In recent years US’s manufacturing, foundry industry constantly issued a cry for help, not only foundries have fled to China, Vietnam, to find cheaper labor, traditional stationery supplier with the international market, low-cost competition from China, Southeast Asia, and Europe, Japan’s high-priced fine stationery manufacturers of the folder kill, and facing an unprecedented challenge.

The era of little profit in the past, when many manufacturers Alas sound complaining to find a way out, there is an old stationery factory, so all eyes as one of the brightest, only $500,000 for the brand to bring new life, in short into a 310% return on investment in the short three years, exactly how they do it with the cheap One Group – Retractable Banner Stands, Feather Flags & Custom Tablecloths promotion? Exploiting new vitality to the next generation of re-innovation.

The 53-year-old, along with the growth of the people of US brands – lion pencil, experienced several challenges, experience heritage, rising commodity force created many best-selling merchandise. Sophisticated production technology and cost control alone can not solve the new problems arising under the changes of the times.

“If the lion pencil is still stuck in the pencil manufacturing stage, and that the lion has long been out of the market up.” Started to pencil, Lion Pencil Factory chairman to pencil in the name of Li Yiwen short sentence tells Lions several year change.

Not only the competitive pressures of the external market, the local market is also caused by the shrinking of the size of the market due to low birth rate. In addition, the problem of an aging brand is imminent, the lion pencil revenue in recession, business is increasingly hard.

Of course, solve new problems can not use the old method, the face of an aging brand, the second generation of the lion pencil – – planning department manager Li Yixuan, brought a new vision for the lion. She found that, although most consumers know the brand of “lion”, but the main consumer group of children not familiar we cooperation with advertising companies YINTANG creation, hopes the retractable banners advertising, to re-evoke the memory of a new generation of consumers and enhance the understanding of the children of the lion.

So appealing, to the size of the take-all spindle, to create can attract the retractable banner stands advertising material for adults and children.

Looking for a new image of Butter Lion kidnaps heart

2006 in order to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the lion stationery, corporate image retractable banners advertising swaying out of a bear walked he was one after another a cream pie Zazhong the face surrounded by a circle of cream so lovable Winnie transformed, like a little lion.

By Li Yixuan handedly planning to create a cartoon portrait – cream lion, “lion” and “bears, lions,” a homonym, in close connection with the interesting cartoon and promote US’s cultural and creative use of the lion stationery and Lion Fine Arts push the hand of the industry, to encourage the new generation must have the courage to imagine, and introduced the advertising slogan “imagination is your super-powers” so that the the aging brand “lion” transformation into a cute and interesting “cream lion.

I did not expect the ad launched a gun and red, through two consecutive years of continuous exposure, the lion pencil overall brand image are active. Cream lion and its imaginative advertising, invisible to narrow the distance with consumers, but also captured the adults, the child’s heart, breaking the previous market areas, impressive.

The decline of the gross income of small stationery again value-added

However Butter Lion growth is not all smooth sailing, one of the problems is that the lion pencil production-oriented thinking has long been engaged in the manufacturing, natural habits. Cooperation with the lion the five years of YINTANG and Creation responsible person employed East, the “brains” he observed. Carefully lion pencil’s product classification, can be divided into painted wood class and office supplies, about half and half of the revenue, but a few years can be found from the sales figures, declining sales of art supplies, office stationery was steady growth . Most of these are low gross income products, brand value-added, become a hundreds block popular commodity, even from the product manufacturers, brand managers into how to make a dozen blocks of the pen, the Lion and YINTANG creation of a common subject.

In August 2007, a lion in a promotion to launch Butter Lion limited modeling stationery with creative products to test the market by purchasing its stationery coupled with the price, you can get the cream lion doll crayons. This will immediately get the response from the lion stationery sold out, cream lion shape stationery good results, but also open the door to creative goods, but in short supply on the market situation allows the lion caught off guard.

New business opportunities to escape the old ways of thinking and new practices

After several adjustments, lion change the direction of thinking from the inside out, from reliance on past experience Hyperactivity stores, network access and cross-industry alliance to now know how to use, and dissemination of effective reach beyond expectations. Succession with Mega Bank, Citibank, Kodak prints, Farglory and other large enterprises around the lion cooperation during many image authorize cooperation, to escape the past, producers of thinking.

Rebranding of the 3-year period, a lion from the beginning of the design of $500,000 budget, creating up to 310% return on investment as high as $150 million market value created in 2008 alone Butter Lion yuan or more, accounting for a total revenue of 10 to 15%.

Enterprises to think clearly sustainable future

Cream lion’s success is not only below the glasses of many experts, but also bring a strong shot in the arm for the banks and other traditional industries, but the next step how to go, I am afraid that in addition to innovation, expanding tentacles, more a test of the wisdom of brand management.

Chen employed East, said the challenge now is still a lot of cream Lions series items become more diverse, will be the main target. Cream lion goods still stationery main pin goods like doll pen loops are long, but they do not reject the mode of learning Hello Kitty, from the consumer’s lifestyle thinking, by the sale of high-priced commodities, such as mugs, luggage tag, clothing, let the lion’s product line into the full range of brands from stationery to an unlimited extension. In addition, expanding the breadth of products in the international, is another goal. However, he acknowledged that the concept of Butter Lion subject to language homonym restrictions, how its retractable banner marketing to other non-Chinese countries, also need some imagination.

US and the international community, such as the peacekeeping force, black pine, SonyEricsson many brand transformation observed in Chen employed East In particular, he proposed Adidas. Adidas sportswear from the original starting, expanded to the development of sports fashion positioning, competition also contributed to a more professional look closer to pure sports brand NIKE. This found that each brand is not a separate entity, but as a living body relationship will affect around consumers, competitors and the overall market at any time. Therefore, he also reminded the corporate brand transformation at the same time, do not forget that the operating mode due to the uniqueness of the brand, differentiated, must always view the resources around and think about what changes for customers.

Note 1: The old case of crisis a new

Retrospective lion pencil product development history, during many of the story is worth mentioning that, years ago lion pencil stationery was held at the World Trade Annual Exhibition, when the former Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan pen usual in order to find his personal look at the World Trade show time passing by their booth. Chen Ding-nan then complain to the Lions current chairman Li Yiwen, bifurcation pen nib is too soft and easy, very easy to use. They listen to suggestions, and strengthen the hardness of the pen nib writing more fluent and not easy to differences. I did not expect, and now a month was able to sell tens of thousands of cigarettes 40 pen, one of the lion became long off goods.

Lion pencil then gradually developed a quick-drying and easy to write singular document, or let the kids are not swallowed a pen cap suffocation security color pen cap; acrylic watercolor in recent years, more can be used in a variety of materials, and body painting pen and other kinds of creative products.

Note 2: The old brand wants to be recycled? First listen to the four points of the lion pencil really recommended

Gone through the rebranding challenges, have a lot to learn in the second generation of the family Lion Pencil Factory Planning manager Li Yixuan, she highlighted the four o’clock would like to share with readers of the “brains”:
1. Clarify the real core of the key issues, serious face and to develop the next 3-5 years in line with corporate and brand development direction.
2. Thinking about what will bring challenges and impact of new countermeasures, such as: the personnel organizations with the old and new operating procedures impact, or no experience in the field, these problems should be pre-simulation, prepare response strategies.
3. View the amount of resources available to use, good stage transformation plan.
4. in addition to the existing product line and its sub-brand, should think about what other opportunities for innovation, including new product lines (new market) development, in order to fill a possible recession in the old product line performance, do not just stick to the old city, forget the development of new business opportunities.