Amplifying an innovation leader’s impact
RTI Innovation Advisors works with New Kind to create a story capturing the perspective of a globally recognized leader in innovation consulting
Background
For over 50 years, RTI Innovation Advisors has worked with innovation-driven organizations around the world. Helping them turn insights into new products, services, and technologies with meaningful business and human impact.
RTI Innovation Advisors’ affiliation with RTI International helped give them a firm foundation from which to engage with their clients—Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and global foundations. But they needed a more focused and resonant story to tell. One that was uniquely their own. And they needed a way to clearly articulate their highly differentiated innovation perspective in a crowded market landscape.
The RTI Innovation Advisors team came to New Kind for help clarifying their positioning, crafting their story and messaging, and expressing their innovation perspective. A new verbal identity to launch the organization into the next 50 years.
Industries: Innovation and Strategy Consulting
Services: Company Messaging, Positioning, Research, Storytelling
The Opportunity
RTI Innovation Advisors’ team of innovation analysts and advisors are seasoned experts—highly skilled in uncovering insights to lead their clients through successful innovation initiatives. Working with this experienced team of facilitators gave us the opportunity to turn that same focus inward.
We interviewed a selection of internal and external stakeholders—people who had either worked at or partnered with RTI Innovation Advisors for many years. We surveyed RTI Innovation Advisors employees, as well as employees of the broader RTI International organization. And we conducted comprehensive brand and competitive audits—analyzing the data for key messaging themes and opportunities for improvement.
Discovery
Through our research and discovery synthesis, we learned about RTI Innovation Advisors’ deep commitment to not only informing—but also partnering—with their clients.
We came to understand the immense value their diverse team delivers.
We heard about the incredible business ventures and human achievements RTI Innovation Advisors has made possible over the last 50+ years.
And we learned that RTI Innovation Advisors’ unique perspective on the process and future of innovation is a crucial differentiator. And an advantage they hadn’t yet fully realized.
Strategy Workshop
The RTI Innovation Advisors and New Kind teams came together for a full-day workshop to review themes uncovered during our discovery.
We discussed the feedback from our surveys and interviews, and identified opportunities to both grow and refine RTI Innovation Advisors’ messaging moving forward.
We also worked through a series of activities. Creating alignment around the current and future desired state of the RTI Innovation Advisors brand. Clarifying the organization’s target audiences. Honing in on key points of difference and competitive advantages. And collecting clues that would help us craft the RTI Innovation Advisors narrative.
Story and Messaging
RTI Innovation Advisors’ focus on creating solutions that change the world for the better—whether through human, business, or social innovation—is a cornerstone of their process.
This outcomes-driven approach, backed by the Innovation Advisors’ collective breadth and depth of experience, is what has kept many of the organization’s clients engaged with them for decades. And it’s what has put RTI Innovation Advisors at the center of some of the most important innovation initiatives over the past five decades.
We looked to RTI Innovation Advisors’ mission—turning insights into world-changing innovations—for inspiration for their new big brand message:
Amplifying your innovation impact
This big brand message is supported by RTI Innovation Advisors’ three key differentiators. Technical agility—extending the knowledge of their clients’ teams and tapping into the expertise of the broader RTI International team. Customized collaboration—operating as a smart partnership to elevate the value their clients bring to their communities. And innovation expertise—expanding their clients’ creative potential, grounded in experience gained over 50+ years.
And at the heart of RTI Innovation Advisors’ story is a commitment to building teams with innovation- and design-thinking mindsets. Preparing organizations to take on meaningful challenges with disruptive ideas. And empowering teams to not only excel in their current innovation initiatives—but to fundamentally shift the way they solve problems.
The final guide we created for RTI Innovation Advisors included key brand strategy elements to carry this new narrative forward: story, positioning, messaging, and frameworks to measure competitive differentiation.
Designed to give their content and creative teams a roadmap for organizing and sharing the new messaging. Giving everyone in the organization a story to tell. Documenting their unique innovation perspective in a resonant and actionable way.
Outcomes
Since completing our work with RTI Innovation Advisors, the team has launched a new website—built from the foundation of our brand story and messaging.
The website, a key revenue-driving touchpoint for RTI Innovation Advisors, now tells a clear and compelling story about what makes RTI Innovation Advisors special. The messaging used throughout reflects the organization’s legacy of excellence. The verbal personality feels impactful, simple, and cohesive.
All supporting RTI Innovation Advisors’ mission to amplify the innovation impact of their clients around the world—improving business outcomes and advancing human achievement.