Spotlight: The Brand Strategy Group, 40th Anniversary Honoree
Category: Public Relations and Marketing
Honorees: Gloria Garvey and Brook Gramann
Public relations and communication are important skills and, in its early years, MADD Hawaii was in the very capable and good hands of Gloria Garvey and Brook Gramann, who founded The Brand Strategy Group more than 35 years ago. Their company assisted clients in focusing more strategically on the organization’s brand and strategic issues management. The Brand Strategy Group’s work for MADD Hawaii was performed pro-bono which made the service even more vital to MADD Hawaii’s decades-long progress and accomplishments.
Gloria and Brook, through their experience and leadership, guided founder Carol McNamee and her team in the formative years of MADD Hawaii. They were also instrumental in bringing major donors to MADD Hawaii, including support and input for the MADD Hawaii Victim Memorial at Kakaʻako Waterfront Park. The Victim Memorial Committee convened for more than three years to solicit artists and contract the selected artist, to gain approval from the State for the site, and to raise more than $70,000 to bring the victim memorial to fruition.
Of their many accomplishments, Gloria and Brook were most proud of their community service, In addition to MADD Hawaii, The Brand Strategy Group provided pro bono strategic communication services to Kids Hurt Too, Winner’s Camp for Teenagers, Council on Alternative Dispute Resolution, the Domestic Violence Action Center, and more.
The Brand Strategy Group’s client list included many of Hawaii’s largest corporations and organizations, including Island Insurance, the University of Hawaii system, Punahou School, Assets School, Queen’s Medical Center, Hawaii Pacific Health, Arcadia and Hawaiian Host Chocolates, and many more.
While Gloria and Brook said “a hui hou” to The Brand Strategy Group in 2010 to pursue other interests (they founded Lanikai Body & Bath), their commitment and support of MADD Hawaii continued, demonstrating the depth of their dedication to ending the preventable tragedies caused by drunk and drugged driving.
Both Gloria and Brook have thanked and credited their devoted husbands for their tireless support over the years as well. The two women raised families in partnership with their husbands, Mark Hanington and David Gramann, and are particularly grateful to clients who became friends and mentors to their families.
Thankfully for MADD Hawaii, it remains among the oldest friends of the ‘ohana of Gloria and Brook.
