Bristol Bay Native Corporation

The second largest Alaska-based company, BBNC has contracted S360 as their agency of record for more than six years. In that time, we’ve provided a full spectrum of brand, marketing, and advertising services to elevate BBNC’s brand image and awareness.

As our relationship has grown, so have BBNC’s marketing goals. This has allowed us to evaluate new technology, tools, and channels based on each year’s new goals.

THE WORK

We started where we always do—getting to know BBNC inside and out. Traditional research, like focus groups and polling, along with stakeholder interviews, audits of existing materials, immersion in strategic and business planning, developing robust target audience personas, looking at the comparative landscape—these and other methods give us deep and textured insight into a company, its subsidiaries and products, and its audiences. We took everything we learned and used it to guide brand strategy and to develop a brand identity—one that resonates with and is remembered by varied audiences. We then carried the strategy downstream—to marketing, outreach, advertising (including the purchase and production of radio, print, television), social and digital, events, and much more. Along the way, we work together to ensure the marketing and advertising ladder up to our brand strategy, yet also have a long tail that inspires, captivates, and motivates every audience, at every touchpoint.  

One hallmark of how we work is that BBNC has been at the table with us at every step. They are partners—making decisions with us, collaborating on the development of the marketing plan and the definition of the Project Service Order.  We recently conducted a day-long workshop with BBNC’s executive leadership to plan this year’s marketing and advertising strategy and tactics, and we’re on the brink of launching a new, fully-integrated campaign that will continue to tell BBNC’s story in fresh and compelling ways, while underscoring the message that BBNC’s efforts and impact are far-reaching. 

THE SUCCESS

BBNC was named the Corporate Marketer of the Year from 2012-2015 and continues to win awards for individual projects such as annual reports and radio spots. The American Marketing Association and polling conducted throughout the course of each campaign shows that BBNC continues to see large increases in corporate favorability and statewide name recognition.  BBNC is now the most positively-viewed Native Corporation in Alaska. Focus groups and polling have demonstrated that the campaign’s focus on the Bristol Bay region and the importance of fishing and salmon to the people of the region—a key attribute of BBNC’s brand story—has subtly, yet clearly, communicated BBNC’s anti-Pebble Mine position. This has helped BBNC avoid any backlash in corporate favorability by being seen as getting involved in a very politically charged issue. BBNC’s brand recognition has also seen substantial up-ticks amongst peer organizations.