Ontario-based Napoleon is North America’s largest privately-owned maker of premium quality fireplaces, gourmet gas and charcoal grills, and HVAC equipment. While the brand is well known in Canada, it was virtually unknown in the U.S. Napoleon needed a new and unifying brand positioning and a way to build awareness and credibility with American consumers and contractors. What did we do? 

The Wisconsin Lottery brings people fun and excitement. Whether you’re a regular player or only pick up the occasional scratch game, the goal of The Lottery is to deliver a high level of entertainment value for a dollar or two. With new games introduced regularly, The Lottery needs ways to inform and educate players about them in an engaging fashion. What did we do? 

Kohler has delivered energy solutions for worldwide markets for nearly a century. They provide complete power systems, including generators, for industrial and residential needs. Kohler also has an engine division designed for lawn care, construction and agricultural markets. With a dual audience of B2B and consumers, Kohler needed a media strategy to get the word out. What did we do? 

Yamaha Outboards has built a well-deserved reputation for their legendary reliability, performance and customer satisfaction. Competitors often struggle to compete with Yamaha’s premium offering and therefore use price point to lure in customers. Yamaha needed to assure boaters that whether you are miles from shore or out on a local lake, you can’t put a price on the quality, trust and dependability that their products deliver. What did we do? 

Kolbe is a Wisconsin-based window and door manufacturer that specializes in innovative, custom-made products. After exclusively focusing marketing efforts on the trade audience, Kolbe wanted to start speaking directly to consumers, but needed to build a consumer-facing brand position. They needed to determine how they could break through to the affluent, upscale consumer. What did we do? 

Cedar Crest Ice Cream has a long history in Wisconsin of making quality ice cream and innovative flavors. Even though Cedar Crest has recently seen consistent growth, the family-owned company wanted to take it to the next level from a marketing perspective in an attempt to expand distribution and shelf space. What did we do? 

For more than 20 years, Catalyst Exhibits has been creating dynamic displays to drive traffic for brands during trade shows and other events. Catalyst offers clients full-service project management from design to fabrication. Once Catalyst enlisted HY, we helped design a new website, produced an engaging video direct mailer and placed digital banners using HY’s internal demand-side-platform, HY Trade Desk. 

As a brand, DELSEY luggage was rolling right along in its native France but it came with a lot of baggage – specifically, a lack of name recognition – in the U.S. And those who did want to order luggage in North America encountered the hurdle of trying to navigate a French website. They charged HY with creating a new e-commerce site for the US and creating social media campaigns to drive traffic.

Gordon Brothers-AccuVal is the largest appraisal firm in the world serving the commercial finance industry, with offices in 18 countries and annual appraisals of more than $60 billion. When the economic downturn occurred in the U.S., many businesses found themselves with undue tax burden on greatly overvalued assets. Gordon Brothers-AccuVal wanted to let them know that an updated appraisal could lead to lower taxes.

Focus on Energy is a program that provides energy efficiency and renewable energy information and services to Wisconsin’s utility customers. Before launching the energy- and cost-saving initiative, Focus on Energy needed a brand identity and a fully-integrated campaign to introduce its residential, renewable and business programs.

Grainger is North America’s leading broad line supplier of maintenance, repair and operating products (MRO) serving businesses and institutions. Grainger wanted to find a way to gain sales growth and market penetration in 25 major metro markets.

Chervon is a global leader in power tools. Their primary business was creating private label tools for other brands. Recently, they developed the first-ever line of battery-powered 56-volt outdoor power equipment, and Chervon came to HY to help launch their own brand. The work included brand strategy, identity and a nationwide product launch at North America’s largest hardware retailer.

Wisconsin-based Big Bay Brewing makes unpretentious craft beers for consumers who don’t take themselves – or their quaffs – too seriously. In a very competitive category, they needed branding elements that would help them in the fight for precious shelf space.

First Tennessee Bank, which is one of the 40 largest banks in the U.S., has a reputation for outstanding customer service. These days, however, money-savvy customers expect the flexibility to bank where, when and how they want. First Tennessee Bank wanted to develop a new brand position that reflected the customer’s control, an ease of banking and a shared sensibility about financial decision making.

Advocate Health Care is comprised of more than 250 sites of care, 6,300 physicians, 10,000 nurses and 35,000 associates. Despite its reach and expertise, Advocate had never marketed itself as a health care system. And in an Illinois market dominated by academia-centered health systems, it needed to find the right way to position itself.

Car-X Auto Service is a swiftly-growing automotive repair company with more than 175 locations. When one market consistently underperformed, Car-X wanted to develop a strategic local media plan to boost sales.

Peapod provides home grocery delivery service in the Midwest and on the East Coast. Whether people are too busy to shop or simply live in a downtown area with no nearby supermarket, our audience needed to be reminded that you can’t beat the convenience of having fresh groceries delivered right to your door. Peapod wanted to emphasize the how their reliable service could save customers time and hassles.

Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin is one of the nation’s highest-rated health care systems dedicated solely to the health and well-being of children. Children’s initiated a fundraising campaign to raise capital for the expansion of facilities and services and set an inspired goal.

Aurora Health Care keeps Wisconsin healthy. The not-for-profit health care system has 15 hospitals and 185 clinics in eastern Wisconsin, including Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center, which is recognized as one of the nation’s leading cardiac hospitals. When two private heart hospitals opened in the area, Aurora needed to find a way differentiate St. Luke’s from the new competitors.

Merillat is a leading manufacturer of stylish, quality cabinetry for the home. In a category with limited brand differentiation, Merillat needed to find a way to stand out and add value to the brand.

ABS Global, Inc., is the world leader in bovine genetics, reproduction services and technologies. With increased competition at home and abroad, ABS needed a stronger brand identity and exciting, consistent marketing materials that would enhance their leadership position within the category.

Integrative Therapeutics makes science-based nutritional supplements that help integrative medicine professionals cultivate healthy practices. In a crowded category, they needed a way to stand out and elevate the brand from a product manufacturer to a partner for healthcare professionals. What did we do? 

ManpowerGroup is a Fortune 200 company that is a world leader in creating innovative workforce solutions. Every day, they connect more than 600,000 people to meaningful work across a wide range of skills and industries. ManpowerGroup was looking to extend their “Humanly Possible” campaign, a global print and digital campaign aimed at a C-suite audience and HR professionals.

KFC is the world’s second-largest restaurant chain, with nearly 19,000 outlets in 118 countries. In the U.S., national marketing campaigns must also be executed at the local level. With KFC, that involves working with large, regional franchisee networks. In this case, it required localized strategy and comprehensive media planning to execute KFC’s national campaigns in 18 DMAs (designated marketing areas), including its corporate home, Louisville, KY.

Indiana University Health is the most comprehensive health care system in Indiana. Previously known as Clarian Health, it wanted to rebrand in order to emphasize its unique partnership with Indiana University School of Medicine, one of the nation’s leading medical schools. It required the creation of a new brand identity for the entire system, which includes more than 20 hospitals and health centers, as well as its service lines and hospitals. The massive project also included developing brand standards, which were adhered to by more than 30,000 health care professionals and employees. 

Wahl makes home grooming products for both people and pets, as well as therapeutic handheld massagers. Wahl invented the first electric hair clipper in 1919 and the first beard trimmer in 1984. As part of their growth strategy, Wahl continues to innovate new products and explore new markets while also battling fierce competition. What did we do?

The Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development has the incredible job of promoting Big Sky country to potential visitors from the U.S. and around the world. The diverse offerings of Montana, from outdoor adventure to its charming small towns, appeal to a wide variety of audiences including families, couples and winter enthusiasts. But, with low levels of awareness and familiarity, they needed a highly-targeted campaign to make the most of their efforts. What did we do?

For over 100 years, Perlick has been a national leader in refrigeration. Their award-winning residential product line features indoor and outdoor undercounter refrigerators, freezers, wine reserves, ice makers and beer dispensers. Perlick wanted to make a big impact when they recently expanded their line to include full-size refrigeration to the luxury home market.

Destination Kohler is a world-class destination for vacationers, day trippers, golfers, sportsmen and nature lovers in eastern Wisconsin, along the shores of scenic Lake Michigan. It includes the five-star five-diamond The American Club Resort among several hotels, distinct restaurants and boutique shops. It is also home to championship golf courses at Whistling Straits® and Blackwolf Run® as well as the Kohler Waters Spa, which is one of only 47 five-star spas in the world. Destination Kohler was seeking a multi-faceted and always-on media program to promote all of the experiences that Kohler WI has to offer year round.

Chervon has long been a global manufacturer of private label tools and lawn & garden equipment. So when the company’s engineers developed a proprietary battery technology that created the first cordless electric mower with the power of gas, they decided to build their own brand Ego. They needed to develop the brand positioning, identity, pricing and sell-in strategy to get their own product into distribution, especially big box retail.

A global leader in pharmacy education, research, service and professional development, the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy has educated the world’s finest pharmacists and scientists for more than 135 years. To increase enrollment, we targeted students studying science-related majors and encouraged them to apply to pharmacy school and further their education at UW–Madison.

The ALSA Wisconsin Chapter is the state-level branch of The ALS Association, a national non-profit with chapters in all 50 U.S. states. Since 1987, ALSA Wisconsin has collected funds used for research towards treatments and cures for ALS, a debilitating neuromuscular disease, while providing support to patients and their families. Hoffman York created pro-bono support for‘Evening of Hope,’ one of the chapter’s biggest annual fundraising events. Our work included designing invitations, producing four powerful PSA videos and supporting the effort with both earned and social media.