Outstanding B2B marketing: Wunderman for Barloworld Logistics
Who says B2B is boring? Not Wunderman…
The brief
Barloworld Logistics designs, implements and manages cutting-edge supply chain solutions that enable their clients to become more competitive, leaner and more effective as organisations.
The South African logistics and supply chain industry is a tough environment in which to compete, and as a result, it’s essential for Barloworld Logistics to differentiate themselves through their marketing, and stand out in the cluttered environment of logistics advertising.
The strategy guiding our Barloworld Logistics campaign was to disrupt a typically conservative and complex logistics solutions category.
The brief was to move the brand identity from the perceived understated, established and corporate image to one that reflects the brand’s innovation, intellectual capital, agility and commitment to solving logistics problems.
The solution
Targeting an intellectually sophisticated client base, we developed a print campaign using brainteaser puzzles to challenge the readers. Some puzzles were chosen for their broad and generic appeal, whilst others were tailored to meet a specific sector such as mining or shipping etc. Whether readers thought they’d solved the problem or not, they still had to contact Barloworld Logistics for confirmation or the correct answer.
The puzzles are specifically chosen to be difficult to solve, in order to dramatise Barloworld Logistics’ belief that “With original thinking anything is possible”.
This campaign completely disrupts conventional logistics and supply chain advertising. It actively solicits readers’ involvement. And in an entirely unexpected way, the campaign brings to life Barloworld Logistics’ value proposition that “With original thinking anything is possible.”
And the results?
The campaign elicited a high degree of senior executive interest and has generated significant response, clearly indicating that it has pushed the right buttons in its complex and technical target market.
Kate Stubbs, General Manager Marketing: Barloworld Logistics says, “The understanding of logistics and supply chain management can often be obscured by jargon. This campaign was a clever way of demonstrating that logistics is really just about logical thinking and problem-solving – and Wunderman managed to do it in an original, fun and innovative way for our brand.”
Debi Loftie-Eaton, Managing Director of Wunderman, Johannesburg says, “Some of the target audience have taken the challenge very seriously and have gone as far as submitting their own puzzles to Barloworld Logistics to be included in the campaign. One even asked for a copy of a specific puzzle to pass onto his children’s schoolteacher to test her grey matter.”
Stubbs adds, “This campaign has generated a large amount of direct response for our brand. We’ve successfully boosted brand awareness and enquiries, as well as differentiated ourselves in this competitive market. We look forward to seeing a continued interest throughout the rest of the campaign period.”
The campaign was launched in April 2009 and is scheduled to come to an end in April next year.
Wunderman, Johannesburg:
Debi Loftie-Eaton, Managing Director. debi_loftie_eaton@za.wunderman.com
Related post:
Marketing in the right direction: Barloworld Logistics
Back to The Long Hello: making B2B marketing work for the bottom line
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