Case Studies

Case Studies

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Gold Eagle: Newly Acquired Brand Needed Positioning Strategy

Gold Eagle acquired 303, a niche innovative brand in automotive appearance, and needed a breakthrough proposition to compete in a saturated market

Challenge

Gold Eagle Company identified Automotive Appearance Care as a major growth opportunity and had acquired the 303 brand, a niche innovative product with limited online distribution. The products had good efficacy which is typical of entrepreneurial founders. They had developed superiority with formula but needed a brand strategy to find a unique position to enter mainstream retail.  Furthermore, the automotive retail shelf space is cluttered with many competitive brands and major market leaders in this segment. Retailers needed to see 303 as a serious player with whom to partner to develop and grow the category. Gold Eagle approached Valen to help develop the brand strategy and sales team to enter retail.

Approach

To secure an impactful market entry, we recommended a critical refresh to the brand and position.  303 brand needed a differentiated value proposition and positioning product properly.  Valen’s strategy was to position the 303 brand as an emerging player and a category challenger whose strength is derived from a foundational understanding of what consumers want. We utilized our agile market learning method called Fusion MethodologyTM to identify critical insight into tensions and what would produce a superior proposition through iterative qualitative learning. In collaboration with the innovation and brand teams we used agile product testing with rapid prototyping. We called them show tests to simulate consumer experience and provide a holistic assessment of 303’s product and package performance vs. competition.  We explored all elements of the consumer journey experience including bottle design ergonomics, spray and other discriminating elements that created preference and delight.

We conducted custom quantitative research to provide a comprehensive analysis of the Automotive Appearance Care opportunity and show uniqueness and preference for updated brand positioning and product. We also consulting on the design strategy to ensure the including messaging, benefit communication, and label design would communicate the differentiated positioning would be aligned from marketing of awareness to shelf to product usage.

Results

With an update to packaging, product design and integrated marketing plan we could signal to retailers this brand was a contender. The improved and optimized product and package definition delivered a superior total experience relative to key competition and was carried by major retailers such as AutoZone. The brand launch into automotive store channel, due to retailer acceptance, was touted within the industry. In the year of introduction, the 303 products line received the exclusive endorsement from the GAHH Automotive Group as its brand of choice. See a video of one of the 303 products with blue bottle color and branding redesign. 303® Automotive Speed Detailer Product Overview – YouTube

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