Czarnowski Adds Branding Extension in a Permanent Way

In recent years, St. Jude Medical has undergone an inspiring brand renewal, taking their new look and feel to the show floor and threading it throughout their marketing and promotional initiatives.

The next logical phase of their brand extension required integration of their messaging and mantra into the hallways and offices of their corporate headquarters in St. Paul Minnesota. Who better to take on the project than Czarnowski?!

Having a deep understanding of the brand, the audience and the desired experience, our team delivered an inspirational and exceptional environment. Highlights follow:

Client: St. Jude Medical Project: Corporate Headquarters – Permanent Installation (August 2009)

Czar Services Provided: Design, CAD, Acct/Program Management, Fabrication, Graphics, Transportation/Logistics, Install & Dismantle

Objectives:

Update St. Jude’s corporate headquarters in keeping with their overall brand direction while meeting the needs of three distinct audiences: employees, customers and shareholders. The desired reaction should reinforce the type of company St. Jude is and its culture. The branding elements should convey the essence of St. Jude as a leader in the industry without being obvious or self important. The environment should extend the brand promise from the heart of the employees to the heart of their customers which ultimately land in the hearts of their patients. The experience should reveal a deep understanding of their customers’ need for controlling and containing risk in the moments that matter most, those where a single moment during a procedure can make all the difference. Fostering a diverse and loyal community of brand stewards is the ultimate goal.

Strategy:

Give extensive consideration to and deploy deep due diligence toward each audience that works in and passes through the environment. Identify and understand what motivates each audience while they move through the space; determine the desired reaction to the experience; and design and incorporate elements that respond to both emotional connections. The following profiles drove the solution and results:

- Employees are motivated by the culture and they want to enjoy going to work in a pleasand and supportive environment; they want to make a difference in the world around them; and they want to be reassured that St. Jude’s is doing well as a company.

- Customers are motivated by relationships and need to trust the company and its products; they need assurance that they will have more control and less risk during medical procedures; and they need to know that their patients will be the ultimate benefactors of the partnership.

- Shareholders are motivated by results and expect stability and vision; they require that the company is socially responsible and environmentally aware; and the need to know that it is a good place for employees to work.

Solution:

The lobby was designed to elicit a shared cultural and brand experience for both visitors and employees while connecting visually and emotionally to the other spaces in the building. The lobby’s centerpiece an exquisite piece of interactive art that tells the stories of patients, customers and employees. These stories are told with passion, intensity and honesty; they come together as the face of St. Jude’s brand. Elsewhere, the elevator lobbies carry the brand thread and emotional connection via a high-level introduction of the specific floor specialty. The peer-to-peer areas offer motivation and foster collaboration based on the specifics of the teams. The hallways and corridors drive emotional connections with St. Jude’s brand by showing how the company and its people are making a difference every day. Various technologies, materials, textures, etc. were used to create an experience that is singularly powerful.

Results:

An environment that achieves the desired spectrum of emotions and inspiration: intensity, control, precision, innovation, intuition, focus, quality, experience, consistency, respect, passion, simplicity and humanity. In addition, the project was delivered on time and on budget.