Name and mission: To get 'frank' with social media

For Minneapolis agency Frank, turning up the marketing heat for a 50-year-old temperature sensor manufacturer wasn't just a matter of creating a "glossier glossy."

Instead, Frank helped Burns Engineering of Minnetonka and its 35 employees expand their existing view of themselves as temperature measurement experts and find new ways to express that in the marketplace.

Work proceeded down two paths. One used social media as part of an external integrated marketing campaign targeting customers and prospects. The other featured an internal employee-engagement campaign encouraging each employee to articulate how they contribute to Burns' temperature measurement expertise.

Elements included rebranding, leadership development, a website relaunch, an employee-written blog, a LinkedIn group, a Twitter stream, product materials, update trade-show presentations and a new webinar series that shares employees' temperature measurement insights.

The results? A 20 percent increase in website visitors, an average of 100 registrations for each webinar and a 30 percent increase in new prospects and business relationships.

And on the revenue side, perhaps a shallower downward dip during the recession and an easier recovery than if the company hadn't stayed engaged with customers in more new ways, according to Jim Burns, president of the company his father, Don Burns, started in 1950.

"It became clear that the organizational development side was important in taking our message of being temperature measurement experts and being in conversations with our customers and prospects," Burns said. "We had to make sure we were able to support that message internally ... we invited the people within these walls to participate so it was really authentic."

Authenticity is a key goal

"Authenticity is the new differentiator, at a very human, personal, individual level," Nielson said. "One of our tag lines is helping organizations create brands that 'shine from the inside out.' That's the promise of getting it right on the inside and then connecting with the outside in an aligned, passionate way in real time."

Nielson and Elissa Gjertson, director of brand development, launched Frank in 2005. Partner and art director Jody Kolars joined in 2008. The three often work from home offices or coffee shops, with occasional client meetings at the "frankosphere," the company's airy, second-floor, whiteboard-filled meeting space. Depending on the scope of a project, the agency can add a dozen or more developers, creative talents and other specialists to execute the work.

In addition to Burns Engineering, clients include PepsiCo, Medtronic and American Medical Systems, a medical device maker in Minnetonka.

Frank finished 2010 with $500,000 in revenue, down from $690,000 in 2009, Nielson said. The downward turn prompted a transition, Gjertson said, as the company refocused from leading clients through long-term systemic change initiatives to, instead, finding creative solutions more quickly.

Frank's unusual three-pronged approach -- focusing on company culture, social media and traditional marketing -- sets it apart from other agencies, Nielson said, which might be proficient in "one and a half at best" of those specialties.

The vision took shape as Nielson and Gjertson, already advertising and marketing veterans, gained social media and organizational development experience at ChartHouse Learning in Burnsville, where they worked on the global rebranding of the FISH! Philosophy of workplace management. The philosophy is inspired by the entertaining culture of the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, where employees toss fish to each other.

Some might think, mistakenly, that the company name -- Frank -- suggests being bold and brash, Gjertson said. "Being 'frank' is about being who you really are," Gjertson said. "As in Burns' case, it was, 'These are the values that you stand by. Let us help you amplify those values."'

The expert says: Jared Roy, president of Risdall Integration Group at Risdall Marketing Group, in New Brighton, said he liked Frank's approach of getting a client's entire organization involved in the social media effort, so that individual experts can address an issue or jump into a discussion when needed.

"To truly integrate this kind of [social media] effort, you're going to need to do a company culture shift. Getting all the employees involved is a positive thing," Roy said.