Background:
AMF Bowling Products, one of the oldest manufacturers of bowling products in the United States, has produced innovative bowling products beginning with the introduction of the automatic pinspotter in 1946. Since 1993, Italian manufacturer, Qubica Worldwide, has been equally innovative, producing the industry's leading automatic scoring system, Bowland X. In June 2005, the two companies announced a joint venture, QubicaAMF Worldwide, one of the world's largest bowling equipment manufacturers.
Goals:
Qubica and AMF Bowling Products wanted a focused brand strategy in place before they announced the joint venture. The unified company would have the largest market share in a declining industry. They faced one dominant competitor and several low-price alternatives. They wanted a strategy that reflected a partnership of equals as well as one that relied on the strongest attributes of each company. A second important goal was developing a growth-oriented strategy that enhanced the value of the new company and helped to grow the bowling industry.
Solution:
In collaboration with senior management, BrandSync used its proprietary process to conduct research for both companies on their brand value and attributes as well as completing a competitive analysis. After evaluating the top brand attributes and finding the common ground, the results pointed to a two-tiered strategy. The brand position, "Power of Partnership", explicitly refers to the joint venture while connoting QubicaAMF Worldwide's aspiration to partner with its clients to grow the bowling industry. Supporting this position is "Quality", which is the top attribute for bowling equipment and its manufacturers. Both positions will support the marketing and communications efforts. This combination of values along with operational synchronization will leverage the new company's competitive advantage.
Outcome:
QubicaAMFWorldwide initiated the brand strategy globally beginning with the joint venture announcement. BrandSync created a logo, tag line, press and trade media campaign, trade show promotion at BowlExpo 2005 and web site communications for the launch.
