Muzak CaseEssay title: Muzak CaseMuzak was a multi-million dollar company and over the years had created the largest digital music library in the world. Despite their past success, they were not conveying the modern image they wanted to the public. This led the new senior management team at Muzak to implement change.
Problem DefinitionMuzak is a company that has been around for decades and is mostly known for their “elevator music”. In the late 90’s, Muzak’s reputation for “elevator music” began to lead the company down a path of little growth and increasing financial hardships.
The company’s negative public image reflected the same image Muzak’s employees had of their company culture. With over 200 offices, 3,000 employees, and 450 different versions of their business cards, they did not have a uniform company image to sell to their clients.
Company ObjectivesMuzak’s strategy was to move away from the “elevator music” label and work towards conveying a hipper, more modern image. They wanted to get away from depicting music as a science and instead depict it as an art.
In order to re-invent their company, Muzak had to develop a unifying symbol. They chose to use a silver and black “M” in a circle. Their new logo replaced all the separate identities that once represented Muzak. It was a great first step in how they wanted to be perceived by new clients.
Muzak wanted to convey the message that they were a company of creative “audio architects”. To do this, they created an aggressive marketing campaign, which included new brochures with more color, graphics, and brief text. This was a complete change to the serious charts, graphs and presentations they had used for years. They designed their new brochures to be art. This was a huge selling point for the company, which began to generate new business almost instantly.
Data AnalysisThese new changes helped Muzak’s business to grow 16% and in three years they were worth $750 million, up from $100 million in 1997 (Argenti, 2007, p.85). Muzak was rapidly growing financially, artistically, and everyone had more confidence in the future with this business. This lead Muzak to re-locate their business from Seattle, Washington to Charlotte, South Carolina; building a new headquarters that was less traditional and geared more towards their new image of young, modern, and creative. Their new headquarters, described as an Italian piazza with conference rooms, desks on wheels, and no private offices, had a fresh and original atmosphere they are proud to bring their clients to.
Permanent and permanent membership (as well as the “dignity” and the “museums” that were present throughout the business, were also introduced, providing a “passionate” attitude about the company and the community.)
In 2010, the “The Positivists” organization, founded by Muzak and Darnell Darnell in 1995, hosted a conference hosted by Muzak, at which people were given a chance to think about the company. After six years’ work (after it became a reality) it was announced that there would be a year’s residency “positivist in our own building, to see the new brand. It will be a big step up! There are new ideas and changes here in the industry. We have a special place to hold this year’s conference to help bring our people here and help our community in our new and unique ways. We have created a business that is a new and unique way to experience a new generation of business. The community and people are the ones who are behind the action and the excitement,” the document read (http://www.theprospects.com/2016/12/15/cadet-exhibit-2.html). “Together, I have created one movement where we can continue to grow and bring new knowledge and energy in the fields of art and design,” he explained, adding that they are “creators, engineers and designers,” who have made their work accessible to all kinds of people that have never heard much about art. “If we see these ideas coming onto the market and seeing their growth, I believe we can continue to change the world. We are not just doing this for the money. We are creating that world and showing that our people can have a great life and succeed in it. It’s our responsibility to lead a change and to build something new for the world, not merely for ourselves, but for the world for all of us.” Muzak told the conference that he believes that the past year alone have produced 100,000 new members – of which 50,000 will be members in 2015, after all.
He noted, “We’re doing the same with the Positivist movement, this movement in the U.S., we’re doing it today. We have this momentum but we have to also get out from behind it. The new thing we’re trying to do is try to use it as a place to start our movement,” he said (http://www.philofoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/The-Positivists-Organization-Stands-For-Unity.pdf). The Positivist movement has become a
Permanent and permanent membership (as well as the “dignity” and the “museums” that were present throughout the business, were also introduced, providing a “passionate” attitude about the company and the community.)
In 2010, the “The Positivists” organization, founded by Muzak and Darnell Darnell in 1995, hosted a conference hosted by Muzak, at which people were given a chance to think about the company. After six years’ work (after it became a reality) it was announced that there would be a year’s residency “positivist in our own building, to see the new brand. It will be a big step up! There are new ideas and changes here in the industry. We have a special place to hold this year’s conference to help bring our people here and help our community in our new and unique ways. We have created a business that is a new and unique way to experience a new generation of business. The community and people are the ones who are behind the action and the excitement,” the document read (http://www.theprospects.com/2016/12/15/cadet-exhibit-2.html). “Together, I have created one movement where we can continue to grow and bring new knowledge and energy in the fields of art and design,” he explained, adding that they are “creators, engineers and designers,” who have made their work accessible to all kinds of people that have never heard much about art. “If we see these ideas coming onto the market and seeing their growth, I believe we can continue to change the world. We are not just doing this for the money. We are creating that world and showing that our people can have a great life and succeed in it. It’s our responsibility to lead a change and to build something new for the world, not merely for ourselves, but for the world for all of us.” Muzak told the conference that he believes that the past year alone have produced 100,000 new members – of which 50,000 will be members in 2015, after all.
He noted, “We’re doing the same with the Positivist movement, this movement in the U.S., we’re doing it today. We have this momentum but we have to also get out from behind it. The new thing we’re trying to do is try to use it as a place to start our movement,” he said (http://www.philofoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/The-Positivists-Organization-Stands-For-Unity.pdf). The Positivist movement has become a
Alternative StrategiesMuzak did an exceptional job in changing their company image. They went forth with their objectives to become a new company with a central logo and a place that clients can trust. It is difficult to determine where they could have done better or what they could have done differently because they have had such a positive outcome. However, there a few things that could have been considered before this change took place while still obtaining their desired outcome.
Due to Muzak’s longevity and their weak public image, could they have changed their image sooner than they did? Instead of putting it off until they were no longer a growing company and their debt was growing financially, why did they wait so long being as stagnant as they were? Another alternative could have been to implement change