Client: USFilter / Siemens
Service: Branding
Background
In 2005, industrial giant Siemens acquired USFilter, North America’s largest and best-known water treatment technologies provider. Before and after that period, USFilter (and later Siemens Water Technologies) needed to reassure customers that the brand they trusted was still intact, ready to meet their water and wastewater purification challenges.
Strategy
As part of a strategy to maintain the brand’s leadership position among customers and in the market at large, Kröme designed a three-stage ad campaign that ran from 2004 through 2006. The first ad communicated USFilter’s long heritage of stability to the
industry, at a time when the market was abuzz with rumors of the pending sale.
The second ad, which debuted in concert with the official announcement of the
Siemens acquisition, emphasized USFilter’s long-standing dedication to market-advancing water technologies, now bolstered by Siemens. The third ad communicated the company’s improved offering, now backed by the financial strength and credibility of Siemens, while remaining committed to its relationships with its North American customers.
Results
Two of the ads in the campaign were award-winners in AD-Q studies conducted by Harvey Research, Inc. The “Kayak” ad scored the second highest and was remembered by over 68 percent of readers. The “Wonder of Water” ad was recalled by over 72 percent of all readers. More importantly, a benchmark study conducted one year after the acquisition showed that consumer perception and confidence among North American customers actually increased (and continues to rise). Siemens Water Technologies, formerly known as USFilter, experienced its most successful year in 2006 since its inception in 1990, and has actually increased market share.