align.me

Two weeks ago, the align.me team was proud and honoured to support the final Tuxedo Junction 2024, raising vital funds for cancer research. A huge thank you to Brett, Kavindra, our amazing team, and several of our cherished clients - Centium, RollCall Safety Solutions, simonkriss.ai, Omada One - for being part of this legendary and impactful event. Together, we raised an incredible $195,000 on the night, honouring friends and family impacted by cancer and playing a vital role in advancing the search for a cure. Since 2007, Tuxedo Junction has raised over $1.6 million for cancer research, funding more than 60 research awards through Cancer Council Victoria and Cancer Council Tasmania. Tuxedo Junction 2024 was a fitting grand finale, marking the end of an extraordinary era. If you'd like to make a donation, you can still contribute via the Cancer Council VIC website: https://lnkd.in/gUrbuwfF

At align.me, we thrive on insights that drive growth, especially regarding market expansion. At our October 2024 Referrer’s Lunch, we tackled a crucial question: When is the right time to expand internationally? The conversation revealed some alarming statistics, including the 50% failure rate for companies expanding into new markets. Our Director Brett Bonser helped set the scene by sharing up-to-date research on what the top performers were doing to derisk their international expansion investments and then our guest speaker, Lee Trevena, former CEO and founder of LeaseEagle, shared a pivot from expansion into mature markets to emerging markets was transformative to their growth and company valuation at exit. The collective learnings reinforced a fundamental lesson: Failing to plan is planning to fail, especially so when entering new markets. Thank you to our hosts Hugh and Brett, the event participants, and our guest speaker, Lee Trevena, for sharing such valuable insights. Considering international expansion for your business? Have a read of our article for thoughts and insights from industry leaders and experts. 

At align.me, we’ve noticed how more companies have been recognising the importance of branding and positioning. This got us wondering: how can these tactics complement demand generation? So, we decided to make this topic the focus of our latest Referrer’s Lunch, which was all about the changing role of B2B marketing. The lunch was a fantastic success, with engaging conversation and an informative presentation by our very own Hugh Macfarlane. Have a read, get the full story behind some of the biggest changes within the B2B landscape, and find out how it will affect your business.

Are you struggling to get your go-to-market strategy to actually…. go? Most business leaders know how important a go-to-market strategy is. You might have even played a role in building one or two. You probably think you know what it's all about.  It might be time to think again. Go-to-market strategies (and how we build them) have changed a lot over recent years, meaning a lot of plans out there are missing crucial elements. Get your strategy going and your business growing with this what, why and how guide to go-to-market planning: https://lnkd.in/ekCPkfvF

Shakespeare famously asked, "What's in a name?" But recently, when long-term client Michelson Alexander asked us to help them with their rebrand, we had to face the question, "What's in a re-name?" A highly successful strategic communications firm that has worked with some of Australia's biggest organisations (think Telstra, ASX, and Football Victoria), Michelson Alexander wanted to rebrand as Banksia Strategic Partners to reflect its growth, strategic capabilities, and Australian roots. With new branding created and approved, they needed align.me’s help to roll it out — a new-look website, updated collateral, and communications to announce the changes. The result? A seamless transition and smooth start to a brand-new brand, positioning the business for its next stage of growth. Check out the new look: https://lnkd.in/dPVr_5iD

June was a big month of running! Shout out to the align.me Dreamers!

Can’t afford to go to Paris for the Olympics this year? Neither can we. So, we settled for the second-best option: our very own Office Olympics. Who needs an Olympic committee when you have a Social Committee that organises an entire afternoon of events pitting colleague against colleague?  Our teams competed for the coveted Golden Funnel (and ultimate bragging rights) in games like table tennis, beanbag toss, darts and a classic pub quiz. There was a lot of fun and even more competitive spirit, with team Téya eventually taking home the win. A big congratulations to Téya Brown, Anthony Theodoropoulos, Zoe Trewin and Cameron Macfarlane.  We might not be winning any medals for athleticism, but we all took home the gold for enthusiasm.

We're a team of overachievers. We go above and beyond for our clients, for each other and even during our 'fun' team activities. So, it's no surprise we also smashed our fundraising goals for The Smith Family Dream Run, raising a total of $1,293! The amount we raised will provide support for two disadvantaged children for an entire school year, including essentials like uniforms, books, and access to life-changing learning support. A huge shout out to our 'align.me Dreamers' who participated this year, Hudson Solomon, Callum Youla, Matthew Mifsud, Zoe Trewin and Max Buck. Together they ran and walked a combined 336km! A big thank you to everyone who supported and donated.

Do you have a sales or marketing playbook for your B2B business? If you said “no”, you’re not alone: around a third of those Brett Bonser and David Marshall surveyed in our May Referrer’s Lunch also said they didn’t have one. However, a playbook can be an essential resource for your sales and marketing teams to refer to. This is especially true with recent changes in the B2B landscape, where there’s been a shift away from being predominantly focused on demand generation. Instead, more businesses are looking also looking at the importance of positioning and branding.  To learn more about the value of a sales and marketing playbook, as well as how modern trends are shaping them, read the recap of our latest Referrer’s Lunch. Who knows, perhaps it will inspire you to begin your own playbook!

When long-term client Virtual IT Group (VITG) came to us with dreams of a new website to reflect who they were today, we knew we had to deliver. As one of Australia's largest and fastest-growing MSPs & security providers, we knew this new website needed to be innovative. With a large SME customer base, it had to be informative and user-friendly. And we also knew it had to showcase VITG's incredible range of services and capabilities. VITG and the align.me team collaborated closely to get every detail right. The result? A clean, modern and engaging site that's fully optimised for SEO, making it easy for visitors to find the site, navigate through it, and readily convert. Check out the finished product: https://vitg.com.au/