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Reprint #01124BRI24
This article was first published in Design Management Journal Vol. 12, No. 4
Managing Design for Global Value
Copyright Fall 2001 by the Design Management Institute . All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced
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CASE STUDY
hen a global company moves into a new business, questions about brand
W should be a priority. Should the new operation share or break away from
the existing brand? How should the brand be implemented in different international
locations? What is the best way to work with dealers to adopt the brand strategy?
Offering answers and insights, Bonnie Briggs and Jill Dorjath assess Caterpillars
experience related to these and other dilemmas.
Caterpillar Inc. is the worlds largest chairman and CEO Glen Barton.
manufacturer of construction and Caterpillar recognized that the
mining equipment, diesel and natural rental services business was also a good
gas engines, and industrial gas turbines. fit for the companys new line of com-
A global competitor, it records half its pact construction equipment, which is
sales to customers outside the US, and manufactured in Japan, North
is a leading exporter. America, and Europe. The introduction
In 1997, company management Bonnie Briggs, of these productscompact wheel
announced an objective to grow the Corporate Identity and loaders, mini-hydraulic excavators, and
company from $19.7 billion in sales to Communications skid steer loaderswould open doors
$30 billion during the next decade. To Manager, Caterpillar, Inc. to many new markets and customers,
get there, Caterpillar would need to particularly in the rental services
become more industry-focused and industry. A key factor: Research showed
expand the spectrum of customers it a significant percentage of these prod-
served. ucts are rented, not sold.
The equipment rental business The rental services business would
presented a significant opportunity for give Caterpillar and its dealers an
Caterpillar. In North America alone, opportunity to connect with a new
what was a five-billion-dollar industry Jill Dorjath, customer basethe small contractor.
10 years ago had increased to twenty Brand-Marketing These are customers who use smaller
billion todayand industry experts Consultant, machines, previously not available
predicted that will double before the Caterpillar, Inc. from Caterpillar, for their work in
end of the decade, said Caterpillar excavating, landscaping, cabling, utility
Lessons learned
Before-and-after virtual facility makeovers of The Cat Rental Store Throughout the development of the Cat Rental
identity helped sell the concept to the dealers.
Store, there were tremendous challenges to
resolve and learn from. One of the most difficult
Monnoyeur], while initially very challenging, was using the corporate brand (CAT) as an
ultimately became our strongest supporter, says element in a new brand. Any corporate brand
Claudio Scotti, European manager of rental manager will tell you that one of the problems
services. This dealer saw the value in having a associated with breaking a rule is that once you
single, unified identity with other dealers world- do it, you run the risk of losing all credibility
wide, and even elected not to use his own dealer and control. Both are critical to managing the
name, but instead to use the name SLEVMI for identity system and building a brand. We chose
all the stores. The first European Rental Store to take that risk to be known globally more
opened in Argenteuil, a suburb of Paris, in May quicklyand we achieved even more respect
1999. Today, SLEVMI has more than 80 stores and understanding internally for what it takes
open for business and is continuing to expand. to establish a brand. The identity system was
Once the pilot stores were up in each territory, elevated in importance, and its visual strength
the team worked to set up global suppliers for reinforced the original business objectives. Its
signage, licensed merchandise, fleet vehicle decals, unique design became more obvious and con-
and more. Suppliers were selected on the basis of siderably less controversial as time went on. The
quality, overall speed, cost, and coverage. The Cat Rental Store established its own personality
design team provided dealers with a list of recom- and reason for being.
mended suppliers and supplier requirements. Instead of diluting the corporate brand, the
new Cat Rental Store brand went a long way
The Guidelines toward evolving and relaxing the Caterpillar
Up until this point, comprehensive specifications image. And yes, from time to time, we have to
and standards had not been published, partly deal with entrepreneurial experiments using the
because final specifications were developed at Cat design mark and then explain why it could
the same time pilot dealers were implementing be done for The Cat Rental Store, but not for the
the system. It was decided not to publish on logo they are proposing. That gives us the
paper, but instead to publish through the exist- opportunity to talk about the process, the com-
ing brand identity intranet Web site. And for mitment, and the need to have a comprehensive
the 200-plus dealers who needed fast, accurate set of standards, specifications, and guidelines
guidelines as they were unfolding, the Web was without which it would be impossible to sustain
the perfect solution. It soon became the one any brand, much less a new one. And it would
safe source for information on The Rental Store also be impossible to prevent widespread logo-
identity standards. In fact it was the only source mania. But then, thats what brand manage-
of information. ment is all about. It goes well beyond the design
The site contains the usual specifications, of an attractive trademark. It has much more to
downloadable electronic art, stationery, and do with the design of a system that carefully
formatted templates. But it was decided early on considers all of a businesss audiences and
to avoid the standard diagrams and two-dimen- cultures. And the real work begins after a brand
sional illustrations, and instead display actual is launched. Brand management will always
photographic examples of dealer facilities around depend heavily on well-designed systems that
the world. It became a powerful visual tool that enable brands to evolve, grow, and be accepted,
not only demonstrated what could be done, but in an increasingly global marketplace.
what actually has been doneclearly, with more
emphasis on visuals than words. What was