Case Study: Branding and Promoting a Manufacturer and Distributor of Luxury Goods This is a case study of the first two years re-branding and promoting a small high-end watch business, known initially only by the names of its two corporate entities. Today the company is widely known as Gevril Group, watchmaker and distributor of more than forty watch brands, and its content rich website receives more than 25K visits per month, primarily from organic search. Presented by: Larry Brauner, Business and Marketing Analyst and Strategist www.bdionline.com

1. CASE STUDY: BRANDING AND PROMOTING A LUXURY GOODS
MANUFACTURER AND DISTRIBUTOR
Presented by Larry Brauner of Social Web Associates

2. The Challenge: Define branding and increase visibility for a
luxury watch company via new online marketing initiatives
Key Issues
• Branding was ambiguous, confusing and ineffective, especially for a
company in a luxury industry.
• Website was a static flash site that focused on only one of the
company’s watch brands, and even that hadn't been updated in years.
• Email marketing attempts had been unsuccessful due to lack of
communications plan and contact management system.
• Public relations efforts generated little relevant coverage, since
branding and targeting were weak.

3. The Solution: A five-part search and social strategy
1. Branding
2. Targeting
3. Website
4. Public Relations
5. Social Media

4. 1. Branding
The Challenge
• At the outset, the company was known only by the names of its two
corporate entities.
• Brand was ambiguous, confusing and unsuitable for a company in a
luxury industry.
• Weak brand was a serious impediment to marketing and public
relations efforts.
The Solution
• Rebranded the company as Gevril Group, watchmaker and distributor
of select luxury and fashion European watch brands.
• Gevril Group is an extension of the company’s Gevril watch brand.
• “Gevril Group” clearer and more meaningful than the company’s
previous brand names.
• Gevril Group capitalized upon the popularity of the company’s famous
luxury Gevril watch brand.

5. 2. Targeting
The Challenge
• Company lacked a clear vision as to who they wanted
to reach and why
The Solution
• Audiences important to the company’s business were identified.
• The target audiences identified were: consumers of watches and watch
repair services, wholesale customers, vendors, collectors, the media,
forum members and employment candidates.
• The company’s website and email campaigns target these audiences.

6. 3. Website
The Challenge
• Company’s only web presence was an outdated Gevril Watch flash site
• Management was skeptical about investing in a new separate website.
The Solution
• A Gevril Group website was developed with integrated blogs to serve as
a focal point for the company’s online marketing and web presence.
• Each blog has a purpose and identity that mesh with the Gevril Group
brand.
• Website was developed on a shoestring budget and redesigned at a
later date.
• Web pages are well written, use keywords and are carefully tagged.
• Every page includes internal links and links to relevant external content.
• 25 pages of content on average are posted each month.

7. 4. Public Relations
The Challenge
• The company had issued many press releases, but because copy had
been mediocre and distribution untargeted, results were negligible.
• The company had tried using email but had been unable to implement
a successful sustainable approach.
The Solution
• A combination of targeted lists was uploaded to an opt-out contact
management system.
• Regular email was used to inform the media and all other target
audiences.
• Experienced industry writers developed quality newsworthy content for
both web and email.
• Email campaigns generated media placements while driving web traffic.

8. 5. Social Media
The Challenge
• Gevril Group had no social media presence at all.
The Solution
• Engage people on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, but bookmark
content on a larger variety of social websites.
• Bookmarks augment web presence and may help SEO to some
extent.
• Leveraged personal web presence. Larry Brauner Facebook timeline
and Facebook groups more effective generating interest and traffic
than company pages.
• Facebook groups generate website traffic and reach out to forum
members who create do-follow links to company website content.

9. Results
• The content rich Gevril Group website has grown tremendously in influence
and traffic since inception.
• At present website receives 25K visits and 50K page views monthly with
lion’s share from organic search.
• Gevril Group now well known in industry and has a strong and clear brand.
Gevril Group Website Visits 2011-2012
30,000
Search Other
25,000
20,000
Visits
15,000
10,000
5,000
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10. WEBSITE: Gevril Group
WEBSITE: Social Web Accociates
TWITTER: @LARRYBRAUNER
LINKEDIN: WWW.LINKEDIN.COM/IN/BRAUNER
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EMAIL: LARRY@SOCIALWWW.COM
TELEPHONE: 917-744-4364