MBE Group

Speaking opportunities at the right events don't come around constantly. When they do, the preparation that goes into them should match the opportunity they represent. A strong appearance builds credibility, opens doors and puts your company in front of the right people in a way that's very hard to replicate through any other channel.

Three quick tips:
• Start preparing earlier than feels necessary. Think three weeks, not three days.
• Know your first sixty seconds cold to confidently capture your audience.
• If your presentation includes Q&A, be sure to prepare for the questions you’ll be asked.

For aerospace and defense industries, which tend to be cautious about what they share publicly, behind the scenes content is a good approach to social media. Not proprietary or sensitive, but definitely human: A team working a flight test, a technician at a workbench and a crew prepping equipment are all good examples of how to put the spotlight on the people while keeping confidential information under wraps.

Behind every engaged following is a company that knows how to show its human side.

One of the more common mistakes in crisis management is treating the initial response as “one and done”. The story often continues to develop long after the first statement goes out. Stakeholders are watching to see whether the organization follows through on its commitments. Journalists are looking for what comes next. The absence of follow-through communication is often interpreted as an indication that the initial response was performative instead of genuine.

The organizations that come out of a crisis with their reputations intact are the ones that continue communicating with specificity, honesty and consistency for as long as the situation warrants it.

An exceptional learning experience with our global colleagues in Singapore last week for our Annual Global Conference.

Under the theme of “Influence That Matters: Trust, Technology and Global Connection”, we had the opportunity to meet with and hear from members of the Southeast Asia media, a fireside chat with Singapore’s Ministry of Digital Development & Information, the technical transformations facilitated by AI from several of our partners, as well as an enlightening session on the challenges of communicating in 54 different countries in Africa.

Partners from more than a dozen agencies, representing five continents gathered in a truly dynamic city-state.

In addition, the conference serves as a forum for our teams to share best practices, network and pursue shared-business opportunities. The connection enables MBE Group to scale globally – and seamlessly – with 53 different agency partners around the world.

Special thanks to Gupta and Chiang of in Singapore for their coordination and hospitality, and to Mayhew, Maunder and Vaidyanathan for their hard work in putting the program together.

(Tagging) Zajdel O’Sullivan Otway Rudd Rudd Barry Wagner (Magnitude of Change) Rohde Padilla Saatchi Aggarwal

Your Vehicle Knows More About You Than Your Phone Does. Does Your Brand Have a Plan for That?

The connected vehicle space is one of the most exciting and fast-moving industries we work in. It's also one where the gap between how fast the technology is moving and how well companies are communicating about it is widening. Data privacy is where that gap is most visible right now.

Our latest blog post looks at what the data says about where consumer trust is heading and what the companies getting it right are doing differently. Read the post: https://mbe.group/blog/your-vehicle-knows-more-about-you-than-your-phone-does/

Auto Care Connect in Atlanta delivered on all fronts – exceptional speakers, valuable networking and insights that matter. We reinforced partnerships, built new relationships and reaffirmed our dedication to keeping pace with this dynamic industry. Our ongoing client support drives real results. Case in point: one of our clients walked away with an award for an ad campaign that we developed and executed with them. Nothing makes us prouder than delivering award-winning work.

The right time to seriously consider a rebrand usually comes down to a handful of situations:

• Your company has grown or changed significantly, and the brand no longer reflects what you actually do or who you serve.
• You've gone through a merger or acquisition and need to present a unified identity to the market.
• Your visual identity and messaging were built for an audience you no longer primarily serve.
• You're consistently losing ground to competitors whose brands communicate more clearly and confidently than yours does.

Not good reasons to rebrand:

• You're bored with it.
• Someone new joined the leadership team.
• A competitor just refreshed their look.

Make sure your decision to rebrand solves an actual market problem.

A digital marketing strategy without a content strategy behind it is like a distribution network without a product. The infrastructure is there, the channels are set up and the budget is allocated, but there's nothing compelling moving through any of it. Content is what makes the whole system work.

Before mapping out channels, platforms or posting schedules, write down three things your company knows better than anyone else in your space. Use those three things as the foundation of your content strategy.

How important is graphic design in brand storytelling? People form an opinion about your brand before they read a single word because the brain processes visual information before language kicks in. Color, typography, layout and image quality all communicate something, good or bad.

By the time someone is reading your headline, they've already decided whether what they're looking at feels credible, professional and worth their time. Look at your website, your most recent trade show materials and your social media at the same time. Do they look like they came from the same company? Do they all emulate your brand? Build your visual consistency to build trust early.

Trade shows are a serious investment: the travel, the booth and the team pulled away from everything else for a week. You want to make sure that investment makes a strong impression. One of the easiest ways to do that is by ensuring your materials match the quality of the work you do.

It’s typically timing – not budget – that threatens elevated, on-brand collateral. If design is left to the end, you end up making do with what you can get. If you've got a show coming up in the next few months, now is the right time to pull out everything and take an honest look at it.