In recent years, the trend toward outsourcing has dramatically changed the relationship between original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and their suppliers.  According to industry sources, “a generation ago, of the total value of goods sold by OEMS, the share that originated with suppliers averaged 40 percent. Today, the average share is 80 percent!” The result has been an increasing concern among OEMs to hold down supplier costs while demanding quality, service and delivery.  Many suppliers have responded by reducing costs (particularly labor) in a downward spiral of price promotion, reduced productivity and unreliable performance. These issues have been particularly salient in highly competitive, technical and error-sensitive arenas such as medical device manufacturing. In dozens of recent conversations with purchasing agents for medical device manufacturers, we heard report after report of the stress these agents faced as they sought to obtain high-quality parts in a timely fashion at a good price.

Enter Media Logic client, MicroGroup. Originally a machine shop, MicroGroup offered “off-the-shelf, finished-to-order, microthin metal tubing products for various industrial segments.” As it saw its products becoming more and more commoditized, it turned its focus to the bourgeoning medical device manufacturing market.

According to Jay Caraviello, President and CEO of the Medway, Massachusetts-based company, “We saw an opportunity to meet the needs of medical device manufacturers by offering consistently high-quality products that meet the demanding specifications and delivery requirements of this industry. But we also wanted to go beyond that to become a true manufacturing partner, to function as an extension of the OEM.”

MicroGroup began what could be called a “cultural evolution,” turning the “get it done” attitude that had become part of its DNA into a corporate commitment to the OEMs, their customers, the medical professionals who use the equipment and, ultimately, to the patients who are being treated by the devices.  Of course, Caraviello and his team implemented new processes and procedures to ensure consistent quality and delivery, but perhaps more importantly, the organization hired project management teams to function as liaisons between the OEMs, the engineering crew and the production floor – spending as much time on the OEM site to ensure manufacturability as they do with their own production department.

In effect, MicroGroup had established the foundation for a new brand in a new market – a brand that offered the value that OEMs were seeking. But how could MicroGroup describe this value in a way that would resonate with its markets – quickly and effectively? How could it use this value to move itself away from continual price promotion and competitive bidding?

Caraviello hired Media Logic for Brand Amp^SM, our fast-track strategic process that helps organizations create “conversation-worthy” brand identities, develop strong positioning and marketing strategies, identify brand community opportunities and prepare for active participation in the conversation.  The Brand Amp process helped MicroGroup:

• Uncover its brand opportunity
• Define its brand positioning
• Design corporate, product or initiative identities
• Begin to establish brand communities
• Develop key brand collateral and online properties
• Create seed social media content

Keying off MicroGroup’s awareness of “what’s on the line” for their OEMs and the patients ultimately treated by their products, we created a new look, tone and feel for the company that reinforced the spirit of the brand.  The brand launch was supported both internally and externally through a new and highly optimized website, an e-commerce site, a video, print ads, online presence and direct marketing campaign. The introduction of the new MicroGroup brand has effectively raised the company’s profile and search visibility and set the stage for additional content development (case studies, white papers, blogs) that will deepen relationships with clients and prospects.

Says Caraviello, “We’re committed to working with our OEMs to improve productivity, quality, delivery times and costs. Ultimately, we’ll all win.  Media Logic’s Brand Amp process allowed us to begin, build and maintain the conversations we need to get found, be credible and create preference.”

“Brand values can be established as a brand identity, but they must believably exist in the mind of the consumer. A brand can’t just say it stands for something and make it so. The consumer will decide, making it more important than ever for a brand to have measures of authenticity that will aid in brand differentiation and consumer engagement.”

–MarketingVOX

Case in point: Purchase College. This premier member of the State University of New York system had what many might consider an enviable situation – it was experiencing very little difficulty in recruiting students.

The challenge was in student retention.

As part of the SUNY system, Purchase College attracted many students expecting a “typical” SUNY experience – something you definitely won’t find at the distinctly different Purchase College. Even internally, Purchase had become a college of two minds, a unique combination of both arts conservatory and liberal arts/sciences mainstay.

In order to get more of the right students to apply and have fewer of the wrong ones enroll, Purchase College needed to start talking about itself in a more authentic and direct way – allowing prospective students to “self-select.”

Through our Mine & Dine and BrandAmp products, Media Logic quickly worked to uncover, identify and create a unified vision. Media Logic provided the necessary forum for leaders from across the campus community to come together and resolve the tension between the school’s “arts” side and its “liberal arts” side.

Under Media Logic’s guidance, Purchase College created a brand that was far more than the sum of its parts. Essential to the branding process were qualitative research, a geo-demographic analysis, predictive modeling and a comprehensive recruitment and retention plan. We were able to determine that Purchase’s ultimate value came not solely from its programs, but from the unique mindset and culture of the students themselves.

The entire campus – from faculty and students to administrators and alumni – embraced the new brand as an authentic reflection of who they really were. It was integrated into all recruitment communications, and guidelines were established to extend it across the entire college.

After the launch of the new brand, applications increased more than 60%. Selectivity was also up 16% (more than 30% for liberal arts), and persistence has risen by 10% and 12%, respectively.

So will there be any fallout?
Media Logic’s Z&C Poll, first posted on the 15th, shows there might not be much. Nearly three-quarters of respondents (73%) said any controversy would soon be forgotten. And curiously, nearly as many people who said the story wouldn’t be forgotten thought it was as likely to help the brand as hurt it.

The breakdown by sex is somewhat more interesting.

Way fewer women than men thought the whole thing would blow over. 67% versus 79%. Yet within those groups, as many of the remaining voters thought the story would help the brand as hurt it.

What’s the bottom line? A week and a day or two in, #pepsifail is still popping up once every hour or so on Twitter. By comparison, #balloonboy is popping up once every second. Pepsi apologized but did not pull its app. Perhaps brands, aware of the cynicism and short attention spans of the online audience, are learning not to panic when faced with bad PR. Perhaps Pepsi escaped only because our attention was diverted.