Since the 1930s RS Components has been providing replacement parts for British industry, and today is a leading distributor of electronic, electrical and mechanical components, health and safety products and associated tools. The company has 135,000 products in stock at any time, and employs sophisticated stock handling and distribution systems to ensure next day delivery anywhere in the UK.
However, increasing competition has clouded the value that RS Components offers clients, with rival suppliers entering the market who are increasingly focusing on price instead of service. As a result, RS required a marketing programme to communicate its premium positioning.
Research was conducted into the supplier’s extremely varied customer base, which ranges from maintenance men to inventors and industrial pioneers, with consequently widely differing requirements. Despite this disparity, the research showed that the high level of service and the ‘dependability’ provided by RS Components was essential to all customers. This dependability was identified as being more than ‘rational’; it was also ’emotional’. In short, RS helped its customers achieve a sense of pride by enabling them to do their jobs to the best of their abilities.
Building connections
A creative solution was devised by Masius to strengthen RS Components’ positioning, focusing on its ability to enable its customers to ‘Do great things’. This was achieved by spotlighting the unsung heroes who have a strong emotional connection to the RS Components brand: ie. its many and varied customers. The agency defined these individuals as backroom boys who shun the limelight, caring passionately about what they do, but often not being valued or recognised for it. RS helps them achieve a sense of pride in a job well done, was the message.
Previous creative had been very product focused, and used the strapline ‘Great service, great choice, great value’, which Masius felt missed the emotional value that RS customers linked to the brand.
A multi-channel marketing campaign was devised, reflecting the variety of ways that the client uses to talk to its customers. As well as national press and specialist trade press advertising, activity included direct marketing, a website, events and posters in science parks and industrial estates. A sponsorship deal was also secured for ‘Turbo Tuesday’ on the Discovery Channel, including advertising on the break bumpers either side of the commercial break.
Activity was managed by an integrated agency team led by Masius, including Starcom for media planning, HPI for research and Brands2Life for PR. It was focused around two bursts of activity in 2004: the first in March and April, the second in September and October.
Greater awareness
Early results reveal that the campaign is driving more impact for the brand, with research suggesting that key targets agree with the statement “RS helps me do my job well”, whilst in prompted awareness studies RS is starting to outgun key competitor Screwfix. Despite what is believed to be considerable lower spend on marketing.
The campaign was led client-side by Rhys Gwilwym, head of marketing at RS Components. He comments, “‘do great things’ is a campaign with a big idea that reflects RS’s true value and positions us as market leader. It’s taken us to a place we couldn’t have got to by ourselves.”
Caroline Bell, planning group head at Masius, comments, “Our whole philosophy is about creating ideas that build business brands. And that’s what we did for RS. We identified the business’s true value to its customers, created a credible brand platform and communicated in an interesting, relevant and motivating way. It’s great to see it working in practice.”
RS Components is currently working with Masius to build on last year’s activity for a new campaign in 2005.
