Stafix energised to take on world after Dow Design rebrand

Media release 06 September 2011

Stafix energised to take on world after Dow Design rebrand

World leading agri-technology brand, Stafix, part of the Tru-Test Group, has undergone a branding refresh at the hands of brand design expert Dow Design.

To be used across all branding platforms, the new look, elevates the status of the brand, creating brand cohesion, and inspiring a confidence that will enable Stafix to grow to its full global potential says, Teresa Steele-Rika, Group Marketing Manager of Tru-Test Group, the New Zealand based global leader in animal containment and livestock management systems.

The Stafix brand offers a wide range of electric fence energizers and accessories to professional farmers across the globe. Since first acquired by Tru-Test Group in 1998, its core branding had remained largely unchanged.

"We wanted to make a significant leap in Stafix's brand impact, but were conscious our customers had not seen the brand design change in many years, if ever. So, any change needed to be handled carefully," says Ms Steele-Rika.

Dow Design's Strategic Development Director, Andy Jaquet says "Our research across New Zealand and key export markets showed that if we were to create branding that they emotionally connect with, it needed to retain the elements of familiarity and trust associated with the brand.

"Brand preference is important when purchasing an energiser, but in most other product categories; there was little consumer differentiation between brands. Stafix lacked the strong personality and brand promise needed to standout, often resulting in a 'commodity' status.

"Our aim became; to create an ownable brand across all Stafix communications while protecting the intrinsic brand familiarity and trust."

Realising there was a lack of visual imagery in the agri-technology category, Dow Design came up with an innovative way to emphasise the Stafix brand values of strength, reliability, and performance.

Research showed a bull is viewed by farmers universally as a symbol of power and strength, regardless of what animals they farm.

A mighty looking Red Angus named 'High Noon' was sourced and photographed in South Dakota, USA.

Dow Design Account Director, Carolynn Easton says his image on packs successfully achieves strong cut through and memorability. "The bull captures attention, so even if a farmer is not sure of the brand name, they will remember it is the brand with the bull that they want."

The pastoral landscape around the bull was carefully constructed as one farmers everywhere could relate to. "It couldn't be too dramatic and it had to have global credibility," says Carolynn Easton. "Our research discovered that this subtlety made the difference between a customer rejecting the brand or not."

A new strap line, 'Powering Your Land', was added next to the bull, to reinforce the brand promise, and brand values of strength, stability and performance guaranteed.

To facilitate in-store decision making, and encourage the purchase of higher performance Stafix products, Dow Design created a cohesive navigation system that clearly lays out the function and highlights the benefits of each individual product.

"With up to 150 products in a category, being able to differentiate between products, and tiers within categories, had been difficult," says Senior Creative on the project, Andrew Sparrow.

Clear sub-categories were added within each range from economy to professional, with sub-category tiers denoted by colours; yellow for standard efficiency, silver for premium, and gold for extreme. The cross selling of complementary products was also added.

Dow Design evolved the Stafix logo, to create a more dynamic and fresh look, modifying key colours and adding a white background to achieve greater in-store standout.

"We also added the endorsement 'By Tru-Test' above the Stafix name, the link giving an assurance of expertise, quality and proven performance," says Andrew Sparrow.

"Dow helped us get to the heart of what was familiar and important about the Stafix brand for our customers," explains Teresa Steele-Rika. "This enabled us to take some exciting risks with the creative development, without compromising the elements that needed to stay consistent. This balance was crucial."

Dow Design also worked alongside Tru-Test Group to develop packaging artwork that would suit being printed digitally inhouse, allowing Tru-Test Group to maximise efficiencies.

"Dow Design really invested heavily in the project, embracing the challenges that Stafix presented," says Teresa Steele-Rika.

"They pushed us to think beyond the basics, and worked with us to get to a solution that we're both thrilled with. The result is a rebrand that moves our presence in-store, and beyond, to a whole new level...while at the same time saying very clearly 'we're still Stafix'."

ENDS

© Scoop Media