The
Customer
A UK-based
manufacturer of professional turf maintenance equipment founded over 200 years
ago in Norfolk. Today it has 400+
employees at the UK facility with three similar sized sister sites in the USA. There are four brand names in the UK product
portfolio, each aimed at a specific market sector.
The
Problem
This traditional
company had an excellent reputation for high quality manufactured goods but
after some research had found its product image was viewed as dated and tired
in the marketplace. An innovative new
product was on the verge of completion, which would ensure the future safety of
the UK-based factory, only if sales were successful. Failure may lead to the closure of the plant
and the transfer of manufacturing to one of the US sites.
The
Solution
A two-fold marketing
strategy was formulated. First, it was
essential to introduce the new product to existing and emerging markets. Second, it was necessary to revive a flagging
old-fashioned brand by re-packaging it as fresh, contemporary and cutting
edge.
The execution of the
campaign was centred on a product ‘reveal’ at the main European industry trade
show. It was based on a modern, automotive product launch using dramatic stand
designs and a full audio visual production.
For six weeks leading up to the show, an integrated multi-lingual
marketing campaign gave ‘teaser’ images of the product without showing the
machine in its entirety. Dramatic images were commissioned by a professional
photographer to show the product in a striking environment.
Promotional items
were also sent to key customers to hint at what was coming. VIP’s were invited to an exclusive preview
and test drive session with results being ‘leaked’ to the press. The marketing plan also utilised a mixture of
email marketing, phased direct mail pieces and timely advertising
campaigns. This was also backed up by
targeted PR activity.
The
Results
The sales team had
been targeted with delivering orders for 40 units in the three months after the
launch, which was also the final quarter of the financial year. With the help of the Business Vitamins
marketing campaign, the orders received exceeded 100 units.
The product was given
the ‘Best New Product’ award for 2007 in an online vote by consumers,
undertaken by a respected industry magazine.
The project also came
in 14% under budget.
Do you need to outsmart your competitors? Contact us now on 0845 310 2457 to discuss what you want to achieve and how we can help you meet your goals.
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