Building Kyndryl's Brand from Scratch: A CMO's Journey with Maria Winans

The Genesis of Kyndryl's Brand Identity

• 🚀 Maria Winans, CMO of Kyndryl, shares her experience building a world-class brand from scratch after its spin-off from IBM.
• 💡 The monumental task involved transforming the culture and strategy of an 80,000-person company into a services-led entity.
• 🔑 The brand's creation was a unique, once-in-a-career opportunity, blending past learnings with the chance to build something entirely new.

Crafting the Kyndryl Name and Purpose

• 🧩 The naming process for Kyndryl involved exploring over 200,000 options, leading to a unique, invented word.
• 🤝 The name "Kyndryl" was derived from "kinship" (trust and partnership) and "tendril" (growth), symbolizing a focus on people and customer relationships.
• 🗣️ The brand's purpose was intentionally humanized, emphasizing "together, each of us" to empower employees and signal a people-centric approach.

Fostering a People-Centric Culture

• 🌟 A key challenge was motivating 90,000 employees through a cultural transformation, making them feel like founders of the new company.
• 🌳 To signify this, a tree was planted for every employee, symbolizing roots and shared growth.
• 🤝 The "Kyndryl Way" was introduced as the cultural platform, promoting behaviors like being restless, empathetic, and devoted.

Engaging Customers in the New Brand Era

• 🎯 The marketing strategy shifted from broad demand generation to account-based marketing (ABM), focusing on one-to-one relationships with key customers.
• 📈 Marketing efforts were organized around accounts and core capabilities, expanding relationships beyond IT to line-of-business leaders.
• 💡 A surprise discovery was the deep passion and pride employees had in their work, which customers deeply trusted and valued.

Advice for Brand Transformation Leaders

• ⚠️ Leaders embarking on rebrands or spin-offs should embrace discomfort as a catalyst for growth and not be afraid to be bold.
• 🚀 Taking calculated risks and asking bold questions are crucial, as the regret of not being bold is often greater than the risk itself.
• 💡 Staying agile involves constant learning, curiosity, staying close to the market, listening to customers and sales teams, and embracing a test-and-learn approach.