Led by internet entrepreneur Jeff Stibel and established in 2010 when it acquired select units of its venerable namesake, Dun & Bradstreet Credibility is a nimble, fast-moving organization that embodies decisiveness, diligence and follow-through at every level.

From insight to innovation. Perceiving a looming shortfall in U.S. competitiveness brought on by a less educated workforce, Dun & Bradstreet Credibility decided to address the issue, first, with an innovative program uniting employees and employers in improving college savings and enhancing local schools.

Building the brand fell so closely on the heels of the strategic decision to champion education that Applied Storytelling needed to adopt a comprehensive marketing and business perspective to help Dun & Bradstreet Credibility define its endgame culturally, educationally and legally.

Working backwards from the boldest possible future. The new brand, which we named EdAhead, first began to emerge from a visioning exercise that enabled stakeholders to determine what was attainable, and how. In line with our continually probing and challenging spirit, we encouraged decision-makers to consider the most sweeping possible scenario their decision implied: that of establishing a foundation to serve as the catalyst for a nationwide educational funding movement that would extend from individuals and companies to matters of national policy.

Right-sizing opportunity and capacity. From articulating the vision, we were able to right-size the business and brand in line with what the organization could realistically manage at launch. Using a rapid development workflow, we then moved from visioning to story development and implementation across key external and internal web, social and digital touchpoints, which included consulting on the draft of a letter to President Obama, without losing a day’s momentum.

EdAhead launched in late 2012 to extensive national coverage. Dun & Bradstreet Credibility employees have demonstrated a high-level of buy-in into the program, and Dun & Bradstreet Credibility has entered into the conversations it has sough with other organizations interested in signing on.

With EdAhead, we helped to define, and redefine, what success would look like through many angles and many filters. We came up with new success factors that hadn’t yet been considered.

Matthew Kruchko