BACKGROUND: Blue Bird Corporation is an 80-year-old manufacturer of buses. The company's original product line was school buses, but over time it had diversified into RVs and commercial buses. In recent years product quality suffered, driving sales and profits down substantially. The company was at risk of bankruptcy. A new management team was assembled to reshape the company and return it to profitability. The new team refocused the company's efforts on school bus quality and divested of the RV and commercial bus divisions.
CHALLENGE: Jackson Marketing Group was recruited to help refresh the Blue Bird School Bus brand and to reintroduce a new brand commitment to the marketplace.
SOLUTION: Jackson Marketing Group conducted extensive interviews with key Blue Bird personnel, distributors and end users to determine brand assets and liabilities. The agency also fielded a quantitative brand health study among school bus purchase decision-makers relative to key competitors Thomas and International. Based on information from this research, a branding communication strategy was developed and all new communication materials were created for the brand. The brand refresh was launched with the messaging: "The Next Generation of Blue Bird Starts Now," along with the key benefits of reliability, value and legacy. The new messaging was communicated through an integrated program that included a new website, magazine inserts, advertising, public relations, e-newsletters, trade show support and a national sales meeting.
RESULTS: Qualitative feedback to the new campaign from both internal and external audiences has been overwhelming. Both the new website and advertising campaign almost immediately earned industry awards. A follow-up brand health tracking study will be fielded during 2009-10 to provide quantitative metrics.