Outdoor Lifestyle Branding
Case Study
New Product launch + Branding
Outdoor Lifestyle Brands
Online Marketing + Strategic Leadership
Challenge
Launch a new “hotel-type” property management system for outdoor hospitality and recreation providers
Result
+ 200%Revenue from Rebrand + Reimagining the Revenue Model
Challenge
- LHI was known for “real-time” online reservation technology and marketing software.
- LHI did have a front-office system but few customers used it because there were other better solutions in the market.
- The company built a new property management system with the “build it and they will come mentality” – they didn’t.
- So – 24 months of development and tens of thousands of dollars in development were not gaining traction.
- The new product was being marketed under the old brand name that the industry knew only as online reservations
Solution
- Create a 12-month awareness program that included:
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- Established a unique name (Hercules) & brand identity that leverage positive association with the online reservation property but clearly differentiated the new product
- Free-standing inserts in trade publications
- PR outreach
- Online marketing + webinar information sessions
- Google ads
- Organic SEO
- Dedicated – self-managed websites
- Added success criteria to the common corporate goals
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Results
- Converted 25% of existing reservation customers to Hercules
- Tripled new customer acquisition in the first 6 months
- Improved quality of customers by targeting larger more sophisticated parks and multi-property operators.
- New self-managed website generated leads in combination with well-placed ads – 80% of leads are inbound vs the old paradigm of 80% cold calling.
Tactics
Brand
Created Brand ID to communicate power and simplicity.
- Tagline: Simply Better + Powerfully Different
- Upscale brand ID changed prospect perception from “mom & pop” start-up operation to “trusted advisor” status.
Launch Plan
- Digital Marketing, Outbound Call Center, Collateral, Word-of-Mouth Referral Campaign
Experience & Creative Process
Challenge – Launch a new “hotel-type” property management system to outdoor hospitality and recreation providers
Experience Design
Through this proprietary process, we were able to dive deep into the challenge and find unique solutions to enhance the consumer experience.
Brand Repositioning
Shifted focus from pure technology to outdoors and recreation lifestyle. From the ground up we reworked the brand portfolio to create a cohesive collection of brands that supported each other.
Brand Voice
Through the experience design process, we helped the brand find a unique voice. The brand story had been lost in the tangle of technology. Working with the founder and a small group of industry leaders we were able to untangle the technology from the true brand voice of a trusted guide and camp host.
Staff Training
Through cultural training and hands-on experiences with the product – sales, manufacturing, and service – we were able to solve common problems with both the product and the sales process. The China-based development team had no experience with camping or outdoor recreation. Leading to features being lost in translation that resulted in the loss of authenticity and trusted advisor roles. We helped the teams communicate more effectively and brought the lead developer to the US for a camping and outdoor recreation experience—then he understood the “whys” of what he was building.
Listen & Learn
We created a virtual industry advisory board made up of campground operators, outdoor recreation outfitters, RV industry executives, and outdoor consumers to gather feedback and insight on everything from functionality to content strategy and brand positioning.
Experience & Marketing Process
By listening and learning from the consumer we were able to identify easy compelling, cost reducing way to delight the consumer from initial contact to after installation.
Listen & Learn
Explore
Fact from Fiction
Intentional Operational & Marketing Theme
Creative Ideas
Signature Moments
Execute
Inspect, Measure & Refine
Kelly was able to identify our problem | challenge quickly and helped us find solutions that helped us bridge our roots in technology with the real world of running a solution for camping and outdoor recreation operators.
Let’s create something extraordinary!
+1 754.225.2044
hello@whybeordinarymarketing.com
