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    New York, NY
    212.329.3030

Where brand meets innovation.

4.7
18 reviews

Tenet Partners is consistently recognized as the leader in corporate branding and product innovation. Our philosophy is simple and compelling: We integrate the disciplines of branding and innovation through human-centered design to create value for your company, your employees and your customers.

Our approach to experience design changes lives, transforms brand journeys, inspires action and gets work done. We craft vision and strategy positions that accelerate growth. We have the tools and talents to design, manage and protect your brand and engage in cultural shifts that drive change.

Our proven methodology has created compelling signature brand experiences for hundreds of corporate organizations over decades. Our work in consumer branding touches hearts and activates minds by appealing to both emotional and functional benefits.

As long-time experts in all things digital, we create innovative digital experiences for our clients that are both intuitive and rewarding. Our work in digital products and UX design is always rooted on a solid strategic foundation.

Our ability to rapidly understand even the most complex issues of our large enterprise and mid-market clients enables us to bring insights and innovative ideas to the process quicker. With easy access to our senior expertise and resources, we build a true partnership delivered seamlessly to our clients.

Our services

Corporate Branding
Brand strategy and positioning
Brand portfolio architecture
Vision, values and purpose
Messaging and segmentation
Logo
Identity
Guidelines

Product and Service Branding
Product identity
Packaging
Touch point design
Consumer insights
Product innovation

Brand Management
Brand management SaaS
Brand management outsourcing

READ MORE...
 
$75,000+
 
$200 - $300 / hr
 
10 - 49
 Founded
1973
Show all +
New York, NY
headquarters
  • 122 West 27th Street, 9th Floor
    New York, NY 10001
    United States
    212.329.3030
other locations
  • 19 Cambridge Street
    Rochester, NY +1 (585) 256-204
    United States

Portfolio

Key clients: 

Mastercard, APM Terminals, Xerox, Conduent, IBM, Cisco Systems, W. L. Gore & Associates, Edwards Lifesciences, John Deere, Cotiviti, LG Electronics, Vallen, Rockwell Collins, The Institute of Culinary Education, Long Beach Airport, Citrix Systems, The Hartford, Legrand, Matrix Service Company, Kraft Heinz

Vallen

Mergers can be tricky. Customers, suppliers, employees and investors all need reassurance—and the new company’s value must be made clear to all. When industrial suppliers Hagemeyer and IDG came together, integration became a critical goal. A highly successful, broad-based program from Tenet addressed everything from identity to launch strategy and cultural integration. The result: One team, one company with shared strengths.

The Hartford

200 years of service to customers is something to celebrate. As The Hartford—one of America’s oldest insurers—approached that milestone, Tenet Partners helped it craft and execute a strategy that brought customers and their personal stories to the fore.

Mastercard

Tenet Partners' Managed Services offering takes on many of the day-to-day functions of brand management for the Mastercard marketing team, from logo requests to approval routing. This frees them to concentrate on adding value to the brand. A Tenet professional with long experience and deep knowledge of the brand is dedicated to the account, acting as a valuable member of the Mastercard team and an efficient conduit to agency services.

Long Beach Airport

As part of a major reconstruction, Long Beach Airport captured an opportunity to increase traffic by redefining the passenger experience. Working closely with Tenet Partners designers and strategists, the airport created a new, nationally recognized brand that captures the warm and welcoming spirit of Southern California.

Institute of Culinary Education (ICE)

When one of America’s oldest cooking schools sought to differentiate itself in the hyper-competitive NYC food landscape, it turned to Tenet Partners to uncover and communicate the compelling idea that lies at the very heart of its identity.

APM Terminals

APM Terminals was closely associated with its owner, global shipping giant Maersk. To grow, the company needed to connect with other shipping lines while protecting the link to its parent. Tenet Partners strategists and designers dug deep, gaining insight that yielded a winning approach: an independent brand and user experience that led to significant growth.

Reviews

4.7
18 reviews
Sort by

Brand Strategy, Identity & Positioning for Study Abroad Program

"They’re a personable group that is very willing to understand your business and the challenges you face."

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4.5

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
4.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$1,000,000 - $9,999,999
 
2011 - 2014
Project summary: 

During an extensive engagement, Tenet Partners provided a range of brand strategy services for a study abroad program. Tasks included branding initiatives and developing a website and other digital assets.

The Reviewer
 
1,001-5,000 Employees
 
New York, New York
Brenda Majeski
CMO & SVP of Strategic Initiatives, CIEE
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

Website traffic has increased, resulting in higher enrollment figures, and the standardization of digital assets has reduced production costs significantly. Tenet Partners delivered all materials on time and budget. They proved to be a diligent and thoughtful vendor.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief marketing officer and senior vice president of strategic initiatives at CIEE, a nonprofit, international study abroad and exchange provider. We offer inbound and outbound international programs for students ranging from high school through post-college.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Tenet Partners?

When I came to CIEE, we didn’t have much of an infrastructure for our branding. Our name and logo weren’t properly registered or trademarked. We hired Tenet Partners to help us develop and protect our brand assets.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We relied on Tenet Partners to design a logo, decide on our typefaces, and position the entire brand. They worked with our team to develop a brand strategy and digital assets. Because we have staff in 43 countries, we had to address different languages and different technical platforms and limitations in certain countries. We had to be pretty savvy with what we developed so that all of our properties could use it. Ultimately, the project primarily concerned branding, but their development of digital assets also helped to support our planning efforts and the worldwide management of our brand. They professionalized our organization.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with Larry (Senior Partner, Tenet Partners) for years. He does a lot of their web, digital, and technical assets. He had various other team members as well.

How did you come to work with Tenet Partners?

I’ve worked with Tenet Partners on three major projects over the last 20 years. They are my go-to partner whenever I have a brand strategy, technical, or web design projects.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement spanned 2011–2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Our enrollment has doubled in the last five years in an industry that’s growing 2%. All the pieces to professionalize who we are and what we do has fed into that. Their production of digital assets standardized our materials, which are now easier to disseminate thanks to an online asset tool. Instead of our staff recreating templates and logos locally, we now have a system that allows them to download what they need in the form and size they need it. This has reduced annual production spends around $1 million–$2 million.

The improvements to our website facilitated our goal of recruiting students from across the country, not just our region anymore. Our online traffic increased three times over in the first year. By the second year, it was almost five times. The content was obviously resonating with students that we were trying to attract. Those students turned into qualified leads, our enrollment grew, and we met our housing capacity.

How did Tenet Partners perform from a project management standpoint?

In the three instances I’ve worked with them, the projects have always been on time and budget without me having to micromanage the project. We never experienced any surprises because they provided reports regularly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are a talented group of people. They’ve been professionals in their field for a long time. They’re a personable group that is very willing to understand your business and the challenges you face. They take the time and energy to learn about what’s important to you. I enjoyed working with their entire team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’ve had some members of their staff retire in the last five years. I’ve encouraged them to be very intentional about who and how they replace that talent. Hiring somebody quickly is not as important as making sure the firm’s talent level remains the same.

4.5
Overall Score Sometimes we had very challenging projects, but we still got it on time and budget.
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
    We were always on time and budget.
  • 4.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
    They're fairly priced.
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer
    I'd recommend them, no question.

Web Dev & Branding for Global Print Technologies Corporation

“Tenet Partners navigates the intricacies of working with our large corporation.”

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4.0

Quality: 
4.0
Schedule: 
4.0
Cost: 
4.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$200,000 to $999,999
 
Apr. 2013 - Ongoing
Project summary: 

Tenet Partners developed a site to house an international corporation’s branding assets with integrated tools for content registration. Along with consulting and implementation, they provide ongoing support.

 

The Reviewer
 
10,000+ Employees
 
Rochester, New York
Head of Global Brand, Global Print Technologies Corporation
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

The tools and platform Tenet Partners delivered are leveraged on a consistent basis by thousands of internal marketing users. Their deliverables streamline the marketing department’s workflow and preempt time-wasting duplicated efforts. The expert team is responsive and knowledgeable. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am head of global brand at an international print technologies corporation. We develop brand strategies to implement through our brand guidelines and communicate out to our customers via our communications platform. We also activate them through other programs internally and externally and make them accessible to our agency partners and internal resources. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Tenet Partners?

First of all, we needed a repository to host branding information where all of our employees and external partners could access it. We hired Tenet Partners to develop that website. They continue to work with us in partnership to keep it updated regarding technology and so it reflects our most current standards. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I came on board right when the site had just launched. While I wasn't part of the actual development process, I've been the owner of the site for the last six years. Tenet Partners currently provides maintenance, implementations, and recommendations about how we can best serve our customers using upgrades. 

They also partner with us to develop tools that attach to that platform. About a month ago, we just finished launching a content registration tool that's latched onto the brand central area Tenant Partners developed for our marketers to register all of their content. 

What is the team composition? 

My go-to person is Larry (Senior Partner, Digital, Tenet Partners. He and Ernie (Partner, Digital, Tenet Partners) are my primary contacts. They take care of anything from little nitpicky issues to enormous needs. When I contact them, they both typically respond right away. They have a team of people working with them behind the scenes. 

How did you come to work with Tenet Partners?

I inherited Tenet Partners as a developer from my previous boss who brought them on. We have the option to go with other vendors, but we haven't chosen to move away from their team because they're skilled at their work and have been great partners for us. They keep everything running very smoothly and fix any issues immediately. They're always recommending upgrades and options without trying to upsell us. These suggestions are genuinely for our benefit. They're flexible and want what's best for us in the end. Their prices aren't cheap, but they offer a great value for our investment. 

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent over $200,000 so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working together since April 2013. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

I don't have the metrics off the top of my head, but our website and the analytics on our brand central indicate that we have thousands of visitors on our site. We've found that users can find the information they need relatively quickly once they get to our platform which helps them do their job more easily. 

The tool Tenet Partners built is highly utilized quite frequently throughout our corporation. The majority of our employees use it whenever they need access to information. All of our marketing agencies use the brand review tool they developed for us, as well. 

Putting the brand central system in place gave us a line of sight line to all of the communications materials that are developed globally throughout our corporation, so we aren't duplicating efforts or recreating things that are already done. It's helped us become more efficient and ensure we're not creating unnecessary content that isn't going to be promoted or see the light of day. 

How did Tenet Partners perform from a project management standpoint?

Tenet Partners takes care of several aspects of project management for us. They understood our deadlines and provided a full project timeline upfront. Once we agreed to that timing, they do the important work of keeping us on track by reminding us to stick to the schedule. They always meet their timelines and finish everything within the budget. 

Tenet Partners handles both small and large projects very well. Tenet Partners navigates the intricacies of working with our large corporation. Each project has numerous stakeholders who we have to get to agree. They pull the information they need from us effectively to maintain progress. 

Working one-on-one with the experts on their team is much better than going through a generic account manager. They participate in our meetings and offer us a personalized experience, so nothing gets misinterpreted.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Tenet Partners has a lot of knowledge and expertise in the brand area. They troubleshoot well and design tools or re-navigate sites to make them the most functional for the user. The team makes an effort to ensure the UX provides the best benefit to the user, which is a great value add for every project they come through. 

We genuinely feel like we've formed a relationship with Tenet Partners. They make working together easy, and I feel comfortable with them. They even guide and educate our team. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’ve had a very good experience with them, so I can't really think of anything. In a few instances, we had minor delays with responses to our requests for help when they were in a client meeting. My only critiques are so trivial they don't seem worth mentioning. 

4.0
Overall Score
  • 4.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 4.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 4.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

Branding for Digital Interactions Company

"They went above and beyond to deliver the best possible customer service."

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4.5

Quality: 
4.5
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
4.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$200,000 to $999,999
 
Aug. 2016 - Jan. 2017
Project summary: 

Tenet Partners helped launch a digital interactions company brand. They created marketing templates and brand guidelines, built a brand review portal, and organized five agencies’ work over a tight timeline.

The Reviewer
 
10,000+ Employees
 
Rochester, New York
VP of Global Marketing, Digital Interactions Company
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

The brand launched successfully and sees thousands of unique visitors on its brand portal, leading more work for Tenet Partners. The team delivered high-quality products from start to finish. They provided top-notch customer service throughout and met all agreed-upon budgets and deadlines.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the VP of global marketing for a major digital interactions company. We helped clients manage interactions with end users through a variety of business services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Tenet Partners?

We are a business services spinoff from a Fortune 500 technology company. We needed to create a new brand as well as its assets in eight weeks. We engaged Tenet Partners to develop the guidance and assets for our brand. We also needed a brand portal and methods for managing multiple agencies’ work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Tenet Partners set up processes for five other marketing agencies to deliver work for our launch. They developed a Basecamp site to coordinate each agency’s work and allow them to share documents. In addition, Tenet Partners developed every office and marketing template we use. They range from our letterhead to our brochures to our case studies. They also created guidelines on how to use our brand. The guidelines affect materials such as brand collateral, company events, infographics, photo strategies, and tone of voice. Lastly, they built a brand review site. All users looking to upload a piece of media online with our brand needs to submit it to our brand portal for approval. The manager in charge of our portal then assigns that media a brand review number to confirm its acceptance.

What is the team composition?

Larry (Senior Partner, Digital, Tenet Partners) was our key point of contact. We also worked with Ernie (Partner, Digital, Tenet Partners) and several other team members as needed.

How did you come to work with Tenet Partners?

I worked with them on a project for a prior position. The team provided us with a brand portal that was highly accessible and easy to use in-house. It also had a photo library equipped with keyword search and rights management. Tenet Partners’ work deeply impressed me, so I reached out to them first for this project.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $400,000–$500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together on this project from August 2016 until January 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Our brand had an extremely successful launch. We see thousands of unique visitors and downloads to our brand portal every month. Tenet Partners still hosts and manages the portal and helped us put 22 templates in place. We’ve engaged them for other projects and are highly satisfied with their work.

How did Tenet Partners perform from a project management standpoint?

Tenet Partners stuck to their costs and time estimates from start to finish. Sometimes we expanded the original scope and put in a change request, but they were otherwise highly reliable and diligent in meeting our agreed-upon budget and deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They went above and beyond to deliver the best possible customer service. I can reach out to them at any time and get a quick response to a problem or small task at no extra charge.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’re highly satisfied with their work.

4.5
Overall Score They provided strong results and were always open to feedback and improving their processes.
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
    They stuck to their deadlines.
  • 4.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
    They stand out from the competition in delivering high-quality products at excellent value.
  • 4.5 Quality
    Service & deliverables
    Their deliverables lacked bugs and major issues, making each launch a breeze.
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer
    I have recommended them on numerous occasions.

Brand Asset Management System for Global Nonprofit Organization

“They always provide clear and simple project plans with key milestones highlighted.”

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5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
4.0
Cost: 
4.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$200,000 to $999,999
 
2014 - Ongoing
Project summary: 

Tenet Partners collaborated with the internal team to build a brand asset management system. They created personas, conducted market research, and did both technical and design work.

The Reviewer
 
1,001-5,000 Employees
 
Charlottesville, Virginia
Creative & Brand Strategy Director, Nonprofit Organization
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

Tenet Partners is flexible and takes time to build a friendly and efficient working relationship. They do high-quality work that’s resulted in satisfied end users. Their responsiveness dropped a little bit during the project, but they’re back to having effective communication.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the creative and branding strategy director for a global nonprofit that provides educational and membership services to about 140 financial investment management professionals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Tenet Partners?

We needed a partner to help us develop a brand asset management system. Since then, we’ve worked with Tenet Partners on multiple other projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Tenet Partners developed a set of online brand guidelines, tools, and asset library for our internal marketing colleagues and external agencies. We started with a discovery process to determine what kinds of information we needed on the site. We then did persona development for the customers who’d be coming to the site and figuring out what their needs and expectations were. After that, we built out wireframes, referencing examples from other companies’ that we liked.

Beyond producing a finalized site, Tenet Partners also worked closely with our IT and quality control departments, making sure that all the permissions were right and that the site functioned properly. They even worked with our internal communications team to conduct an annual online report.

What is the team composition?

We have one main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Tenet Partners?

They were a recommendation. They’re leaders in the online brand centers space and have both the technical and design skills to make an impressive end product, so we hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $500,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been partners since 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We use Google Analytics and have seen good usage of our brands. About 1,000 people have access to our brand center, and they consistently use it. Our colleagues in other regions find it particularly useful, and external agencies also think it’s one of the better ones they’ve seen.

How did Tenet Partners perform from a project management standpoint?

They always provide clear and simple project plans with key milestones highlighted. They’re flexible and adjust to our needs as the project scope and goals change.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re collaborative and work well with our internal team. Their designs are always clean and match our brand guidelines. If I ever have a question, they take the time to explain answers and options, which not all firms do.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They had staffing problems at one time and could’ve been more responsive.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 4.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
    We did have one issue with scheduling.
  • 4.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
    They’re a reasonable price, not too expensive but not the cheapest.
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
    They spend time figuring out problems and then deliver a solution that actually works.
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

Web Dev & Branding for Railroad Holding Company

“They have a thorough understanding of business and branding.”

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5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
4.5
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$200,000 to $999,999
Project summary: 

Tenet Partners provides long-term web development and branding, working on several different websites within their own CMS. They work on web design, graphic design, and implementation of development.

The Reviewer
 
1,001-5,000 Employees
 
Darien, Connecticut
Michael Williams
VP of Corporate Communications, Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

Their efforts produce excellent results, including a website rebrand that allowed a company to be acquired for well above their previous share price. They are detail-oriented, demonstrate both business and technical acumen, and adhere well to their estimates.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of corporate communications at Genesee & Wyoming Inc., a railroad holding company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Tenet Partners?

We needed help with branding and web development for several websites.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed two or three corporate websites for us, using their CMS for our website and our intranet. In the past, I’ve had them on retainer for design, for which they did PowerPoint templates for me, as well as web and graphic design.

What sets them apart is the degree of thought they put into everything they do. We begin each project with a call to go over the scope, then they’ll research the background and put together recommendations or proposals that are always well-thought-out and professionally executed.

What is the team composition?

I work primarily with Hampton (CEO, Tenet Partners) and their technology lead, Larry (Senior Partner, Digital, Tenet Partners). There are several additional people working on the project and designers.

How did you come to work with Tenet Partners?

I’ve worked with them for 20 years at three different organizations. They were working on a project at another department of the company I was with at the time, which is how I became aware of them.

How much have you invested with them?

The websites were six-figure projects.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together 20 years ago and continue working together for web maintenance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

A rebranding project they worked on contributed to that company being acquired at a significant premium to its pre-rebranding share price.

How did Tenet Partners perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management was excellent, and they were very detailed. Everything is done within an estimate of the project plan. We use phone and email to communicate, and they also have a client portal for exchanging documents.

What did you find most impressive about them?

First and foremost, they have a thorough understanding of business and branding. They’re don’t approach projects solely from a technology perspective. They’ve got a thorough understanding of branding and the quality of their design is always amazing. The degree of thought that they put into all their projects impresses me. Their work is of good quality.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their focus is on projects that are larger than what I typically do. I have to be selective in what I use them for because I’ve got a smaller budget. On the project management side, they’re good at sticking to estimates.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 4.5 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
    Sometimes it takes more rounds than we both think they will initially.
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
    The value is there.
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer
    I’ve recommended them in the past.

Consumer Branding for Specialty Insurance Company

“We felt like we were working with a leading independent branding consultancy with very distinctive native talent.”

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5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
4.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$50,000 to $199,999
 
July 2017 - Feb. 2018
Project summary: 

Tenet Partners supported various brand identity initiatives for an insurance company. They did market research and created logos and brand imagery that stood out in a competitive marketplace.

The Reviewer
 
1,001-5,000 Employees
 
Hartford, Connecticut
VP of Corporate Communications, HSB Group
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

The latest work with Tenet just launched, but its strength shows early promise for success. Tenet Partners has a good team with a notable set of skills. They followed a data-driven process to ensure that the right materials went to market.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the vice president of corporate communications for a multi-line specialty insurance company. We also provide engineering management, inspection services, and IoT services. We are the leading provider of equipment breakdown insurance in North America.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Tenet Partners?

We needed help maintaining our brand identity after acquisition. We also wanted help with various branding efforts, system design, and logo development projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They took a deep dive into the consumer market segment we were targeting and did secondary research on our competitors. They helped us find a way to position the product so it was distinctive in a competitive landscape.

They presented five brand identity and logo options to us. Several of them were excellent, but one stood out as the best match for the values and attributes we wanted to convey. It was a homerun effort that we were very pleased with.

What is the team composition?

We work with one of the partners. He acts as the strategic guide to the project. We also worked with an account person, a creative director, and a few other team members.

How did you come to work with Tenet Partners?

Our focus has primarily been B2B but we are diversifying our business and growing revenues with new B2C offerings. Our very strong B2B brand had no equity in the consumer market and our parent company mandates that B2C businesses use an autonomous brand.  We needed help to launch a consumer brand, tell a compelling story, distinguish it in a crowded category and convey the heritage, reliability and trustworthiness of the company without using our B2B company name or symbol.

We needed a brand consulting firm to with deep expertise who could help us develop a consumer brand that could fight above its weight allowing us to compete with competitors with larger marketing budgets. We also needed them to develop brand standards and to define the foundational rules for using the visual system elements so that we could achieve consistent expression of the brand in multiple media executed through both internal resources and external vendors.

How much have you invested with them?

They’ve worked with us on two major projects for the consumer brand we needed. Each came to roughly $19,500, so our total spend is over $39,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We received proposals from them beginning in July 2017. We approved the logo by mid-September 2017 and we completed the whole consumer product brand and brand standards identity by January 2018. We sent everything to the marketplace after that.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We recently launched the marketplace, so the success is yet to be determined. We feel we have a terrific brand with very good consumer-facing offerings. Tenet Partners have done really outstanding work and the value is incredible.

How did Tenet Partners perform from a project management standpoint?

They were exceptionally good project managers. They laid out a schedule and kept everything on track. They defined everyone’s responsibilities and reminded us about deadlines and due dates. They were always tactful and diplomatic but also direct.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of their team is wonderful. We felt like we were working with a leading independent branding consultancy with very distinctive native talent. We had a great experience working with them and I really trust them. They have a data-driven process and made sure the guidance they provided was grounded in fact. We were assured that they were preparing us for the right outcomes.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re very consistent and understand the importance of brand image. They primarily market themselves as a brand consultancy that offers corporate identity or product services. They do have other competencies, so my only recommendation to them would be to increase their merchandising for their other capabilities. They’ve developed literature, videos, and other materials for us, and they do a good job with all of that. It’s not obvious that they have those abilities without probing deeper into their company. They also have a strong digital competency in microsites and other online media.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 4.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
    Sometimes, they're more expensive than other firms, but they're worth it. At other times, their pricing is very affordable.
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

Internal Branding and Web Design for Environmental Nonprofit

“They all seem to get behind our mission and enjoy helping us achieve it.”

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4.5

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
4.5
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$50,000 to $199,999
 
Jun. 2017 - Ongoing
Project summary: 

Tenet designed and developed a WordPress site and facilitated a branding alignment. They included an engagement bar with links to more content and led two visioning workshops which produced an in-house report and website.

The Reviewer
 
11-50 Employees
 
New Haven, Connecticut
Laura McMillan
Director of Communications, Connecticut Fund for the Environment/Save the Sound
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

The site garnered positive internal feedback. Tenet’s diverse knowledge of web development and branding led to an expanded scope. They have been understanding of the nonprofit landscape and associated timing lags. They are available via multiple channels of communication and are responsive to questions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of communications at the Connecticut Fund for the Environment & Save the Sound. We are a leading environmental advocacy non-profit. We have litigation, lobbying, and on-the-ground components. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Tenet Partners?

Our website was in desperate need of updating. We had migrated it to Wix several years ago, from a professional service, which made it easier to make in-house edits, but it was not professional-looking. Things were gradually deteriorating on it, and it was really time to get back on the professional bandwagon. One of our primary goals for the whole project was figuring out how to make the site be welcoming to and work for our users, rather than be designed around the staff’s needs.

We had also brought on a third brand last year. The Connecticut Fund for the Environment and Save the Sound were originally separate organizations that were merged, and we brought in Soundkeeper in 2017. This presented some branding challenges.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We originally approached Tenet just for web work. As an organization with a small and busy communications team, we don’t have a deep bench of coding knowledge. It was important to us that the site be made on something that was easy to use, and which we already had some familiarity with. They decided to build the site on WordPress, listened to our specific needs, and built several custom approaches within WordPress when we needed them—sometimes on short notice.

We have a main homepage, along with three rotating tabs for the Connecticut Fund for the Environment, Save the Sound, and Soundkeeper brands. Each one leads to a landing page for that brand, so that we can choose where to direct people at any given time. Each page has its main content, and, after scrolling past that, will display an “engagement bar.” Those bars display snippets of our calendar of events, blog, email action network, the call to become a member, and an invitation to view our videos page. These items are made visible on every page, in order to draw people to different engagement points.

Tenet’s team recognized our complex branding challenges right away, and offered to engage in a brand identity and alignment process with us. They led a half-day workshop around our brand identity, which included a fairly large number of board and staff members from our side. We came to rough consensuses, which they distilled into a report. We refined that report a bit, and it has continued to be very helpful to us like in writing for the website or developing elevator pitches. Having experts in both branding and web design in one shop was huge for us—they made the process streamlined and kept the big picture in mind.

What is the team composition?

We have a dedicated account manager at Tenet, and we have also worked with their Senior Strategy and Research Partner, Senior Digital Partner, and their Digital Marketing Director. They assigned a designer to our project as well. 

How did you come to work with Tenet Partners?

We went through an RFP process, but they were actually recommended to us by one of our board members. They had previously worked with Tenet on a complex brand issue.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested $27,000, and I would estimate Tenet has given another $75,000 or more in their services pro bono.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started talking with them one year ago. The kickoff meeting and branding process started in June 2017. The website visioning meeting took place in August and September of that year. We’ve continued to work on the actual development and content creation.

The site launch is planned for mid-April, after which we will have a public launch at the start of May 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We don’t have quantitative results yet, but we have been previewing the site with board members. The response from them has been extremely positive. One of our new board members called the site “confident but inviting”, which is exactly what we were going for.

How did Tenet Partners perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve communicated extensively through both email and phone. I know that Tenet has an online platform available, and I was invited to join in, but found it wasn’t as helpful for me.

The majority of lags have been on our end. There’ve been a couple of times when we had to follow up with them, but those were due to unforeseen needs for which they had to develop solutions. This occurred when Tenet had other major projects going on. They have been extremely responsive to any questions or requests for updates. We have asked for more of the tech team’s time than originally anticipated, but they’ve been generous in providing it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have in-house expertise in a lot of different areas. It was certainly much more seamless than having a branding and web design process with difference groups. It was great to work closely with people who really know what they’re talking about. It never felt as though we had to compromise.

The staff I’ve been working with is located in three different geographic offices, but they’ve worked together seamlessly. Location has never been even remotely an issue. I’ve also appreciated how personally invested they became in the project. They all seem to get behind our mission and enjoy helping us achieve it. They’ve also gotten into the technical challenges, and helped us solve those.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Both Tenet and our team were juggling multiple projects at once, so we hit some busy times that slowed us down, but I always felt Tenet’s staff was making our project a priority. Some specialized departmental needs took a while to work out. They’ve been committed and understanding of nonprofit realities.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

In retrospect, I wish I’d asked for guidance on how much time our staff and Board should expect to put in, based on Tenet’s experience with similar projects. Because we hadn’t worked on a project like this in a number of years, we weren’t fully prepared for how much time the content writing and site development problem-solving would take. Some folks on our team found it hard to turn something around in a couple of days during the visioning stages. It’s also important to make sure the right people are in the room from the beginning: the final arbiters, the folks who maintain the site, and the program heads with specialized needs. Those are all different people in our case so there’s been a big pool to coordinate. Tenet has been helpful in facilitating that, and has worked well with every level of our staff and Board.

4.5
Overall Score
  • 4.5 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

Branding & Web Design for Environment Advocacy Group

“They helped us identify opportunities for engagement to get the public more involved with our website.”

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5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$10,000 to $49,999
 
Mar. 2017 - Apr. 2018
Project summary: 

Tenet redesigned a website, leading workshops to help define and align brand identity and objectives internally.

The Reviewer
 
11-50 Employees
 
New Haven, Connecticut
Curt Johnson
President & CEO, Connecticut Fund for the Environment/Save the Sound
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

Tenet unified the brand identity and enhanced the website's overall engagement. By taking the time to understand the organization, their team was able to deliver a beautiful, user-friendly website. Internal team members are impressed with the quality of the work and are appreciative of Tenet's dedication to the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the president and CEO of Connecticut Fund for the Environment/Save the Sound, Connecticut's largest environmental advocacy group. We combine traditional advocacy campaigns with on-the-ground habitat, river, and marsh restoration activities. We also have a legal team to enforce environmental laws when necessary.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Tenet Partners?

In addition to having a significantly outdated website, we were also growing and evolving as an organization. As a result of two merged nonprofit organizations, we were in the process of absorbing additional programs. Our initial challenge was establishing brand clarity and developing a new website that was more engaging to our membership and the public.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Tenet asked us to form a broad team, which ended up consisting of about 10 people from both our board and staff. From that core group, we went through several workshops together to go over our goals and define our mission. After eliciting our collective beliefs, they created brand statements which were then reviewed and became part of the core guidance for setting up the website. Finally, they designed and developed the site, consisting of three different landing pages.

What is the team composition?

I mostly work with James (Senior Partner, Tenet Partners) and Larry (Senior Partner, Tenet Partners). However, our internal communications director has worked more closely with other members of their team.

How did you come to work with Tenet Partners?

One of our board members had worked with them before and recommended we reach out. Fortunately, they were very generous and receptive about donating significant pro bono time and energy to our project. We chose to work with them based on the amount of work and the analysis they agreed to do considering our limited budget. No other vendor came close to matching the same services for that kind of value.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested around $27,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in March 2017 and the project is expected to be completed shortly.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

About seven members of our staff participated in a walkthrough of the new website and their responses have been unanimously positive. Everyone is extremely appreciative and exuberant about the work Tenet has done.

How did Tenet Partners perform from a project management standpoint?

As I understand from communicating with our communications director, they've been very organized and efficient. They did an excellent job capturing the comments from the workshop and distilling them into thoughtful messages about our brand. Their design work is beautiful and they were receptive to our feedback throughout.

What did you find most impressive about them?

A previous vendor we had worked with took a boilerplate approach to our web design. However, Tenet's team took the time to get to know and understand our organization, and then applied that information to meet our main objectives. They helped us identify opportunities for engagement to get the public more involved with our website. In that way, their design was far superior. Furthermore, we're extremely grateful for the donation of their time and talent on this project.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

Branding for Global Aerospace & Defense Company

“They take a holistic view of brand that’s essential in today’s business marketplace.”

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5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
4.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$200,000 to $999,999
 
Jan. - June 2017
Project summary: 

After an aerospace and defense company acquired two new major additions, Tenet updated old brand messaging. They did market research to strategize a new campaign to boost brand equity and customer perception.

The Reviewer
 
10,000+ Employees
 
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Corporate Brand Manager, Aerospace Company
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

The new branding received very positive feedback, and set the benchmark for future campaigns. Tenet managed the complexity of the project well, and understood their role as part of the creative team. Their integrative view of branding was essential to success, and rare among their competitors.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the corporate brand mananger for a global aerospace and defense company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Tenet Partners?

Our brand positioning - which was first developed with assistance from Tenet in 2006 - was looking a little long in the tooth. We were trying to refresh our messaging and incorporate major acquisitions that have changed the look of our company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did deep and intensive work to help us update our positioning, as well as develop an integrated campaign to promote our most recent acquisition. To accomplish this, they did internal and external interviews, as well as a deep dive into our positioning since 2006. They worked to understand our brand positioning in the marketplace as well as customer perception of us and our acquired companies - all to aid the transition and boost brand equity.

Based on their strategy work, they also developed a creative campaign that targeted internally and externally to promote the acquisition and the new positioning of the company. They also promoted our new branding with the future in mind, helping with brand voice, video guidelines, and naming strategy for new products.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a big crew of people, justified by the breadth of scope we had. Our key contact was Janice Bissell [Account Manager, Tenet Partners], our project manager. Beth Flom [Partner, Strategy, Tenet Partners] was our brand strategist. They also brought in Larry Oakner [Senior Partner, Employee & Customer Engagement, Tenet Partners], Larry Roth [Senior Partner, Digital, Tenet Partners] and a creative lead. Hampton Bridwell [CEO and Managing Partner, Tenet Partners] came in and out of the project, and helped keep all of his folks aligned and focused on our long-term goals. Plus a rotating team of experts, depending upon our particular needs at the moment. To a one, the whole team was amazing.

How did you come to work with Tenet Partners?

We’ve worked with them since 2006, before I joined the company. When we were considering our options for this project, we did look at other firms, but Tenet’s knowledge and comfort level with some of our key items of branding appealed to us, and we felt they could help us build a strong, resonant brand.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $250,000 on this particular portion of the engagement.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in earnest in January 2017, and the major push wrapped up by mid-summer. It was a six-month project, give or take, although we've continued additional work with Tenet since that time, based in great part on their good work through this major push.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The Paris Air Show served as the launch event for a major phase of the bran campaign Tenet had developed, and it earned glowing reviews, both internally and externally. Our internal team and our CEO felt we did a great job and set the bar high for next year. Our customers saw us everywhere, and the campaign really resonated with the target audience.

How did Tenet Partners perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re on top of it. The project was very complex, with a wide variety of people, approvals, and considerations. They did a yeoman's job of managing everything.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They take a holistic view of brand that’s essential in today’s business marketplace. They understand the role of a creative team and building a strong foundation on that creativity. Their integrated view of branding was essential to our success, and surprisingly rare among the branding companies we talked to.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There isn’t anything I can articulate. They did a great job. Probably the one thing I might hear is that our creative approach for the campaign didn't strongly push the envelope, but I think that's more because of the conservative nature of our company and even the industry. In my mind, Tenet listened to us and our audiences and met them where they needed to be, even if that didn't mean earning the AdWeek award.

5.0
Overall Score They were an essential partner in a critical moment in our company’s journey.
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
    Their project management skills were essential in making sure we could deliver.
  • 4.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
    They provided excellent value for the cost.
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
    They were exemplary across the board in their thinking. They paid off on that thinking through deliverables we could act on.
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer
    They have my full, ardent support and approval.

Branding for Government Agency

“They adapted quickly and were very attentive. We felt like we were their only customer.”

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4.0

Quality: 
4.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$200,000 to $999,999
 
Oct. 2016 - Ongoing
Project summary: 

To better represent an educational government agency to a multifaceted audience, Tenet Partners delivered an entire brand platform to identity guidelines, with messaging matrices and a complete visual package.

The Reviewer
 
51-200 Employees
 
St. Cloud, Minnesota
Sarah Speer
Marketing & Public Relations Manager, NJPA
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

The brand transformation excites even strong supporters of the old imagery. Tenet provides a large team, which is well-organized, respectful, and flexible. They are open to frank communication, and recognize the unique needs of the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We hold contracts with vendors and manufacturers used nationally by education, government, and nonprofit entities. We also provide professional development, with other options for funding and partnership support. We operate regionally in Minnesota and are expanding our national business. I am the marketing and public relations manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Tenet Partners?

We wanted a brand that better represented what we do and the audience we serve. Our organization had grown so quickly, and we didn’t have a brand platform in place. We wanted a company that could differentiate us in the marketplace and build our presence.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We chose them because of the process they use. We knew we wanted a lot of participation from the organization. They set up workshops and gathered input through different phases of the project. They went through a discovery process and came back to us with their recommendations. That gave us the opportunity to speak with all the stakeholders in our organization and develop the messaging and other unique aspects of the platform. We wanted this to resonate with our employees as well as with the public.

They delivered our entire brand platform, geared toward the four different audiences we serve. They walked us through the messaging matrix for each and built a visual package with identity guidelines and a tradeshow booth, plus a number of other deliverables along the way.

What is the team composition?

Our project manager was Kathleen Land [Account Manager, Tenet Partners], who just recently retired. Carol Friedland [Associate Partner, Strategy, Tenet Partners] acts as our account rep. I work directly with her most of the time. Andrew Bogucki [Senior Partner, Creative Director, Tenet Partners] is the team’s creative director. For our internal activation for some of the work, we also work with Larry Oakner [Senior Partner, Employee & Customer Engagement, Tenet Partners].

How did you come to work with Tenet Partners?

We found them through connections on LinkedIn. A few people I trust in marketing recommended them, and vendors we’ve contracted used them for their own branding work. We shopped a number of companies for proposals, but Tenet came out on top because of their process. We wanted to redo our entire visual package—beyond just our logo—and we felt they’d be the best choice.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October 2016, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We are in the process of completing a brand awareness survey and will roll out the new brand next June. We’re measuring their impact now so we can set benchmarks. In terms of employee engagement, the transformation has been phenomenal. Employees loved our old image, but our organization is behind us, and they're excited about the new brand.

How did Tenet Partners perform from a project management standpoint?

They did a great job. We had an online area to review our Gantt charts and action items. I’ve never worked with an organization with so many people involved in the process. They adapted quickly, and we were able to have frank conversations about our needs and their deliverables. They didn’t always agree with us, but they recognized we were different from their other projects. They were well-organized, and we were very happy with their management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were very attentive. We felt like we were their only customer whenever they expanded their creative team. We were only planning on a six-month engagement, but we’ve stretched out to more than a year and have had a really great experience with them. Their flexibility and patience were amazing, and they showed thoughtfulness, professionalism, and expertise throughout the process. They did their research and had a good feel for what we needed. We’re very pleased with how things went.

4.0
Overall Score They did a great job. There were a lot of people involved in the process. Improvements to their nimbleness would improve our overall rating.
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
    They did a fantastic job keeping the project moving. They were always on time, and were patient with us.
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
    We get a great value for the money. Knowing the time and resources they put into the project, we definitely get our money’s worth.
  • 4.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
    They did a nice job with the different pieces they brought forward. They gave us extra time to get us where we needed to be, and worked with us to fix any issues.
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer
    I recommend them especially for people looking for a creative team, but they do well developing strategy and brand platforms as well.