Background

To move continually toward the company goal of global leadership, MWV created a plan to launch a supplier diversity initiative. West Cary Group (WCG) was chosen to help MWV develop marketing materials to promote the initiative.

The Approach

To begin the promotion process, WCG entered the Definition phase of its marketing strategy by setting clear, distinct goals for the client. It concluded that to be successful, the project should:

• Increase potential supplier awareness of MWV’s supplier diversity opportunities
• Express MWV’s supplier diversity values, including pride of ownership, innovation, customer service and quality
• Reinforce MWV’s new brand image
• Deliver finished collateral in time for the May 4th Virginia Business Opportunity Fair

In the Discovery phase, WCG first performed a competitive assessment. What quickly became evident was a “sameness” to the messages in the marketplace and a lack of substance. Sentiment such as “it’s the right thing to do” and “we value diversity” rang somewhat hollow. In response, at every opportunity in the Development phase, WCG sought to differentiate MWV from the competition. WCG created messaging that focused on the strategic benefit of diverse suppliers―that is, the power of their ideas, their flexibility and nimbleness, and their innovation.

To emphasize this messaging, WCG employed several tactics in its project output.

Communications solutions included:

a. Body copy that supported the theme, and imagery that showed diverse individuals side by side with their corporate partners, making recommendations and adding value

b. Black backgrounds that provided a dramatic tone to the materials and accentuated the blue MWV identity

c. A brochure and tradeshow booth that worked in an integrated fashion, sharing look and feel, but with somewhat different purposes

1. The booth was designed to capture attention at all costs, with fierce competition from other companies on tradeshow floors.

2. The brochures provided the detail needed to ensure that MWV had a viable supplier diversity strategy and truly valued the contribution of diverse suppliers. Throughout all of the communications, MWV’s brand was featured prominently. As mentioned earlier, the dramatic black backgrounds were chosen in part because of how well the identity integrated with the dark color. The MWV tagline also was used prominently in the brochure to intrigue prospective suppliers by illustrating the power the company wields in terms of consumer packaged goods, selection and preferences.

The Impact

The Assessment stage showed that the promotional materials captured the opportunities MWV held for diverse suppliers, as well as communicated a resonant message that spoke to the value of supplier diversity―pride of ownership, innovation, service and quality. MWV’s brand was featured prominently and accurately in all materials, and the tagline of “how brands take shape” was an important theme in the brochure design and execution. All materials were successfully designed and produced in time for the May 4th conference, with positive response from MWV’s Supplier Diversity Manager, as well as from tradeshow participants.

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