Aukema & Associates helps companies the way they want to be helped. Our only agenda is to make our clients happy, so we bring the same level of dedication and attention to detail to every project – whether it's a branding and marketing planning project, an ongoing role as an "outsourced marketing department," or a small one-time writing project. Here are some selected stories:

A.B.Sea | The Alliance for Corporate Education | Belmont Homes | ChartConnect | CodeCorrect | Cortex Medical Management Systems | Custom Coding Books | LifeWise Assurance Company | OneHealthPort | Point B | Premera Blue Cross | Puget Sound Health Alliance | Revenue Advantage | Southlake Clinic | The Sobotka Group

A.B.Sea

An online travel agency specializing in “Interline” discounts for airline employees and their families.

This client needed a professional marketing plan to present to Royal Caribbean International / Celebrity Cruises in order to become part of their partner program. A.B.Sea had been trying unsuccessfully to join the program for years. After presenting the marketing plan developed by Aukema & Associates, A.B.Sea was accepted into the program. Back to top.

The Alliance for Corporate Education

A unique, collaborative organization - founded by 17 community colleges in the Seattle area - focused on delivering corporate training and education for Fortune 500 corporation.

This company wanted to raise its visibility, and its large corporate clients wanted to start working with the Alliance for Corporate Education on joint public relations initiatives. Before they could effectively launch a public relations campaign, the Alliance needed the basics, including a strong brand and clear messaging. Aukema & Associates helped the Alliance take its first step by developing a comprehensive positioning and branding strategy for the Alliance that spoke to its corporate clients. Back to top.

Belmont Homes

A developer of quality homes and subdivisions in King County.

This company wanted to raise its visibility as an established developer of quality mid-range homes focused on high standards of construction. It had been quietly successful for years, but with its first web site planned, the company realized it was time to tell their story. Working closely with the owner and senior staff, Aukema & Associates developed a positioning and branding strategy for Belmont Homes as a guide for development of their web site and future marketing materials. Back to top.

ChartConnect

A company providing a comprehensive electronic medical record for physician practices and hospitals nationwide.

This company had a successful product and a good base of local customers. However, as the company started to grow the business and expand into new markets, it became clear that they needed a strong, professional brand in order to compete. Aukema & Associates helped ChartConnect clarify its position in the market, and developed the company's corporate identity - including its logo and tagline, business papers, web site, and brochures. Aukema & Associates continues to provide strategic marketing consultation to ChartConnect, and to develop marketing materials, such as brochures, direct mail pieces, and case studies. Back to top.

CodeCorrect

A company providing online coding and compliance tools for hospitals, physician practices, and medical billing companies.

This rapidly growing company needed marketing – and fast. CodeCorrect needed an outsourced "virtual marketing team" while it hired internal marketing staff and built its team. Serving as a temporary marketing department, Aukema & Associates handled marketing and public relations activities for the company, including: developing and publishing a monthly e-newsletter; interviewing customers for case studies; developing advertisements, collateral, and direct email campaigns; writing web site content; and writing press releases and conducting media outreach. In the absence of an internal product manager, Aukema & Associates also managed three successful product launches for CodeCorrect. Back to top.

Cortex Medical Management Systems

A company serving anatomic pathology laboratories nationwide with lab management and medical billing systems.

An established company with 20 years of operations behind them, Cortex had not focused on aggressive marketing and the establishment of a professional brand. They looked to the partnership of rialto communications and Aukema & Associates to help them increase their brand awareness and name recognition in the market. With rialto, Aukema & Associates helped create a comprehensive marketing communications plan with recommendations for positioning and a brand overhaul. The team developed the new corporate identity and created advertisements and marketing communications collateral. Back to top.

Custom Coding Books

A company providing downloadable, customized coding books for physician offices.

This client needed to quickly establish itself in the marketplace and create a professional online presence for the launch of its first product. Aukema & Associates developed a positioning and branding strategy for Custom Coding Books, including a logo and tagline, business papers, and a professional, user-friendly web site. When Custom Coding Books was ready to launch its full e-commerce web site, Aukema & Associates created a new, robust and expandable site. Aukema & Associates continues to provide marketing services to Custom Coding Books including developing and placing traditional and online advertisements and direct mail pieces; and producing collateral materials and a tradeshow booth. Back to top.

LifeWise Assurance Company

A company providing life and disability plans to businesses and individuals for over 20 years.

With an overtaxed marketing communications department, this client needed an extra set of hands to quickly write and design over a dozen product sheets for insurance brokers and a tri-fold brochure for employees. Aukema & Associates worked closely with internal staff to provide LifeWise Assurance a print-ready brochure and product sheets that were easy to understand, easy to read, and fit within the company's family of printed materials. Back to top.

OneHealthPort

A company offering healthcare providers a single, secure portal to local healthcare web sites, OneHealthPort is owned by leading Northwest healthcare organizations including Premera Blue Cross, Regence BlueShield, Group Health Cooperative, First Choice Health, The Everett Clinic, Providence Health System, and Swedish Medical Center.

Aukema & Associates helped this new company develop a brand that would help position it as the secure portal to online services offered by leading local health organizations, and helped the company communicate a complicated, technical message in simple, understandable terms. Aukema & Associates created the company's corporate identity - including its logo, business papers, collateral and web site - and developed a comprehensive marketing plan for OneHealthPort. Aukema & Associates continues to provide strategic marketing consultation and to implement all of the company's marketing and community outreach activities, including developing collateral and sales support materials, coordinating special events, developing an online newsletter, and conducting public relations. Back to top.

Point B

A professional services firm devoted exclusively to its clients' success through the power of project leadership and execution. Point B has offices in Seattle, Denver, Portland and Phoenix.

With annual revenues of over $25 million, over 160 employees and a client list of some of the largest companies in the Seattle-area, Point B is one of the most successful local businesses you've never heard of. After 10 years of quiet work and word-of-mouth referrals, the company is expanding into new markets and decided it was time to raise its visibility. Having completed a branding process, Point B needed someone to help get the word out. Aukema & Associates developed a comprehensive marketing communications & public relations plan and continues to implement the plan, including placing and writing a series of innovative radio advertisements. Back to top.

Premera Blue Cross

An independent regional health plan providing members, employers, providers and brokers with high-quality coverage and services.

This client needed someone "on call" to write, edit and design important sales support information. Projects to date have ranged from helping to develop a PowerPoint presentation for salespeople to use to better position Premera in the market and explain new services to insurance brokers, to developing a series of informational brochures explaining Medicare secondary payer rules to employer groups. Back to top.

Puget Sound Health Alliance

A collaborative group of public and private employers, health plans, providers, and consumers in the Puget Sound area working to improve the quality and lower the cost of health care.

Aukema & Associates worked with this client to develop the organization's brand, including conducting an in-depth assessment of the needs and perceptions of all interested stakeholders—consumers, physicians, hospital executives, health plan leadership, employers, public agencies, and other opinion leaders. Aukema & Associates developed the Alliance's key messages for its target audiences and a plan for communications for the coming year, and designed a new graphic identity for the organization. Aukema & Associates created—and continues to execute—a comprehensive public relations plan. Back to top.

Revenue Advantage

A company providing "revenue recovery products" such as an automated pre-collection call service for medical billing companies, hospitals, and other healthcare providers.

This client needed to quickly establish sales and operations tools including product sheets, a user manual, and a web site for their new TeleCollector product. Aukema & Associates provided writing and editing services to make the new product readily understandable to their hospital audience. Back to top.

Southlake Clinic

A medical group providing primary and specialty care to those who live and work in South King County.

After many years of building a successful organization with an excellent reputation, Valley Internal Medicine was expanding and evolving – adding new offices and physicians and changing their specialty-mix. They needed a brand that better reflects who they are today. As a subcontractor for Hamilton Creative, Inc., Aukema & Associates developed a strategic branding strategy and new name for the organization. Back to top.

The Sobotka Group

A technology consulting company specializing in the unique technical challenges of small to mid-sized healthcare organizations.

After building a successful consulting business primarily by word of mouth, it was time for the Sobotka Group to develop a professional corporate identity and a well-considered marketing plan to expand their operations. Aukema & Associates helped the Sobotka Group develop a brand that would help position it in the Northwest healthcare market as the healthcare technology experts for small practices. The new branding included development of a new logo and tagline, business papers, collateral and web site. Aukema & Associates developed a comprehensive marketing plan for the company, as well as collateral, direct mail and tradeshow support. Back to top.