Brand Reorganization and Rebranding Creates Premium Position for Former “Low-Cost Leader” Seed Company
Once seen as a low-cost leader, 5MetaCom helped the client streamline its product line and position itself as a premium brand prior to the introduction of industry-changing technology.
Services | Research, Strategy, Messaging, Branding, Creative Communications
Situation
Acquire a company with several brands…keep every last product line and SKU…maintain low prices…all while preparing to launch a revolutionary new technology. Blend that together and what do you get?
- Not much
- A mess
- A low-cost leader with disappointing sales and profits
- All of the above.
Such was the situation when our client turned to 5MetaCom for rebranding a company they bought and help with implementing their new strategy. Starting from “4.” and armed with nothing more than a new brand name, the company followed the path laid out by 5MetaCom’s “People Powered Brand” process. And where has the journey taken them? Hint: We wouldn’t have posed the question if the answer wasn’t “to the top.”
The Work
Research: Understand current reality and what’s possible
- In-depth qualitative research with customers and internal teams revealed:
- Customers had little affinity to the company but cared deeply about the products.
- The company sold hundreds of products, some with extremely low margins.
Strategy: Prototype the desired brand
- Positioned the client as a premium brand, representing fewer, but more valuable, products.
- Rebranded/created new product brands that commanded higher premiums in the market, improving margin.
- Reduced number of SKUs.
- Emphasized product brands in marketing communications/advertising.
- Promoted client’s specialized focus to differentiate from the competition.
Creative Expression: Communications & Branding
- Created the brand around product excellence:
- Brand story: It’s about raising your expectations.
- Look and feel: Clean, bright and contemporary.
- Key visual: Product packaging buyers would recognize.
- Developed marketing plan and key tactics:
- Advertising campaign: Targeted to likely buyers of higher-margin products
- Direct response campaign: Fed leads to sales force.
- Product launch: Rolled out an innovative, patented product and a brand-new product category.
- Digital: Website development
- Sales support: brochures, presentations, fact sheets
- Brand enrollment: Employees learned to live the brand and internalize concise, effective brand messaging.
What to see the creative work? Contact Us.
Results
One year into the rebranding effort, 5MetaCom helped the client launch one the of most innovative products the industry has ever seen – and established a completely new product category. The new category put the competition on its heels and helped fully position the client as the premium brand in the marketplace.
Today, the client is a leader in the industry. Concurrent with the rebranding effort, the company shed hundreds of SKUs, raised value delivered to customers (and correspondingly, price), reconfigured its distribution/sales network and streamlined its offering into one single, powerful brand in the marketplace.