Case Studies

CASE STUDIES

Client: Intermec Technologies

Challenges: When automated data capture market leader Intermec appointed Mulberry, the US-owned bar codes and RFID tags company faced two key challenges that would determine the future success of its European business.

The first was that the company was failing to achieve the regular exposure in the UK trade press that was required to build awareness with its logistics, retail, consumer goods and manufacturing customer bases. The second and most serious challenge was the lack of clarity, cohesion, consistency and communication between the PR efforts in each of Intermec’s chosen European markets.

Mulberry Strategy: On appointment Mulberry turned around the UK press coverage situation within a matter of months through an intensive media relations campaign. The outcome is that Intermec now out performs even those competitors with larger PR budgets and is viewed by the media as the first company to comment on any technological or industry development.

In a very close working relationship with Intermec’s own marketing team, Mulberry then reviewed and recruited new PR consultancies where appropriate, or replaced other under-performing agencies, to build Intermec’s first global PR network. This now features PR consultancies in Germany, France, Benelux, Italy, Spain, Nordics, South Africa, China, Singapore, Thailand, Brazil, Mexico and the Middle East which are all led and managed by Mulberry out of the UK. Best of breed PR companies in other areas are expected to be added soon as Intermec expands its footprint into other developing countries around the world.

PR material - ranging from product releases, through corporate announcements and exhibition support programmes to opinion or by-lined pieces - is generally originated, co-ordinated and fed out to the network by Mulberry. Local agencies will then judge its news appeal and decide whether to “trans-create” the information into local language and style for distribution to their own national press.

With Intermec able to draw a direct correlation between its recent EMEA sales success and PR case studies in particular, Mulberry has accelerated an intensive written and video case study programme. The consultancy also now manages the client’s I-win programme which motivates and rewards Intermec sales people.

To counter the lengthy editorial lead-times of some magazines and to deliver the wealth of news being generated by Intermec directly to key customers, opinion-formers and the press, a further part of the Mulberry strategy is the production of a series of vertical e-newsletters in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish language which have a growing readership.

Results: Intermec now not only has regular, meaningful coverage in all its chosen UK vertical markets. It also profits from the Mulberry global PR network which works closely together with agreed messages, announcements and a unified fee structure sharing and implementing best PR practice across the region to Intermec’s direct benefit.

Intermec subsequently appointed Mulberry to handle its US communications as of April 2006.

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Client: Jaga Heating Products

Challenges: A European leader in the radiator market, prior to Mulberry’s appointment, Jaga had been trading in the UK for over 10 years. However compared to its presence in continental Europe, the company remained under-known and sales were flat in the UK as its publicity was swamped by the massive promotional budgets of some extremely well-known competitors.

Mulberry Strategy: Mulberry recommended that Jaga would achieve the best ROI on its available marketing budget by executing an intensive media relations campaign.

The first step then was to segment the wide list of publications relevant to Jaga and analyse their readership and interests. Press briefings, media tours, a press trip to Jaga HQ in Belgium, case studies and above all the regular supply of product material relevant to each magazine’s particular needs then ensured that meaningful Jaga material appeared regularly in the magazines read by specifiers and buyers of heating solutions.

Results: Within six months of Mulberry’s appointment in December 2001 as PR and marketing communications consultants to Jaga, the monthly sales enquiry levels had increased ten fold.

Within a year of Mulberry’s appointment, Jaga UK reported a jump in sales of 26% without any reduction in margin. The subsequent years also set records for the company, importantly both in terms of turnover and profit. Forecasts for the current year (2006) suggest that Mulberry has again contributed to another year of unprecedented success.

Today Jaga is recognised as a prime challenger company in its chosen market. The UK operation is now the fastest growing organisation within the Jaga group anywhere in the world and some of the publicity initiatives planned and implemented by Mulberry are being adapted for use in other territories.

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Client: Truvox International

Challenges: Floor cleaning machine manufacturer Truvox was one of Mulberry’s founder clients appointing the agency as far back as September 1995. At that time many in the cleaning industry viewed Truvox as a small purely UK player in what was an increasingly global marketplace dominated by a handful of multinationals.

Mulberry Strategy: In the subsequent years that it has worked for Truvox, Mulberry has undertaken an integrated marketing communications campaign with activities including newsletters, print & digital advertising, exhibition stand design & construction, sales & image literature design & production, as well as web site design and maintenance.

However the main thrust of the company’s promotional activities has been the ongoing public relations campaign through Mulberry. This has deliberately positioned Truvox and its Managing Director Peter Holt as being the clear European authority on the business of cleaning; portrayed the company as being a dynamic innovator of the most reliable, productivity-enhancing and operator-friendly machines in what is typically a pretty conservative market; and communicated the growing internationalisation of Truvox’s business.

Tactics have included case studies at locations as diverse as NikeTown and London’s Royal Festival Hall, “what to buy” guidance articles, competitions, sales promotions, product information as well as separate sub-campaigns devoted to the series of acquisitions made by Truvox over this period.

Results: Far from being forced out of the market, today Truvox sells its machines in over 60 different countries, has a positive global reputation and its strategy is praised and copied by industry analysts and competitors alike. The Mulberry PR campaign is widely acknowledged in its own right as having played a major part in the company’s sustained success over the past decade with Truvox now regularly featuring in cleaning trade publications in the UK, Europe, the US, Australia, Asia-Pac and many other regions.