League of American Orchestras and Sametz Blackstone roll out re-branding initiative to support League's new strategic direction.

Integrated program includes new name, visual identity, message platform, and print and electronic communications—all created to help the League better serve America's orchestras.

Boston, MA, 01 December 2007—Sametz Blackstone Associates, a leading brand-focused Boston communications practice, today launched a new comprehensive re-branding initiative for the League of American Orchestras (formerly the American Symphony Orchestra League).

"Our new strategic plan demanded that we revitalize our organization—and reinvigorate our brand and communications—to realize our goals," according to Jesse Rosen, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of the League. "Our new name, tagline, messages, visual identity, and the look and experience of our print and digital communications now reflect the goals, strategies, and spirit of the plan. Together, these developments will help us continue to be a valuable resource and catalyst for our members."

"Our new name and communications capture the essence of the new League and the diversity of our constituents," says League Board Chair Lowell Noteboom. "Our nearly 1,000 member orchestras include not only hundreds of professional and community symphony orchestras in cities large and small all across the country, but also professional chamber orchestras and the hundreds of youth orchestras that are training the next generation of musicians. All of them, as well as their musicians, managers, trustees and volunteers, are joined together in and served by the new League."

"The League's new Web site (www.americanorchestras.org) is an especially important communication tool for us," says Russell Jones, Vice President for Marketing & Membership Development. "The new site demonstrates (rather than talks about) the League's meaning and value and makes clear that the new League will be an expanded source of learning and leadership development; an even more effective advocate for orchestras before government bodies; a center for meaningful knowledge; and a powerful engine for innovation and R&D. While very deep, the site is easy to navigate, helps a very diverse set of visitors get quickly to what is meaningful to them, and, because of its robust content management system, both streamlines content generation and makes it easy for staff to keep our new site up to date, relevant, and a great resource for our members. And this is only phase 1; there is more to come!"

"Re-branding is most successful," according to Roger Sametz, President of Sametz Blackstone Associates, "when four conditions intersect: an organization's bold new vision and strategy; constituents' real need for what that organization is doing and promises to do; leadership committed to championing change and success; and communications that can make the vision and benefits come alive for constituents and begin and advance connection and dialogue. At the League, all this came together: the energy and excitement driving their new plan was always in the air. Although everyone connected with the League—staff, board, volunteers, members—often had different top-priority tactical goals, they were united in their strategic goals. Our job was to evolve a brand system that could realize this range of tactical goals, offer the right handshake to diverse constituencies, and always work hard to build the brand, meaning, and value of the League."

"We elected to work with Sametz Blackstone Associates," says League President and CEO Henry Fogel, "because of their deep experience helping cultural organizations to realize their strategic and tactical goals. They were able to structure and implement a process that was right for us for our culture and how we work'and this process was able to not only generate a new name (we had been trying to do this for 20 years), tagline, and unified and compelling communications more importantly, Sametz Blackstone engaged our organization in this important transformation. Our staff now has the thinking and tools to more effectively communicate with our diverse constituencies; they are taking ownership of the new brand system and that's great. We will be able to live our new tagline: 'Engaging · Sustaining · Transforming' both our organization and the orchestral community."

About Sametz Blackstone Associates

Sametz Blackstone Associates provides strategic communications counsel to leading cultural, academic, research, professional service, and corporate organizations. A twenty-eight year-old global practice located in Boston's historic South End, Sametz Blackstone integrates brand-focused strategy, message development, design, and technology to develop and produce compelling communication programs that help evolving organizations better navigate change. Clients include centenarians and start-ups: Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Ballet, Boston Center for the Arts, MIT Sloan School of Management, Mass Audubon, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Raytheon, Goodwin Procter, Harvard University, Yale University, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, WGBH, and one of the world's largest management consulting firms. For additional information visit: www.sametz.com.

About the League of American Orchestras

Founded in 1942, and chartered by Congress in 1962, the League of American Orchestras leads, encourages, and supports America's orchestras while communicating to the public the essential value and cultural importance of orchestras in their communities and the vitality of the music they perform. The League provides a wealth of services, meaningful information, learning and leadership opportunities, and grass roots advocacy to its diverse membership, which encompasses nearly 1,000 member symphony, chamber, youth, and collegiate orchestras of all sizes, and links a national network of thousands of instrumentalists, conductors, managers, board members, volunteers, staff members, and business partners. Visit www.americanorchestras.org to learn more.

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