If everybody standardizes…

The Challenge:

U.S. manufacturers of woodworking machinery were faced with tremendous competition from offshore companies building machines for the manufacture of standardized, unimaginative furniture, cabinets, and other wooden products. The trade association for U.S. manufacturers asked us to help them draw their customers' attention to this issue and to the more versatile alternatives being offered by U.S. companies.

The Solution:

We presented the stark reality of a half-eaten lunch coupled with a direct, no-nonsense headline to carry our message in furniture magazines more accustomed to ads that show beautifully-crafted dining room suites and other fine wood furniture. In fact, the headline we used was a direct quote from a customer at a focus group our agency organized and administered for this client. Our premise in creating this ad: "They can't read it if they don't notice it first."

The Result:

Customers reported increased awareness of the more flexible options offered by U.S. manufacturers of woodworking equipment, and share of market for U.S.-made woodworking machinery increased versus foreign-made products over a several-year period.