THE RETAIL MARKETPLACE

Though it may seem like an obvious prerequisite for success at retail, Creston Advertising has never lost sight of the fact that we must also solve problems, while supplying solutions. One of our favorite challenges deals with JF World, a private label athletic shoe manufacturer that was looking to take their mid-range sales to the next level with a "branded" image.

To facilitate this desire, the manufacturer purchased a Huffy Bicycle license presuming that simply associating the Huffy name with their shoes would bring instant credibility. The manufacturer had solid retail relationships, but zero credibility since they had never sold or marketed a brand. That's where Creston came in. Perhaps it was our reputation, or a recent slew of publicity we had just received from another major campaign.  Whatever the reason, Creston was brought in to make our brand of magic happen, and we wasted no time.

First we took a big-picture look at what was available. The client purchased a license from Huffy, a well known and reputable national bicycle manufacturer with a brand recognition factor of over 85 percent. Huffy was just as desirous to further its own brand, but we discovered that the fee paid for the Huffy license was quite significant; far more than we would have negotiated.

We now faced the challenge of a severely reduced budget. And, as we dug further, we realized that a number of licensing performance commitments had been made that did not appear to be possible; certainly not under current conditions. This meant a possible breach of contract was not out of the realm of possibility. In typical fashion, we realized that we held the fate of this company in our hands and could not walk away.

Rallying around the client, we first proposed the development of a sales and marketing video program that would be used primarily by the sales reps. We felt this was the best use of client funds and would give them the most initial impact with buyers. Not only did the video work exactly as we had predicted, it brought in the necessary capital to allow us to expand the campaign using earned dollars, without touching any borrowed capital.

Phase two brought us the privilege of creating a national commercial campaign. Shot on 35mm and using our network of contacts, we saved the client 70% off conventional New York rates for television production. This freed up additional capital that we used to maximize the television buy and bring our client a much larger audience than they had ever anticipated, ultimately resulting in an 80% increase in sales during the first year alone. An added plus is that we also won a Telly for the commercial.

This is but one of the many success stories Creston brings to the table. We deliver a combination of dynamic creativity, coupled with incredible customer service, a fierce commitment to your bottom line, and marketing, advertising, and branding results that not only garner the attention you need, but the success you desire...each and every time.