A clear brand story for a complex enterprise

I cannot thank you all enough for your understanding and flexibility in working with us. You are helping write a story for a company that is going through a BIG change and, with that, a lot of moving parts. The work that has been done so far is already being adopted by our leadership team and it is so exciting to see. ECHO is seen as a very important and visible part of shaping the TASC brand, and I cannot imagine working with anyone else.
— Stephanie Anderson, Marketing & Communications Specialist, TASC

CHALLENGE: Help TASC, the USA’s largest private third-party administrator of health benefits, distill their history and suite of services into a clear message that could lead them into the future

Madison-based Total Administrative Services Corporation (TASC) needed help. After 42 years of impressive growth, the company was on the cusp of something big. Not only was it evolving, but its industry was changing too—becoming more complex and daunting. It was the perfect moment to tackle the “why” of the company to ensure that customers, as well as employees, were completely clear on what sets TASC apart.

With one of ECHO’s top story strategists up for the challenge, we hit the ground running, proposing a path that would lead to not just documenting TASC’s story, but prepping staff to be able to tell it every day to clients, colleagues, and even friends and family around the dinner table.

SOLUTION: A clear and concise brand story delivered as an Ambassador Book supported by a tactical document, and activated at a full-day workshop

Our intrepid story strategist quickly rearranged travel plans to get from Australia (where he was doing other brand story work) to Wisconsin to begin the intimate work of interviewing TASC’s key stakeholders and storykeepers. After an intense couple of days face to face and then many follow-up phone calls, we had the beginnings of a clear brand story that got to the real “why” of their business.

The message we uncovered? TASC was founded to take care of the often complicated and fraught issues and legislation that come with making choices about health insurance. From its beginning, TASC made it simple and straightforward for everyday Americans to feel safe and protected. And it’s still doing that today. Those everyday Americans are still saving money, investing in their health, supporting their families, and giving back to their communities. When they benefit, we all benefit.

The TASC team loved it, and when our strategist presented to 150 of their leaders and marketing/sales TASC’ers, including ways to help them tell the story personally and share it widely, the room lit up. Our beautifully designed Ambassador Book, which shared the story and examples of TASC folk already using the story in their everyday lives, made it real and functional for all employees. And the tactical document we sent for internal circulation, providing tips for strategic implementation of their story, gave the story lift-off in all departments across the company, from HR to marketing to sales.

RESULTS: Full company buy-in, from new hires to top execs

The amount of positive feedback we received was so affirming. Emails poured in from our point people at TASC, telling us how employees were using the story in various ways, making it their own, gaining new clients with it, solving inter-office problems with it. It clearly resonated and made everyone’s job easier, which was just what we had promised them. They even came back to us a couple months later to ask us to present the story, its importance, and how it connects to all employees at their AGM.