All of a sudden alone: new positioning

Exactly 100 years, from 1876 to 1976, Anker was a strong, independent brand in the field of POS systems. After the bankruptcy, the owners changed hands. The then owner, Oracle, put the company up for sale in 2015.

Repositioning

Management and employees now have to change; the company is no longer part of a group, but must now take its activities on the market and in particular marketing into its own hands.

We are pleased that our brand consultants are allowed to accompany the “resurrection”, coordinate together with the management a positioning internally and externally for the now independent company again and develop the first trade fair appearances.

Positioning: inwards and outwards

Of course, there are numerous discussions with management and employees at the beginning of a reshuffle. The site inspection is essential to develop a sense of the strengths of the company and its products. As a brand agency, we don’t let ideas sprout in the empty space, but focus on the company’s special capabilities.

In addition, there is a strength-weakness analysis and the classification of competitors in the overall market. Only then can a positioning be developed on the basis of which the company has a secure stand in the long term.

The brand as a triad

Competitive comparisons in rational and emotional fields, workshops with employees and SWOT analyses show a clear profile of the great strengths of the company and its products.

It turns out that not only at product level, but also at company level, familiarity and proximity are the positive qualities that can clearly distinguish Anker from competition. This gives rise to the idea of a triad as a classic umbrella brand that relates to both the company and its products.

Logo

What follows from the repositioning for the logo? Should it be redesigned or adapted?

Where is the sense of the anchor symbol except in the pictorial repetition of the word? The company and its products have nothing to do with seafaring and ships.

The logo remains as it is, although its design is not trademark-compliant. It is the brand history that counts here.

The first trade fair since independence

The supplement of the fair invitation (reads: “Build yourself an Original.”)

A company steeped in tradition can draw the brand power from its long history.

For the first trade fair after the triggering of the Oracle Group, we are therefore developing a bridge between the glorious past and modern technology.

The invitation is all about the history of the brand.

It contains a handicraft sheet of a historic Anker cash system and a reference to a sweepstakes. If you tinker with the cash register and send in a photo of it, you can win an ipad pro. (exactly: pure brand employment)

POS-System-Fair Invitation — No, it’s not the historic product. It’s the crafted one.

The development of a model sheet, which leads to such beautiful results, is not without pitfalls. The artist Norbert Meier shows that he can do this. Thank you, Norbert!
The feedback is excellent: the entertaining aspect of crafting leads to many photo submissions. Gamification!

Incentives

ipad pros are to be won at the fair itself. This is how we bridge the gap between past and presence.

The historic Anker Cash System leads to modern technology.

Teasers at the fairgrounds

Reads: “May be I’ve won an iPad Pro!”

Reads: “I’ve already been at the anchor place.” (The German Anker is the english anchor.)

Suceess: Anker is back!

A nice success for a first trade fair appearance after the spin-off: The visitors come in large numbers and the company goes into a good future under the best of circumstances.

Together we are happy about the successful brand relaunch!