United States Patent and Trademark Office

From Stories to Solutions

Award Winner
40 senior
staff trained

The enthusiasm and creativity that is applied to each training session is very helpful in getting and keeping our executives engaged.”

– Client

Overview

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is a government agency responsible for granting patents and registering trademarks to protect intellectual property in the United States. Storytelling is crucial to USPTO’s brand awareness and positioning, as it humanizes the innovation process by making it more accessible and relatable to all audiences. The agency’s primary mission is to foster innovation and economic growth by providing inventors and businesses with exclusive rights to their inventions, encouraging the development and dissemination of new technologies and ideas.

 

In 2023, Hatcher partnered with USPTO to train and support their executive leadership in crafting and delivering compelling stories, engaging with the media, and improving public speaking skills in an effort to bolster awareness of specific USPTO programs, challenge preconceived notions of who and what is deserving of a patent or trademark, and nurture innovation in communities that have not traditionally partnered with the agency.

Challenge

Wanting to foster a greater sense of connection with their target audience at the local and national level, USPTO sought to enhance their ability to deliver compelling stories that encourage innovation among a wide range of communities.

 

By sharing success stories, innovators’ experiences, and some insights into the patent and trademark journey, USPTO not only sought to demystify the application process but also aimed to address potential barriers to entry innovators may face. By seeking out expertise on how to effectively engage audience members, the USPTO began to build a foundation to help broaden and enrich the country’s innovation landscape.

Solution

Hatcher developed and facilitated a two-part training program intended to help USPTO’s executive leadership tell the agency’s story, build their own personal experiences into their outreach, and more effectively take on public speaking in various venues.

Impact

Hatcher trained 40 USPTO leaders over the course of five two-part storytelling trainings, some of which were held in-person at the USPTO headquarters and others that were facilitated virtually. The workshop exceeded USPTO’s standards: They deemed the storytelling training to be informative, enlightening, and effective.

Capabilities

Qualitative research

Technical assistance