Global Manufacturer | Consumer + OEM

 The Challenge(s)

A well-known + beloved product the world over, marketers at Velcro Consumer + Industrial products groups faced 4 ongoing challenges - regardless of product line or markets.

The Velcro legacy is a great Brand story - Swiss inventor Georges de Mestral discovers natural 'hooks' in the cockleburs caught in his dog's coat. Today dozens of companies make hook + loop fasteners. But there's only one Velcro™ brand - the name is its most important asset.

• To create understand that Velcro™ is actually a registered Brand + not a generic. (As ‘guardians of the Brand’, we developed + protected Brand + communication standards zealously.)

• That it’s a technology-driven product line; that there are hundreds of different Velcro™ brand hook + loop combinations, each with a specific purpose

• With so many often innocuous uses, it required focus on very specific applications to drive sales and;

• It’s not a destination product: people don’t make a special trip to Home Depot just to buy Velcro™ fasteners alone.

During our 17 years as the agency of record for Velcro USA Inc., we were charged with 1000s of projects marketing speciality (OEM) fasteners + consumer products over dozens of product lines + markets.

OEM/Industrial

The Velcro companies historically do not manufacture healthcare products - they partner with OEMs to create ingenious + utilitarian products. ThomasBoston created a group logo + tag (Ingenuity by Alliance™) + an infographic depicting the partner development process

• Medical device + wellness (OEM)

• Personal care + hygiene (seniors + infants)

• Aerospace, automotive, military markets - high technology hook (HTH™), heat + fire retardant, FAA, MIL-SPEC

• Textile + needle trades

• OEM Merchandising, Point Of Purchase, trade show + display

Consumer Products Group

This was was one of the company's first entries into manufacturing + distributing a finished product beyond its cut pieces, straps + rolls. Kids + parents loved them! We've heard they will soon be introducing more of these fabulous + magical toys.

• Retail DIY, hardware, crafts, toys, education, package goods, home goods, health & beauty, automative aftermarket. Dozens of new product/new category launches + extensions

• Product line consolidation program for VELCRO® brand Consumer Products unified branding, multilingual packaging (blister, clamshell, box, flexo) + merchandising/POP; also many re-staging programs (approx. every 4 yrs.); executed over 500 package designs

Result

Today the Velcro companies remain solidly the leader in most all of its categories. We worked with them through 4 major management changes over 17 years, when the UK majority shareholder bought back all public shares (about 40% of its shares had been traded on the NYSE at one point).

While we do not know current sales of this now private company; but we do know we made money when we sold our Velcro holdings.  

ThomasBoston also launched the start-up Brand of  FASTENation, one of Velcro USA Inc.’s most successful preferred partner fabricators + distributors.

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