Repositioning a Legacy Manufacturer for a Modern Market
75-Year-Old Industrial ManufacturerBrand Development · Public Relations · Video Production
- The challenge
- “Perceived as outdated, the firm was losing customers to overseas competitors and unable to attract next-gen workforce talent”
Headline results
- +250%Job Applications
- +18%Annual Revenue
Overview
A 75-year-old American industrial manufacturer was losing market share to overseas competitors and struggling to attract a next-generation workforce. The company was perceived as outdated by both customers and prospective employees. We rebuilt the brand narrative around modern automation, workforce development, and reshoring momentum.
The situation
The company's products were genuinely competitive—what was outdated was the perception. Trade media coverage was minimal, the digital footprint was effectively absent, and the regional workforce was choosing competitors with louder employer brands. Without a reposition, the company faced both a customer-side and a labor-side erosion that would compound over the next five years.
Our approach
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Step 1
Crisis-Readiness as Sales Differentiator
We built a crisis-readiness framework that addressed common manufacturer vulnerabilities—safety, environmental compliance, supply chain disruption—and packaged it as a procurement differentiator for enterprise customers evaluating risk.
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Step 2
American Manufacturing Voice
We positioned the CEO as a voice for American manufacturing resilience across Fox Business, Industry Week, and regional business shows, tying the company's story to a broader macro narrative.
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Step 3
Workforce Podcast Strategy
We placed leadership on 14 manufacturing, supply chain, and workforce podcasts, showcasing technology investment, apprenticeship programs, and reshoring success in long-form format.
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Step 4
Built in America Brand Film
We produced a 'Built in America' brand film, facility tour videos showcasing advanced automation, and an employee story series that doubled as recruitment marketing across digital channels.
Execution
- Released the crisis-readiness procurement collateral within the first 60 days
- Secured 20 trade and business media placements over the campaign window
- Booked 14 podcast appearances reinforcing the modernization and reshoring storylines
- Produced and distributed the Built in America film and employee story series
- Aligned recruitment marketing and customer marketing under a shared content engine
Results
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+175%
inbound inquiries
Inbound customer inquiries grew 175% over six months, with notable gains in segments where the company had previously struggled to be considered.
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+250%
job applications
Job applications rose 250% year-over-year, materially solving the labor pipeline problem and compressing time-to-hire in skilled roles.
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20
trade features
Twenty trade and business media features rebuilt the company's perceived tier among customers, suppliers, and prospective talent.
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+18%
revenue growth
Annual revenue grew 18% in the year following the campaign, with brand perception scores for 'innovative' rising from 22% to 61%.
What we learned
Legacy manufacturers tend to assume the brand problem is a marketing department problem. It isn't—it's a customer and labor pipeline problem with the same root cause. The work that paid back fastest was the employer brand content, because it solved the most immediate operational constraint. The customer-side gains followed naturally once the company stopped looking like the past.
Facing a similar situation?
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