Dan Murphy, who was named VP-global marketing at Avaya Inc. in April, faced the challenge of raising brand awareness of the networking company, which acquired Nortel Enterprise Solutions in late 2009.

“When you think about Avaya and its history, the acquisition of Nortel, and the lack of a strong brand investment and commitment in the recent past, these all gave us the opportunity to say: "Who do we want to be going forward; what is the new Ayava; what do we stand for; and what is the brand equity we're trying to drive?' ” Murphy said.

To answer these questions, Murphy and his team conducted extensive research with Avaya's core constituents, including customers and partners, to come up with a new tagline and brand campaign, “The Power of We,” which debuted in June.

“It's all about real-time collaboration, and that means getting the right people and the right information together quickly and easily so people can achieve the best possible outcome,” Murphy said.

The campaign includes a new website and online ads, as well as nontraditional media programs such as a partnership with TLC's reality show “Cake Boss,” which featured a segment with Avaya on July 25.

Carlo's Bakery, which is owned by “Cake Boss” star Buddy Valastro, is an Avaya customer, and Avaya worked with the bakery to deliver communications solutions as it grew its business. In the July episode, Valastro made a giant “Technology Cake” that showcased different technology solutions in honor of Avaya.

Avaya displayed the cake at its Think Big event for small and midsize businesses in May (the July episode was prerecorded) and served the cake for dessert.

Murphy is also developing social media applications for Avaya and its customers, including a new service called Social Media Manager, which integrates data from customer contact centers with social media conversations to help companies monitor interactions with customers. —K.M.