Each network member is briefed on the theories behind integrated brand management and the related processes. Using this education as a common background, agencies and consultants are able to communicate with each other on brand-related problems for the client using a common set of terms, processes and actions. A virtual workspace, which BCS provides via the Internet, reinforces this terminology and brand management point of view.

Our partners provide high-quality attention and service without the costs normally associated with large agency holding companies. We've also done away with the cumbersome bureaucracy normally associated with such arrangements by standardizing our working terminology and clearly defining roles of team members brought in to work with our clients. The result: big agency results without the big agency price tag.

BCS provides consulting services on communications issues affecting brand perceptions, but we do not fill the typical role of a traditional advertising agency or public relations firm. Our role is often one of a facilitator – helping to set strategy and then making sure the right team is in place to see it through.

This brand management team is made up of the key client contact and his or her internal/external support group and other individuals in the fields of advertising, public relations, employee development/training, management consulting, information technology, etc. These specialists are drawn from the various networks managed by BCS. These team members can come from the United States or scores of other countries around the world, depending on the branding needs identified in the client’s brand management plan.

BCS provides a virtual location on every client’s desktop via the Internet. We also have a real-world presence. Our home is in the Midwest U. S. at Riverdale, Iowa, outside Davenport, my hometown and the location of the ad agency, Bawden and Associates, that evolved into Brand Central Station. And we maintain offices inside those of our strategic partners in New York, Chicago and London.

BCS has divided all of its strategic partners into five distinct networks. Each network specializes in one or two areas.

ECCO International Public Relations is an international network of PR and marketing communications agencies located in over 30 countries around the world.

The Pangea Communications Network is a network of advertising agencies, PR firms, design boutiques and independent contractors specializing in marketing services throughout the Americas.

The e2 Systems Alliance is an international network of Web developers, application service providers, information technology consultants and Internet service providers.

The High Performance Profits Network is an international network of business management consultants doing business in over 70 countries around the world.

And Roundhouse is a select network of preferred vendors in the communications and marketing field, providing services to BCS strategic partners and clients.

Each agency, or strategic partner, involved in a BCS network has undergone a comprehensive capabilities audit. We conduct this audit in order to assure the quality of work performed by the network member and to identify the competencies that will be represented by BCS to prospective clients.

While many companies do many things, the BCS business model takes only the things a company does best and finds more clients for that service or product.

The one thing all of our strategic partners have in common is their status as an independent business and the undivided attention of the principal or principals in client relationships.

BCS contacts companies based on referrals provided by peers, the media or – most importantly – clients.

There are no exclusivity restrictions on the BCS relationship. Nor are there are up-front costs to an agency to join. So, we ask clients to encourage their incumbent agencies to affiliate with BCS in order to receive the training and orientation they’ll need to work with the other members of the brand management team supplied by Brand Central Station.

Brand Central Station is a brand consultancy, founded in January 2001, that in the short time since then has built and become operator of one of the world’s largest virtual communications agency networks.

We provide a cost-effective alternative to conventional, large agency/marketing communications solutions. BCS serves as the junction point for clients to access our strategic partners – more than 75 well-respected communications and consulting firms, organized in five global networks located in over 50 countries.

We also have exclusive access to the creative resources of more than 2,000 additional ad and PR agencies, creative freelancers and management consultancies.

Each network offers a specific marketing communications discipline for building the client’s brand locally and globally and working as one large, fully integrated global agency for the client’s business.

Brand Central Station has published a series of recommended processes and practices based upon the theory that effective communication can influence perceptions and change human behavior. But, in order to be effective, communication needs to be consistent in its message and clear in its delivery.

Integrated brand management is the process of using this theory and its practical applications with businesses and – more specifically – brands. We work with our clients to create integrated programs that unite internal and external communications disciplines under a common vision/point of view. Then, the programs ensure that the united disciplines reinforce each other.

An integrated brand management program involves everything from internal communications and intranets to external promotions/publicity, advertising and direct marketing. A company’s presentation of its brand on its Website is every bit as important as the investor relations program managed by the company’s finance department. The result is a 360-degree message that surrounds every customer with relevant information presented in a credible, believable way.

To client businesses trying to survive in today's economy, we offer a wide variety of consulting services to help them gain control over the variables that make their lives so unpredictable.

To ad agencies, PR firms, freelancers and others in the communications services professions, we offer a wide variety of programs and consulting services to help them gain a competitive advantage.

And to approved vendors in the marketing/communications industry, we provide opportunities to offer their services en masse to our partner base and to participate in our exclusive bid board system, which often gives them advance notice of new opportunities to quote on jobs.

One of the benefits of the BCS business model is that it can accommodate clients of any size without wasting overhead or drowning small clients in administrative charges. We match clients with the right team members based on the scope of work, budget and timeline they identify under the guidance and direction of one of our consultants.

Clients might initially want to hire Brand Central Station for a fresh perspective on how communications impact business and brand value. We help clients focus on the issues surrounding how their brand is perceived and then work with them to develop a practical strategic solution. Then we make sure that strategy is implemented through the right team of specialists from communications and other disciplines.

Consulting time spent by BCS with the client is invoiced at a rate of $150 per hour. Every consulting project is fully scoped out in advance, and a comprehensive schedule/cost estimate is provided to the client for review and approval before beginning work.

A client pays only for the people and talents needed, as dictated by his or her plan. And, since all of the brand management team members are pulled from independent companies, they can be used for one or two projects and then be released to continue working on their own company’s clients at no cost to the BCS client.

No. Clients are only obligated to the work they agree to in writing. The basic rules for engagement are reviewed in more detail with the client contact once he or she has signed a Letter of Agreement with us.

We believe that in a distributed business network model like Brand Central Station, everything stands or collapses on the quality of information shared and the spirit of collaboration that has to exist between partners and our clients. For this reason, we provide a variety of tools to keep people informed, educated and ahead of the game.

First, our Web site (www.brandcentralstation.com) lists the most recent online reports for day-to-day brand management and marketing decision-makers. These include Flashreports summarizing news and our analysis, Think Pieces providing our in-depth look at issues facing business today, and Case Studies provided by BCS and our strategic partners.

Second, our bi-weekly Smart CEO newsletter summarizes significant branding and marketing news for our client leaders and is also available on a subscription basis.

Third, our Brand Central Station Extranet and POD is a collaborative tool that provides instant messaging and filesharing capabilities among clients and BCS team members. This secure, proprietary website serves as the virtual workspace for the client’s correspondence, action plans, project updates, budget information, creative samples, news clips, etc.

Fourth, The Connections Conferences are our regular meetings of strategic partners, clients and other key individuals around the world.

Brand Central Station helps to solve a nagging problem for most ad agencies, public relations firms, Web developers and management consultants: “Where is the next piece of new business coming from?”

For no cost other than the time and effort to participate in the capabilities audit and the training on a process we call integrated brand management, a company can affiliate with BCS and open another possible source for new business. And best of all, new business brought to a network member has been developed according to that member’s core competencies – meaning the new business will be profitable more quickly than other business requiring the acquisition of new personnel, equipment, etc.