How do we make our role in an ecosystem clear?

Find the contribution participants value through stakeholder interviews and audience research, rather than assuming your platform's reputation explains your business's role. Strategy Object operated a globally recognised e-government platform, but research revealed that the company behind SOClass remained largely invisible. Stakeholder interviews and audience research identified a strength beyond the technology: enabling collaboration, innovation and trust between governments. The work also identified precision, clarity and continuous improvement as values shared by Strategy Object and its developer audience. Use interviews to distinguish recognition of your platform from understanding of your organisation. Establish what participants value about working across organisational boundaries, and use their priorities to identify the contribution your brand needs to make visible.

Define a shared story about your role around the outcomes your business enables across the ecosystem. Genius Sports captures and shares sporting data that broadcasters, streamers, betting companies, teams and sponsors use to create richer experiences. For Genius Sports, research identified a common opportunity: helping businesses connect with fans in new ways as digital technologies change engagement with sport. The resulting campaign concept, "Built on Genius", gave different audiences a shared account of the business's contribution, placing Genius Sports at the centre of an ecosystem powered by data. Build your positioning around the connection between your capabilities and participants' goals. A shared story should explain both what connects the organisations and why your contribution matters to their work.

Show your contribution from each audience's perspective by adapting a consistent campaign idea, rather than creating a separate account of your role for every participant. For Genius Sports, the "Built on Genius" campaign used a layered collage style to show the scale of sports data and its ripple effect within a single graphic. The design could be tailored from a player or brand perspective, with the fan at the heart of the action. A brand film and social campaign carried the same central positioning. Use audience-specific expressions to make each participant's connection visible while retaining the shared story. The practical task is to change the perspective without changing the contribution your business claims.