Problem

Iconic Australian concrete company Pioneer had been purchased by Hanson, a global concrete and aggregates company based in Europe. The requirement was to announce ‘the name change’ without attracting negative media coverage or upsetting existing customer relationships. A further requirement was to ensure that thousands of Australian employees would respond positively and even proudly to the change.

Solution

The strategy was to make the announcement in such a way as to imply that Pioneer had now become a global giant and because of this we were changing the name to ‘Hanson’. Double page spreads in ‘The Australian’ and other publications were used to launch the new brand.

In addition, a copy of ‘The Australian’ with a 4 page company profile wrap-around was hand delivered to every one of the company’s customers and employees on the announcement day.