered three key insights. First, there was room to promote buy-in with field staff. Team members needed to feel connected to the success of the products and consequently the success of the company. Second, Jamba needed a robust internal communications platform for timely and agile communication with the staff. And third, team members needed to know more about the products in order to grow sales.

Strategically, AMF partnered with Jamba to make front-line staff the ultimate brand ambassadors. We worked to communicate sales expectations and accountability across the company. We built an internal portal, produced new product videos and planned multi-city rollout conferences with product and employee training modules. Together these efforts accelerated product knowledge and brand recognition.

Results:

• Grab n' Go was one of Jamba's more successful launches.
• Stock rose by 25 percent three weeks after launch
• AMF was hired to perform the same services for the Hot Blends launch
• AMF was hired as Jamba's outsourced internal communications firm

Dubbed America's Healthy Lifestyle brand, Jamba Juice is the quintessential client for AMF. As the lead service provider for internal communications and product rollouts, we played an integral role in redefining the Jamba brand.

"People seldom do what they say they are going to do. You guys did what you said you would do for us. And you exceeded it."

James White

Chairman & CEO, Jamba Juice

Business Challenges/Situation:

LASC was created as a beacon from the ashes of the Watts Riots for the Compton and Watts communities. In recent years, however, LASC had become an irrelevant option in the Los Angeles community college market. It ranked last in transfer rates to four-year institutions, the majority of its student population was in remedial curriculum and it had lost its accreditation.

Objective:

Create an attractive value proposition for potential students and possible employers. Ensure that the value proposition was competitive with neighboring educational institutions.

Our Approach:

In our initial brand assessment, AMF identified a student population more eager to find employment than participate in a four-year collegiate experience; an employment market eager to partner with LASC; and the need to communicate the successful experiences of both students and employers to the marketplace.

AMF recommended that the College of Careers in Technical Education at LASC play in a different space by focusing on the employment future of its students and addressing head-on the needs of its student population and the concerns of its employment partners. By taking these steps, LASC could become the "Ready for a Career" college.

LASC would prepare students for their chosen field by teaching them how to behave professionally. For employers, LASC would eliminate their risk by serving as a professional filter to support student transition into the workforce.

Results:

• $5.2 million in new revenue directly attributed to the new positioning.
• An increase in student enrollment
• A rise in employer partnerships

"The ROI from the AMF relationship is the best I have seen in my 35-year career."

Dr. Elmer Bugg, Dean of Careers in Technical Education.

Los Angeles Southwest College

Business Challenges/Situation:

The HP Enterprise Services team serving the global Agilent account scored high marks in service and had supported the client in achieving its ambitious goals, including the successful $1.5B acquisition of scientific equipment maker Varian.

To continue meeting the clients growing services and the additional 3,300 employees worldwide added through the acquisition, the HP team needed to raise the level of innovative problem-solving it brought to the client.

A key to achieving the goal was to better leverage its own talented personnel through improved internal communication and better promotion of an enabling company culture.

Objective:

Create a communications platform that connected, inspired and empowered the team. Specifically, the new program would support high-end customer service and promote innovation.

Our Approach:

Through our discovery process, AMF found that team members believed in HP, hungered for relevant content and wanted greater connection with co-workers. In addition, the HP Agilent team was rich in product expertise and operational know-how, but needed to be connected to leverage that knowledge base.

To that end, AMF created HP ALL ACCESS, an internal communications program that included a web portal that became the primary gathering point for the team. It provided customer updates, new product profiles and linked team members across the globe. It also highlighted exemplary customer service and the innovation of individual employees and teams serving the account. Simply put, it built team.

Results:

• The Enterprise Agilent team achieved 143 percent of its revenue plan and 111 percent of its profit plan. That represented a 38 percent year-over-year growth in revenue.
•The team out-performed all other Manufacturing, Energy and Life Science teams at HP.
•The HP Agilent employee team satisfaction scores rose significantly.

"There is a definite correlation between the work AMF performed and the increase in our performance and the elevation of our employee morale. In fact, AMF's work became the focus of a best practice case study inside HP."

James Seay

Sales Vice President

Agilent

Business Challenges/Situation:

Though well-known in San Francisco, BCCI Construction had largely gone unnoticed by local media and the broader Bay Area despite a successful 20-year history. In fact, company executives had been quoted by the media only twice since 1997.

Objective:

Strengthen BCCI's brand awareness beyond San Francisco and establish its expertise in new and emerging service lines including structural restoration.

Our Approach:

The Brand Assessment was clear. BCCI had developed a process for construction management that had resulted in a 99 percent on-time delivery record, a management team regarded as among the industry's best and a reputation as the premier choice for high-end Tenant Improvements. The result: BCCI was a favorite of architects and tier-one developers.

At the time AMF was hired, there were numerous pending building regulations and a growing demand for green construction. The market was looking for answers. AMF immediately leveraged BCCI's knowledge base to regional and national media by providing analysis and context on a series of top-of-mind topics.

BCCI quickly became an industry thought leader and a company to watch.

Results:

• BCCI appeared 26 times in Northern California media and had more than a thousand appearances online in the first 12 months of the campaign.

• A major project in their new Building Restoration division was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle

• BCCI was featured in multiple publications on the Peninsula and in the Silicon Valley.

"When I am out working with clients, I regularly hear compliments on our press coverage. It's making a difference in our client acquisition."

Mike Scribner,

President, BCCI Construction, Inc.

Business Challenges/Situation:

Since 1937, Jenkins Insurance Group has provided integrated business insurance services including risk management, property and casualty insurance and employee benefits programs in Northern California. Jenkins had a solid reputation as a proven service provider, but in recent years Jenkins executives noticed their message failed to register with potential clients.

Objective:

Discover Jenkins' competitive advantage and build a brand position that resonated in the marketplace.

Our Approach:

After thorough market research, AMF repositioned the Jenkins brand around its true competitive advantage: its independent legacy, industry knowledge and commitment to client service. AMF also recommended a name change. When our work began, the company's name was Jenkins Athens Insurance. The Jenkins brand addressed the property causality side and Athens handled benefits. This created confusion in the market and undermined the more recognized and meaningful attribute of the brand – the long-standing, well-respected Jenkins name. Once Jenkins approved the name change, AMF developed a new brand identity, logo and messaging. AMF also built a new web site, marketing collateral and an advertising campaign to introduce the refocused message.

Results:

• Six months after launch, Jenkins completed the biggest deal in its seven decade history, merging with Leavitt Group Enterprises, Inc., the 14th-largest U.S. insurance brokerage firm.
• AMF, the new name and local, client-focused branding were retained.
• Jenkins now outpaces its market peers in performance and growth of marketshare.

"AMF helped us find our voice. This has truly been a fruitful partnership."
Curt Perata, President, Jenkins Benefits Insurance

Business Challenges/ Situation:

CMI is the central think tank of Kaiser. As a cross regional division, its sole objective is to improve the quality of care throughout the Kaiser network. To do so effectively, it had to overcome two specific challenges. First, show value in participative learning within a corporate culture that operates and self identifies by its respective regions. Second, address the lack of an internal communications infrastructure that promotes best practice learning and connects a national network.

Objective:

Create an effective communication program that increases awareness, support and utilization of CMI as the repository and promoter of Kaiser's best practices.

Our Approach:

AMF determined that success could be found in rising above the massive amounts of information inside the Kaiser network. As a result, we created a program that offered interactive segments, video, and internal and external web portals. The cornerstone of the content inside each of these vehicles was value. Once the CMI brand was reintroduced, its value and attraction throughout the Kaiser network caught fire.

Kaiser team members can now keep track of CMI through electronic content, an interdepartmental meeting calendar and educational programs designed to promote premier patient care.

Results:

• CMI was fully embraced and utilized across the entire Kaiser Permanente network.

• AMF was hired for a Phase II to build an external campaign to promote CMI.

• CMI has been recognized outside of Kaiser as a national thought leader and is now sought after to conduct seminars on patient care best practices across the country.