Case Studies

Listen, Think, Plan, Act...Results

Landrey & Company increasingly sees clients challenged to keep their products and services from becoming commodities. The only way to compete in a commodity market is on price. As prices fall, so do margins.

Faced with this problem in multiple situations, Landrey & Company developed a proprietary planning model to guide companies in positioning their brands and putting together the right mix of marketing communications to build brand equity. Here's an example of how we helped a global company build its brands and increase its market share and margins in the U.S.

Brand building in a commodity market

Situation:
Our client operated in a commodity market. For the most part, its own products were marketed under generic names. Price was the principal means of competition.

But this company was responsible for the key technical advancements in its industry. It consistently was first with product improvements. It also was the only company offering certain value-added services.

Solution:
Landrey & Company helped the company identify its points of differentiation. We reminded it of what made it great. Working with the company, we developed a strategy to clearly position it as the industry leader in innovation, product quality and customer support.

First we created a brand architecture that named each product and each extension for value-added services. No longer would it allow itself to be part of the crowd.

Next, we established a consistent design identity carried across all collateral material, packaging, and internal and external communications.

Then we broke through the clutter in trade publications with advertising that shattered the mold for the industry, supporting the brand position with clear messages in words and design. We supported the marketing communications campaign with media relations including interviews with key executives and placement of contributed articles.

We built pride among operating employees. They became the keepers of the brand. They learned how to build equity in the brand and support it in their everyday actions through brown-bag-lunch discussions with key customers and open forums with senior executives.

Outcome:
Our strategy was initially greeted with skepticism among others in the industry. They stood on the sidelines while our client captured customer preference and loyalty, and market share increased from 18 percent to 30 percent. Today they also see our client able to command a premium for its product.

The lesson learned – a product or service only becomes a commodity if you let it. We believe this lesson is applicable in any business.

Other case studies of Landrey & Company brand building and marketing communications:

adidas Golf Product Launch
Pacific Crest: Live...from Vail
Grant Thornton Brand Awareness
Steelscape Branding
First-Mover Advantage: First Point
Crafting Ellison's National Image