The Challenge: Creating a page-turning brand to drive new business
A Kent based digital printers needed to diversify and explore new revenue streams. They saw a gap in the market for a personalised production service that offered speed, innovation and cost-effectiveness.
The Managing Director of the business commissioned Sharp Thinking to create a new global brand and marketing strategy to take them forward and achieve their aspirations and goals. Our goal was to create brand awareness and achieve cut through to generate high value leads. The launch campaign had to work hard, ensuring we reached the right people, at the right time all around the world and on a minimal budget.
The Approach: Following the marketing planning process, chapter by chapter
We began by immersing ourselves with the competition on a global scale to identify best practice and key learnings. Assessing their target audience to understand the nature and makeup of the market enabled us to create new messaging along with a distinctive identity that stood out.
Our competitor audit highlighted the need to create a strong, engaging B2B brand with a consumer feel and a vibrant personality. To stand out, photography was crucial along with a friendly tone of voice avoiding jargon. Equally, although we were developing a B2B brand, the products live in consumers hands. This led us to the development of our proposition – WowBooks provide an integrated digital print and logistics solution for consumer publishers, from their website to their customer’s front door. WowBooks will make it easier, quicker and more cost-effective to offer beautifully crafted personalised books.
We researched the market and created a long list of international publishing brands. We created a scorecard to prioritise the brands and segmented according to value. Next, we needed to identify senior decision-makers within each organisation and decided on C-Suite personnel. This gave us our top tier of prospects.
Our strategy was a highly targeted one, using DM as the pièce de résistance. With a strong call to action, promoting free personalised, branded samples, accompanied by a personalised message using Linked In Messenger, we could connect with prospects whilst we had their attention.
Campaign timing played a pivotal role. We decided to launch before Christmas. This is the busiest time of year in the printing world when resources are pushed to their limits. We would target prospects when they were most vulnerable and could see the benefits of switching to a new supplier with a state of the art API system.
Sharp Thinking, a Tunbridge Wells based business, worked on the creative execution of the brand in just 3 months creating the brand identity, website, video, photography, direct mail, PR & social media, ensuring a consistent look and feel. Our highly innovative DM campaign was the main lead generation technique. It showed the real power of personalisation and took multi-sensory print to the next level by incorporating video into the mail packs.
The Result: A 33:1 return on initial marketing investment
With a fully integrated marketing strategy and execution plan in place, the new brand reaped the rewards for taking their time to follow a logical, detailed marketing planning process to take their business to the next level.
Structure and focus breeding confidence in management and the future of their business
Their new marketing strategy set out their goals, objectives and deliverables to move forward and execute structured and targeted marketing activity, maximising time and money to achieve a high return on investment
Enhanced pride within the business and stand out in the market
A new brand for the business, with its distinctive look creating consistency across all channels and the ability to differentiate from the competition
Reduced chance of scatter gun activity with improved knowledge of their potential customers
A detailed prospect database was developed using scoring criteria to rank and segment prospective customers across the UK, Europe and the US. This enabled us to be highly targeted and tailor the message accordingly.
38% direct marketing response achieved with 11 new contact meetings secured
A bespoke, professional direct mail pack was sent to high-value C-Suite prospects including CEOs and Marketing Directors. LinkedIn targeted activity formed the personalised follow up to maintain a connection.
400% increase in new contacts increasing brand awareness and consideration opportunities.
With a combined daily strategy through social media from the business and from the founder of the company, we were able to connect on Linked In with 76% of prospects that received the DM.
PR in core trade publications
We generated 5 pieces of press coverage giving us an online readership of 966k and 6.94k estimated coverage views.
"I want to thank you for all your hard work, passion, drive and energy to get us to this point, it is hugely appreciated. Hopefully, it's the start of a successful journey, but I know at the very least, the efforts of you and the talented people you've also involved, have given us the best chance of success. Thanks once again."
Andrew Balcombe, Founder, WowBooks
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