Howden needed a big idea. When you consolidate more than a dozen companies and brands into one entity, communication is vital. Howden North America needed to tell the news to its sales force, dealers and employees, along with media personnel around the world. PDFs, press releases and email chains wouldn't do it.
Client:
Howden, a 156-year-old global company, specializes in industrial air and gas movement solutions. Howden Buffalo's focus is on fans and fluid drives; this division within Howden is comprised of four locations in the U.S. and one in Mexico.
Challenge:
During the 3rd quarter of 2010, Howden Buffalo moved its headquarters to Columbia (S.C.) and changed their name to Howden North America. In addition to these changes, Howden Buffalo acquired 25 brands in its past that were never promoted as such and caused confusion in the market, sometimes customers even thought these brands were competitors or went out of business. They needed to clearly communicate a new branding strategy and new direction to approximately 100 sales reps and dealers and media personnel around the world in an interesting, concise, powerful way.
Solution:
JMG created a multi phased campaign that started with sending direct mail and email teasers to industry and media personnel, and then concluded with a comprehensive, interactive launch package for employees, sales reps and customers that included an easy-to-use, entertaining, comprehensive flash drive.
Execution:
The launch package contained a welcome kit of literature, a paper weight, a branded umbrella with the headline, "Of all the things under the Howden umbrella, the most important one is you," along with an interactive flash drive that included:
- A home page
- A brand video that captured the company's history, essence and new brand position
- An interactive timeline with the company's 156-year history
- Updated literature in 14 different industry segments
- PDFs for employee and sales rep use (for print or email)
Not only did JMG create and package the USB and overall Brand Presentation, we also created the video and the interactive timeline.
Results:
The materials were received by all audiences and the feedback was universally positive. It seems that people don't love mountains of PDFs and hundreds of emails. (They do, however, love interactive timelines and organization.) The tool was so successful that Howden North America has continued to work with JMG to update this Brand Presentation with a translated Spanish counterpart for the Mexican domestic market.
Solution Components: