Upon graduation he began his career at an advertising agency, representing brands such as American Airlines, Frito-Lay, Pepsi and Taco Bell. Gray went on to achieve additional expertise in brand strategy, advertising, innovation, foodservice, retail and business-to-business marketing, holding senior roles at Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Mission Foods and Warner Lambert.
At Interstate Batteries, according to his colleagues, he has been successfully working on “elevating Interstate’s brand equity in a low-involvement category and has led this challenge with industry-leading insights and an awesome team of internal and external resources.”
Gray recently answered a series of queries about the rebranding campaign:
Q: What are some of the elements of the new look for your battery lines?
A: We created this new labeling system for our automotive line to revitalize our look and shop-ability and to better position ourselves for current and future growth.
Interstate is the most preferred battery brand among technicians and has been for the past 10 years, according to Frost & Sullivan research. With technicians being our core customers, they are very familiar with our products and services, so we wanted to involve them in the process of changing our look.
Their feedback confirmed the importance of keeping and enhancing the most powerful elements of our existing brand identity – namely, the bold INTERSTATE typeface on the front of our products and our signature green color – both of which will remain the same. In fact, our two top-selling automotive batteries will now both feature an easily distinguishable green top. These changes will bring consistency to the Interstate brand, while also maximizing shelf impact.
Q: The new labeling will be launching in phases? How will they be rolled out?
A: Select product SKUs will be entering our supply chain from manufacturers to distributors to dealers beginning in mid-April, with the balance of the automotive line becoming available in May. Given the breadth and depth of our product line and depending on current inventory in our distributorships and our consigned dealers, it will be a rolling conversion to dealers and consumers.
Q: How will this initiative benefit distributors, technicians, retailers and end-users?
A: The new labels allow our audiences to better differentiate between our “good,” “better,” “best,” and “premium,” lines. We accomplished this in two ways on our front label: through a “black,” “silver,” “gold,” and “platinum” color system, using a metallic foil on the “best” and “premium” lines, and by clearly stating the warranty information and group sizes. This allows for quick, intuitive differentiation of performance levels and immediate group size identification.
Feedback from our technicians confirmed that the simplicity and cohesiveness of the front and top labels makes it easier for them to inform their customers about the features and benefits of each product. Our technicians also said the new look better communicates Interstate’s premium quality and positioning to the market.
A: Compared to our current brand identity, the new system creates a stronger, more consistent look across the line on the shelf. For our dealers – especially those who offer different performance levels to satisfy multiple consumer needs – the new look creates a strong consultative selling opportunity by clearly communicating the differences around price and warranty. It makes it easier for the buyer and the seller to quickly understand the product features and benefits, while making no mistake it is the Interstate brand.
Q: How long has this initiative been in the planning stages? What factors did you consider?
A: This initiative started nearly two years ago. Being the strongest brand among technicians, we knew the rebrand would impact them significantly, as no one knows our products and services better than them. That was an important factor that we considered throughout the process, and it is the reason we asked for our technicians’ feedback.
Additionally, given that we are a sales and marketing organization, we continually are looking for ways to add value for all our stakeholders. To do this, we regularly obtain qualitative and quantitative insights and feedback from dealers, technicians, consumers, suppliers and distributors to uncover opportunities for us to become better business partners and deliver the most trustworthy source of power to the world.
Q: You will also be providing training tools to industry professionals?
A: Yes! We are arming our route sales manager to work with our dealers with an updated, comprehensive automotive sales brochure that details all of the changes to our line. Plus, we have developed a comprehensive advertising campaign that targets both our dealers and technicians. It also targets key consumers who actively follow their car maintenance needs and are more involved in their car repair. In other words, these consumers, who we call “Car Enthusiasts,” are more likely to engage with their technicians when work is being done on their car.
To reach industry professionals, we are running a combination of print and digital advertising in a number of trade publications and platforms. To reach our consumer targets, we selected top endemic print publications and digital websites that resonate with our “Car Enthusiasts.” Finally, to inform our current dealers, we will be using direct mail. As with all Interstate news, our new product look will also be featured on our website:www.interstatebatteries.com/reliability.
Q: What are the qualifications to become an Interstate distributor?
A: We look for people with character, chemistry and competency to lead a wholesale distribution operation. These three traits support every aspect of the Interstate Batteries business, upholding the brand’s integrity and ensuring each distributor in the system can rely on one another. These traits are at the heart of our purpose and values, which we take seriously. When recruiting anyone to represent our brand, we filter them through this lens.
Q: What are the qualifications to become an Interstate dealer?
A: The primary qualification to become an Interstate dealer is simply the desire to carry our products. There are no store size requirements. We provide data, insights and point-of-purchase materials, like rack headers, banners and digital signage, to help our dealers capture and drive sales. Plus, all dealers are featured on our website, which helps drive consumer traffic to their location when consumers are searching for a battery in theirarea.
Q: What services are available to installers?
A: With consignment to free up cash, our service package for inventory stocking and rotation, warranty adjustments and complete rack management, we ensure that our installers have fresh batteries in the right mix for their customers. We also offer a variety of programs to our installers, including training on battery testing, complex installations, selection by application and maintenance.
Q: What services are available for fleet managers?
A: We offer expertise that helps fleet managers ensure the best fitment for RC (Reserve Capacity) and specifications beyond just the minimum CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) to maximize battery life and performance. We provide training tools for technicians and best-in-class battery procedures for smarter preventative maintenance to keep fleet moving. We offer fleet managers customized consignment service, inventory optimization, product rotation, battery testing programs, merchandising support and more.
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