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Announcing the Launch of Phase 5’s New Brand and Communications Practice

At Phase 5, we’re thrilled to unveil our newly expanded Brand and Communications Practice. This launch aligns with our recent brand relaunch and our powerful new tagline, Drive Bold Decisions. This expanded service area allows us to help our clients not only gather valuable insights but also turn those insights into action to enhance their brand health and customer engagement in tangible, measurable ways.

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Why This Practice? Addressing Gaps in Brand and Communications Research

Our decision to formally launch a dedicated Brand and Communications Practice is rooted in our observations of common industry challenges. In the world of brand and communication studies, traditional methods often yield plenty of data on customer perceptions. Yet, these findings don’t always translate into concrete shifts in brand health metrics like awareness, favorability, and consideration. Clients are spending significant resources to track these metrics, yet, as we’ve observed, results often stagnate or revert to the mean. We believe that brand research should move the needle, providing clients with insights that foster real, measurable brand growth. Our approach emphasizes actionable insights that can drive effective changes.

Additionally, we’ve noticed that conventional brand research methods rely on assumptions that may not always reflect recent empirical studies on consumer and buyer behavior. We’re challenging these assumptions by applying findings from leading research institutions, like the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, which reveals that brands grow not by increasing individual customer loyalty but by expanding their reach and accessibility. These insights are central to our new approach to brand research.

Building on Our Legacy of Product Innovation and CX Expertise

This expanded practice is an extension of our longstanding commitment to helping clients develop strong product value propositions and refined customer experiences. Brand strategy should align with customer experience (CX), ensuring consistency between what brands promise and how they actually interact with customers. This alignment is essential for any brand to gain and retain customer trust and credibility.

Who Will Benefit Most from Our Expanded Offering?

While our Brand and Communications Practice is adaptable across industries, we expect it to resonate particularly well in sectors where our expertise is well-established, such as financial services, nonprofits, and B2B organizations. In particular, B2B companies, which often underinvest in brand development, can benefit from targeted brand strategies that enhance visibility and relevance in highly competitive environments.

Innovative Methodologies for Modern Brand Strategy

The methodologies behind our new practice are designed to address the real challenges faced by today’s brand managers and communications professionals. For example, instead of focusing on differentiation, we prioritize distinctiveness. Our research has shown that consumers rarely choose brands based on perceived uniqueness; instead, they are drawn to brands that stand out and are easily recognizable. We focus on brand distinctiveness through mental availability, making sure that when consumers think of a particular need, our clients’ brands come to mind first.

Our Future Vision: Developing New Tools and Expanding Client Impact

With this launch, we’re setting the stage for future innovation in brand and communications research. Our team is actively developing tools that go beyond conventional metrics, such as techniques for assessing ad retention and brand distinctiveness. Our goal is to help our clients achieve greater mental availability and build connections with customers through brand elements like logos, taglines, and other recognizable assets.

In the coming years, we’ll be building out our client roster and establishing Phase 5 as a go-to resource for organizations seeking actionable brand insights. We’re eager to bring our clients not just data, but meaningful guidance that drives business results. And we look forward to sharing client success stories as this practice grows.

If you’re ready to make bold decisions that elevate your brand, we’re here to help. Reach out to us through LinkedIn or email us and let’s start driving your brand forward together.

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Author: Michael Dolenko

Michael Dolenko, MA, is a partner at Phase 5 and leads the Brand & Communications practice. Michael is a sought-after moderator and survey researcher for clients in financial services, retail, technology, education and publishing. He and his team focus on brand and communications research and studies that support brand strategy.