Corporate change: positioning new company leadership

Reach a Wider Audience with Targeted Public Relations

Founder and forty-year President of Nadel Architects (Nadel), Herb Nadel knows the only constant is change and it was time for a big one. Herb was announcing an ownership transition but what was the best way to do that and effectively convey Nadel’s new identity and strategic vision to the public?

Nadel looked to The Hoyt Organization (THO) for an all-encompassing communications plan: internal messaging, future strategies, excitement about change, and showcasing new leadership.

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The Challenge

The THO program needed to effectively convey the new leadership changes as well as the company’s succession plan, while clarifying its future vision and new corporate identity.

The Solution

To ensure Nadel’s exciting, newly-gained leadership could not only transition smoothly, but effectively communicate internally and externally, THO designed an extensive PR communications plan highlighting key messaging and a targeted action-items timeline.

This plan of communication and action included the following objectives:

Target specific audiences, including potential clients, industry influencers and strategic media, to emphasize the ownership transition and its importance;
Highlight the firm’s positive growth, while recognizing Herb Nadel’s legacy; and
Position the new owners and team leadership as industry experts and next-generation, influential vanguard.

Results

THO’s campaign garnered numerous media placements in national and regional business, real estate, architecture and other trade publications. The editorial coverage received, not only met, but exceeded the campaign goals by highlighting Herb Nadel’s leadership, Nadel’s 40-year history and its key sector growth in retail and multifamily.

The campaign also launched Nadel’s dedicated thought-leadership program, which was designed to effectively position the firm’s new owners as market and industry experts.

Today, Nadel remains a leading national architecture firm, and its brand continues to be enhanced by the promotion efforts of the company’s current leadership.

TAKEAWAYS

Ownership transfers and succession plans involve tremendous change. But they don’t have to involve loss of brand effectiveness or awareness. Creating and implementing an internal and external communications strategy will ensure clients, employees, outgoing and incoming leadership, and other stakeholders respond positively.

Important messaging points include:

Communicate your company’s celebration and affirmation of change
Tell your audience(s) why the change is occurring
Position the change in a clear, honest and positive manner
Communicate how the change will benefit all stakeholders: clients, employees team leaders, and internal and external partners

Remember, communicating change is only part of the task – achieving “buy-in” from all relevant audiences is what drives success.

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Leeza Hoyt

Founder and President at The Hoyt Organization

With over 25 years of experience, Leeza’s campaigns have garnered over 150 awards from top public relations organizations nationwide. Additionally, THO serves as the Los Angeles area partner of the Public Relations Global Network, granting clients access to over 50 global markets. The agency was also named to one of the top 200 firms in the country by Forbes magazine in 2021, and she has been named by Globest.com as a Woman of Influence and a Woman to Watch, among other designations.