HAILO in a mood of optimism: medium-sized company positions itself for the future

Continuing on the road to success with customer orientation and clear brand positioning: HAILO, the European market leader in ladders, has rethought and repositioned itself and its brand.

The relaunch means the traditional company, which is more than 70 years old, is on the right track for the coming years: always aiming high.

HAILO, the inventor of the aluminium household ladder, is a leading player in its segment in the Home & Business, Installation Technology and Professional business units. Innovations and clever product solutions have been the order of the day at HAILO - for over 70 years. The family-run company continues to develop and has remained true to its maxim: One hundred percent orientation to the needs and wishes of shoppers and retail partners. A success factor that is also reflected in the new brand identity 2019 of the leading supplier of ladders and waste bins.

Convenient use of the products is the brand essence of HAILO, with the corresponding brand values: safety, high quality and excellent service. All measures introduced by HAILO must reflect the brand core "comfort" and the three values. Everything must be measured against them: From product development and marketing communication to sales to retail customers and end consumers, the brand book is the decisive factor in making the HAILO brand tangible.

Around 80 percent of the products are manufactured in Haiger, Hesse, in an environmentally friendly way using state-of-the-art production technologies. "Made in Germany" is a seal of quality that has existed for years in global competition and is currently gaining in importance again.

Future in view

Always one step ahead of the competition, the medium-sized company scored for decades with countless innovative, high-quality and convenient product solutions. Rapidly changing markets, digitalisation and individualisation are requirements to which a brand must provide an answer. This is why HAILO is consistently repositioning itself and impressing with a complete brand relaunch. The basis for the repositioning was an empirical market study 2018*, the first in the company's history. The brand is now centrally focused on the consumer and the shopper.

Brand Book and Corporate Design

In an extensive process, the 2018/19 brand was rethought and repositioned from the ground up. In addition to a new positioning with clear brand values, the manufacturer of ladders and waste bins has also rethought corporate design, visual language, packaging - including offline and online shopper guide elements - from the ground up. This also includes a clear assortment orientation. The central element for this is the comprehensive brand CD book, which was developed during the relaunch. It defines guidelines for the HAILO brand. The brand CD book regulates the appearance of the brand from logo and image use to point of sale and online specifications. Above all, however, it defines all shopper-relevant values and criteria that are important for HAILO's marketing in cooperation with partners and service providers. This clearly defines what the HAILO brand stands for.

New product range orientation

The clearly structured, targeted product range architecture makes it easier for shoppers to make their choice. The division into the quality levels "Good", "Better" and "Best" means that the right product is available for every requirement. "Good" fulfils all basic expectations while offering excellent value for money, "Better" provides additional customer-oriented added value and "Best" stands for outstanding product features and maximum added value. This change will further strengthen the brand and the product lines offer sales potential at a high level. In order to protect the brand range, HAILO is offering all sales channels promotional goods through the second brand "Selekta by HAILO". Daniela Grumbach, Director Marketing Home & Business, emphasizes: "Compared to its competitors, HAILO has the highest brand strength and a brand awareness rate of 81 percent for ladders.* The purchase consideration rate is 98 percent for ladders. This means that 98 percent of people considering buying a ladder prefer HAILO*. We're very proud of that."

*Source: August 2018 market research conducted by Logibrand GmbH

Packaging and POS design

According to an additionally initiated HAILO market research on packaging design**, the brand fit and information content of the new packaging are convincing, in addition to its high recognition value. Confidence is also created by the prominent use of terms such as "guarantee" and "Made in Germany", which have a demonstrably positive effect on consumer buying behaviour. The study shows that the new packaging signals a significantly higher willingness to buy. A high-quality, modular shopfitting system, including an electronic picture frame with self-explanatory product films, provides for a sales-boosting presentation at the POS. Interactive shopper guidance is provided by icons with QR codes, which redirect shoppers to the HAILO website or to the homepage of the retail partners.

Making life easier

The new appearance appears online and offline as high-quality and true-to-life. The contemporary look corresponds - like the emotional tonality - to the consumers' life worlds. The focus is on the unique quality of the portfolio: "We convey the relevant brand values with the current design and the special visual language," summarizes Daniela Grumbach, who is responsible for the brand relaunch.

For this brand strategy and the brand CD book, HAILO received the German Brand Award 2018 and 2019 and has just been voted Brand of the Century again. HAILO products received numerous design and innovation awards last year and again this year, including the "Red Dot Design Award, the IF Design Award, XPlus Award and the German Innovation Award".

The HAILO marketing team around Director Daniela Grumbach has brought in external consulting from specialists for this task, all of whom are working together to develop the brand and promote it in the future. Logibrand from St.Gallen, Switzerland, is responsible for market research. The new look of the brand and the current brand CD book was developed by the agency BRAINARTIST from Eltville-Erbach. The CGI production of the visuals is handled by the CGI Digital Fotogroup from Sinn-Fleisbach. FAKTOR 3 from Hamburg is responsible for the communication of the revised brand identity and for the digital communication.

*Source: Market research from August 2018 conducted by Logibrand GmbH
**Source: Harris Interactive December 2018