Download Kapco Global – Building differentiation in a homogenous global

Kapco Global – Building differentiation in a
homogenous global market
Kapco Global is a major US based aerospace parts and distribution service provider with an
international network. It serves many of the world’s major airlines, OEM’s and MRO’S.
Following a period of dramatic growth, the company wished to better understand fast changing
markets and clarify its positioning and value proposition in order to help differentiate the company
and provide an enhanced platform for future organic business growth.
We conducted extensive research, which shed new light on customers’ perceptions and future
expectations. This led to a significant change in business strategy and service offer plus a clarified
positioning and redefined brand strategy that placed the industry critical idea of the ‘value of time’
at the centre of the brand and the business. The new brand strategy, which included a new
company name and corporate identity, helped align business strategy, operations and marketing
behind a common purpose. In addition a new powerful graphic style created stand-out in what had
become a crowded and homogeneous market.
“Chris’s strategic and creative insights and David’s commercial and market appreciation
were essential in the development of a powerful brand strategy and clear direction for
marketing and business strategies. I would recommend them to anyone considering a
strategic review.”
Andrew Todhunter, CEO and President, Kapco Global
Speedy Services Plc – Part 1. ‘Safety From the
Ground Up’ - An industry leading safety innovation
As a leading UK provider of rental equipment and services to the construction industry, Speedy
needed to differentiate its services and add value to its brand in what was a price sensitive and
homogenous market
Occupational health, safety awareness and ‘best practice’ were business critical issues in the
industry, and personal and corporate liability also high on customers’ agenda
We developed the ‘Safety From the Ground Up’ programme so that Speedy could help their
customers reduce accidents and ill-health by education and communication of safety ‘best
practice’ amongst site operatives. In this way Speedy helped customers save lives, improve
employee well being, discharge their legal obligations. and so reduce corporate risk
The programme broke new ground by reversing the traditional ‘top down’ cascade of Government
health and safety information by creating amusing and engaging communication and training
materials aimed directly at site workers. These were available to Speedy customers free of charge
This highly innovative campaign was universally endorsed by customers, the industry, and the UK
Government’s Health & Safety Executive. Speedy’s revenue of featured product increased by 25%
in the first year and awareness increased by 40%. The marketing campaign won numerous
awards including the BITC Responsible Marketing award, the CMA’s Best Integrated Marketing
Campaign and the Orange National Business Award for Marketing Strategy. The programme is
credited as being instrumental in generating additional revenues of many millions of pounds and of
contributing to the award of many prestige contracts including the 2012 London Olympics.
“The ‘Safety from the ground up’ campaign has met all expectations
from business results to the enhancement of our brand reputation
and customer relationships”
Steve Corcoran: CEO, Speedy Services Plc
Speedy Services Plc – Part 2. From campaign to
holistic safety programme
Following additional Health & Safety research, the on-going ‘Safety From the Ground Up’
campaign was further enhanced and re-launched. The new focus targeted the issue of
competence and the human factors of behaviour and attitude, which were now regarded by the
construction industry as key to reducing accidents and ill-health in this industry.
Under the theme of ‘A Journey to Competence’, a holistic and enhanced safety programme was
developed for Speedy customers which included free of charge access to a unique product video
library, comprehensive training packages and powerful communication material.
The programme further differentiated Speedy in its core markets, and it was widely supported by
both customers and the UK Government’s Health & Safety Executive. It reinforced Speedy’s
reputation as the leading construction equipment supplier and, most importantly, further enhanced
company’s brand as ‘the champion of safety best practice’.
“ Chris Harvey developed the concept of ‘A journey to Competence’
as a direct result of the insights he gained by interviewing directors of
our major customers, regulators, suppliers and HSE researchers.
This nationally launched programme helped our sales teams to reengage with customers and develop wider relationships within each
customer. We enjoyed substantial uplift in business and significantly
enhanced our brand reputation for industry leadership, risk
management and as the ‘safety champion’
Dan Walmsley – Head of Brand, Speedy Services Plc
- Engaged with customer (speedy), their clients, regulators, and H&S
Constructionline: Transforming a resented purchase
to a highly valued service
Constructionline was a register of pre-qualified construction suppliers. It was owned by the
Government’s department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and operated by Capita Plc.
one of the UK’s largest outsource service providers Constructionline helps construction service
and material suppliers get projects by proving their suitability to tender through a pre-qualification
process. It also helps public and private sector buyers find suppliers who are eligible to tender by
making available a suppliers health and safety credentials, financial stability and experience.
Our research confirmed that the service and the benefits were not properly understood or valued
by suppliers and buyers. They saw the service as an unnecessary intrusion of existing customer
relations and more ’red tape’ in an over-complicated ‘ tender process
We developed a new strategy that re-positioned the service as a Government owned,
accreditation service and one that championed the cause of hard-pressed suppliers. This
positioning underpinned by the concept of’ ‘True Accreditation ‘ added value to the service
because accreditation is worth paying for. The new identity and communication material explained
the proposition more persuasively while balancing authority with a more appealing user-friendly
approach.
The new strategy and brand presentation has helped build sustained double-digit business growth
and has played a highly positive role in Capita’s successful acquisition of the Constructionline
business from the UK Government in 2015
“Chris Harvey is always worth talking to and I would recommend him
to any business. I have worked with him on a variety of projects at a
number of companies with a great deal of success. He impresses
from senior boards down with his research, analysis and creative
thinking. While he has helped my companies win many awards his
motivation is to benefit the bottom line. “
Philip Prince. Marketing Director Capita Plc
The Ultimate Travel Company - ‘From woolly socks
to luxury travel’
Worldwide Journeys and Expeditions Ltd was a successful tailor-made and adventure holiday
business, which was looking for new growth opportunities. While the business was successful its
niche of adventure and Trekking restricted its appeal to high-end luxury holiday prospects.
A new business strategy was developed, and the company successfully acquired and merged with
several complimentary travel businesses to provide high-end travel product and customers
Following market research and competitive analysis, a new positioning was developed that
identified a market opportunity to differentiated on the basis of a combination of luxury and
individuality – A direct counter point to the more established and more formulaic luxury brands
The company was re-branded as the The Ultimate Travel Company for demanding, high-end
travellers and positioned as ‘The highly individual travel service, for highly individual travellers’.
In a tough market environment, turnover and repeat business grew through new prospect
acquisition and successful cross-selling within the enlarged businesses. Our new brochure design
won an Observer Best Travel Brochure Award and in Consumer Research the design was judged
best overall.
The positioning and identity work was excellent and has helped us
successfully merge three companies and achieve six years of
sustained growth”
Nick Van Gruisen: Managing Director. The Ultimate Travel Company Ltd
Leathams Larder Plc - From commodity to gourmet
brand
Leatham’s Larder Plc. was an established distributor of artisan foods but needed to develop and
market a brand of their own to increase distribution to supermarkets and achieve significant
growth.
We created ‘The Merchant Gourmet’, a premium quality brand with a true brand story – the man
who travelled the world in search of world-class food.
As a result, Leatham’s won distribution contracts with leading UK supermarket stores, Waitrose,
Sainsbury and Tesco.
Leatham’s was also repositioned as ‘the food innovators’ and a good example of this was the
launch of SunBlush tomatoes, an entirely new tomato product, now widely available as a specific
ingredient in food service and consumer markets. We created the name and the positioning for
SunBlush, which preserved its franchise even when applied to own label versions.
SunBlush became one of Leatham’s biggest sellers and won a prestigious new product award
from the Supermarketing publication.
“Chris Harvey quickly understood our culture and created The
Merchant Gourmet brand for us and we quickly achieved good
distribution with the multiple food retailers”
Mark Leatham: Managing Director, Leathams Plc
Heatbusters - From homogeneous service to brand
icon
At a time when portable air conditioning hire was dull, homogenous and a resented purchase,
Heatbusters arrived like a bolt from the blue.
We created a highly distinctive name and brand character and a powerful visual style to dramatise
the problem of over-heated office workers, while justifying the cost of the solution to employers:
‘Cool comfort means improved productivity and efficiency’.
By using ‘weather related’ radio commercials, commuter railway posters and direct mail, we
elevated Heatbusters to ‘iconic’ status in London offices.
The business grew dramatically, generating over £2m in revenue in its second year. Our marketing
campaign won six Direct Marketing Association awards, including best campaign.
“Heatbusters, was a truly innovative brand concept that quickly
established the business in London and South East UK. From launch
to roll out, award-winning recognition, value creation and eventual
sale, Chris and his team played a pivotal role in its success”
Peter Simpson. Marketing Manager SGB Youngman
Speedy Services Plc - Part 3. The ‘GO’ Initiative An environmental innovation
Following the success of Speedy’s safety related campaigns, Getting Greener from the Ground up
was developed. This programme took environmental education and communication directly to site
operatives and provided clear evidence of a Speedy customers’ commitment to reducing
environmental impact.
Additional research identified two specific challenges for customers. , Firstly, enhancing business
critical environmental credentials by reducing carbon and energy usage and secondly, the
perennial battle to reduce costs.
In response we developed the ‘GO’ Initiative (Green Option) as part of the company’s ‘Getting
Greener’ campaign. This was essentially a range of hire equipment products that offered proven
environmental benefits and measurable savings in energy and carbon usage.
By selecting products from the ‘GO’ range of equipment, Speedy’s customers were not only able
to choose environmentally friendly products but also demonstrate the savings in carbon and
energy to customers and prospective customers.
The marketing programme helped Speedy further differentiate in the market but more significantly
helped customers actually win business by enhancing their tenders with real evidence of carbon
and energy savings. The GO Initiative received widespread support from customers, resulting in
strong business growth. Enhanced brand reputation as the champions of safety and now the
Environment. Getting Greener was a finalist in the UK’s prestigious National Business Awards for
Innovation in 2010 and the Go Initiative in 2012.
Elan Aircraft seating
Aircraft seating is a highly competitive, quality and cost conscious market where reputation
and track record is essential. So launching a new product range in to this market on the basis
of a USA /Chinese joint venture was quite a challenge.
We conducted market research that confirmed that weight and durability were key drivers
in seat selection for obvious economic reasons but so too was total cost, design and style
and availability through manufacturing capability
We decided to focus our brand and marketing efforts on establishing the performance
attributes of the new brand. Strength, lightness, flair, style and speed reflected in the brand
name Elan
Acknowledging the considerable changes to the airline market and its changing needs we
positioned as a product that has been specifically designed to meet the needs of the market
today as well as the future based on a value proposition that embraced: Quality, durability,
economy and availability.
Though still early days Elan Aircraft seating has attracted the attention of a number of very
large OEM’s as well as emerging airlines and leasing companies for whom Elan’s attributes
are both important and valuable
Octants brand strategy, brand name and communication platform helped us refine our
business strategy and focus our value proposition. We launched in Hamburg and were
delighted with the high level of interest shown in our proposition by some very important
prospects.
Oliver Bootz: President and Chief Evangelist
Elan Aircraft seating