At LSA16, MapQuest GM Brian McMahon discussed how the company is bringing back the product and how its internal culture is critical in that effort. For more on this session visit: http://bit.ly/1QE0HZP

1. Revitalizing Culture to Revive a Brand

2. 20 years & still pioneering20 Years & Still Pioneering

3. • 17 years in and after lots of
competition, we became slightly
stagnant
• Our culture took a hit
• We over indexed on fun...without a
focus on execution or results
• We stopped innovating
• Only measure of success – ‘are we
beating Google?’
Our culture challenge

4. • We obsessed on developing the right
culture
• We developed a shared vision
• We began competing against
ourselves and focused on making
better products
• We focused on execution, winning and
fun (all three!)
What did we do?

5. Where did we start?
What is culture?
Essential and enduring tenets of an
organization. A small set of guiding
principles by which we will all commit
to interact, upon which to make
decisions and to judge our work.

6. Where did we start?
We worked to define what we wanted
our culture to be and what culture
meant to us.
• - Vision: why we exist
• - Values: what we stand for
• - Practices: how we act
• - People: who we work with
• - Narrative: what are our stories
• - Place: where we exist

7. Culture: The MapQuest Code

8. Shared Vision/Mission/Strategy

9. Developing better products

10. Developing better products

11. Still focused on fun, celebrating the wins

12. How did we extend the
culture into the brand?
Questions:
“Why do you work here?”
“Why do you stay?”
‘We want to help people.’

14. We were at a crossroads.
We could fight an uphill battle on features…

15. Or we could carve
out distinction by:
1. Positioning MapQuest as not
another tech company
2. Balancing boldness
and humanity
3. Bringing MapQuest closer to
our consumers’ lives

16. Empower
everyone to
enjoy more
of life
Save the day
Foster
exceptionalism,
fun, and
perseverance
Be daring,
commanding,
and casual
Customer Interaction
& Experience
became the strategic differentiator for MapQuest.

17. @JimmyKazz1968 Tbh I didn’t know
MapQuest was still a thing
@AlanGreenback
@JimmyKazz1968 To be honest we
didn’t know you existed until you
tweeted that
so it looks like we’re even.
@AlanGreenback
@MapQuest
I don’t even remember what it was like to
drive before Google Maps.
@deray
@deray BRUH REMEMBER MAPQUEST?!
PRINTING OUT DIRECTIONS?! SHIT WAS THE
WORST
@THEKIDMERO
@THEKIDMERO
@deray What? No
we’re not crying, we
just have something in
our eyes… it’s fine...
@THEKIDMERO

18. From
Maps
Information
Directions
Search
To
Discovery
Exploration
Suggestion
Insight

19. Humble acts of kindness
Little wins and rescues
Voluntary and proactive
Providing assistance and support
Expressing passion and empathy
Everyday heroism
Moments big and small
Day-to-day relevance
For the everyman
Easy to identify with

20. Questions?