From a three way pitch, we won the opportunity to work with Fortec Distribution on their brand refresh and new website.
In the words of Brand Manager Sophie Parker , ‘we need you to make us stand apart from the competition’
We jumped on board to deliver, starting with a brand audit and developing this across a new website, brand development, company brochure, and new livery. Here’s our Fortec journey so far.
Fortec is a distribution network focused on transporting high end products via their member partner network, with their Northampton HQ at the heart of everything they do. Located in the logistics Golden Triangle, they’re well connected to all four corners of the UK through excellent transport links and they offer faster, greener, and more efficient delivery solutions. The dedicated Fortec Distribution team handle things personally every step of the way.
The beginnings
Our first step was to get to grips with the Fortec way of life, and investigate how we could take their brand forwards. We began with some initial stakeholder interviews with various friendly people from the Fortec Distribution team; this helped us to get a feel for what they liked about the business and the brand. We also visited their HQ to get a closer view of their operations, gaining the insight required to inform the brand development.
From this, we put together five key brand values which really defined the Fortec way. These stood out to us as what differentiated Fortec within its industry, and showed the personal and caring side of the business which was just as important as its professionalism. We presented these values back to Fortec, and then used this to drive the project forwards. With a big company event in summer 2013, we knew exactly where we needed to start – the brand.
The brand
Our initial research had showed that the Fortec brand and logo was well-known and generally liked within the industry, so we didn’t want to move away from this completely. We decided to refresh the logo instead, giving it a more modern look and accompanying it with the new strapline which helped align the brand’s USPs:
“We’ll handle it – The Fortec Way”.
This new strapline encompassed a customer focused and confident Fortec tone of voice which could be carried across their whole brand. This statement reassures customers that their goods will be handled personally at every step, it’s ‘the Fortec way’. This not only shows the Fortec commitment to delivering on time every time, but also their approach to customer service and the ethos of the company itself.
The material
With the brand on the road to success, we then focused on delivering event material. We also teased the new brand by creating a landing page, letting everyone know the new website was coming soon.
From creating the event material, we then looked at creating all supporting marketing material to ensure the sales and marketing team were armed with all the good stuff. We produced everything from leaflets and corporate brochure to stationery, business cards, and more. This was all supported by our main focus on the website, which would be the centrepiece of the new brand presence and an important touch point with new member partners and customers alike.
The website
We built on everything we’d learned about Fortec to produce a website that communicated their brand values to new customers, member partners, and the industry as a whole. The site was fully responsive, and was created to get users up to speed with the services they offered – all while using the now strongly developed tone of voice we had crafted.
The new site clearly shows Fortec as professional and forward-thinking, offering a quality service for quality products. We also wanted to put Fortec faces to the brand to show the dedication of everyone on the team, backed up by the brand values we’d crystallised early on in the process. This really differentiated Fortec from their industry competition, showing they offer a more personal service that still delivers.
We launched the site in February 2014, and we’re pleased to report it was a success with the Fortec team:
“The website really made us stand out from our competitors and communicated the brand values we stand for perfectly. We couldn’t have asked for anything more… Rawww were there for us every step of the way.” – Sophie Parker, Brand Manager
The future
But that’s not all. We’re still working with Fortec on a number of projects, putting together new case studies to feature on their website and supporting their in-house marketing team. Next on the agenda is a new login area for member partners.
