Vax Case Study

uc4 and Vax have been working together since the summer of 2004. At the time vax were at the lower end of the floorcare market. They had developed some exciting new product lines but needed to reflect this innovation in their online and offline marketing material.

Solutions

Initially uc4 were involved in an open pitch to develop and design a new online presence for the Vax brand. After a successful pitch uc4 developed a website that surpassed all expectations in terms of results and value and were asked to complete several other projects for Vax, these included branding, product packaging, photography, point of sale, catalogue pages, in-store displays and internal communications.

Web site design & development
The brief was to design and develop a new website solution for Vax that could grow organically over time. Since its launch in mid 2004 the site has grown from having just a few hundred visitors a month to nearly 50,000 a month!!

In 2005 we succesfully integrated an online shop to enable purchasing of Vax's products and accessories online, after a successful launch the revenue generated from the shop has surpassed all expectations.

In 2006 we are launcing self help video demonstrations that will enable Vax customers to view online demonstrations of how to use their machines and replace bags and filters, this service should significantly cut down on calls to the Vax customer Careline and dramatically save on administration costs.

Site features

• E-commerce
• Content management system
• Product database
• Offline stock control integration
• Online Registration
• Email Newsletter
• Self Help Videos
• Postcode search
• Flash animations
• PDF downloads

view the web site at www.vax.co.uk

E-marketing

The web activity is backed up by an opt-in email newsletter that is sent to customers on a quarterly basis. The newsletter provides general hints and tips on floorcare and special product promotions to newsletter subscribers, with links to the web site that enables quick online purchasing and automated suggested add-on purchases (accesories) etc.

It is planned that the online shop will be expanded in 2006 to include automated email prompts to Vax's online customers. For example a vacuum filter should only last 6 months, therefore if someone purchases a filter in January the web site will automatically send them an email to advise the customer they need to purchase a new filter in July - which turns into increased sales for Vax.

Search engine positioning

uc4 have successfully positioned the Vax website in all of the major search engines. We have achieived outstanding results thanks to the intelligent use of written content, keywords, a few of our own search engine secrets and lots of hard work!!!. The site has seen significant 'growth on growth' from search engine activity and this has been reflected in the number of customer visits and increased revenue from online sales. To find out more about our search engine services click here.

Google Adwords

uc4 have helped Vax launch several successful sponsored Google Advertisements. These ads work on a pay per click basis and a daily limit can be set on the amount the customer wishes to spend, uc4 developed an extremely effective affordable strategy for Vax enabling them to stay one step ahead of their competitors and increasing their revenue stream.

Branding & Packaging

After the hugely successful website launch Vax approached uc4 to help them with the branding of several new product lines. Vax had been working with their existing agency for many years and although generally pleased with the standard of work produced they felt that the brand had become a little jaded and the products lacked shelf presence. uc4 have helped Vax reinvigorate the brand and have produced consistently high quality refreshing branding and packaging that has helped Vax establish itself as number two in an extremely competitive market place.

some of the projects uc4 have helped Vax with include:

• New exciting product brand development
• Stimulating product graphics & pos
• Outstanding product packaging
• New dynamic photography style
• Brand development of accessories and consumables
• Accessories and consumables packaging

Catalogue pages

Vax approached uc4 to develop a new structure for their branded catalogue pages for publications such as Argos, Index, Kays and Shopdirect. The catalogue retail business is worth millions of pounds and the cost of placing these pages runs into several thousands of pounds. Vax wanted a solution that provided consumers with an easy reference guide of product features combined with a style that was instantly recognisable as Vax.

uc4 developed a grid structure which included feature panels highlighting main product features and high product visibilty. The pages have proved to be extremely successful and have significantly increased sales through these publications.

Point of sale & Instore display stands

uc4 have been involved with the design and build of several instore display stands for Vax for retailers such as Comet, Currys and B & Q.

These in store display stands have consistently helped to promote increased sales of Vax products and accessories.