BlackSmithCommunications™

BlackSmith’s client, VICAM, an agricultural concern, was a company at the crossroads. When that client originally created their branding and initial brochure, they only distributed in 3 foreign countries and the vast proportion of their revenues came from the United States and from the farm belt. Furthermore, they were only a two line company with 2 lines of food testing products. However, when it came time to re-do their corporate brochure, they had grown to a 9 Million Dollar company which had grown at 3 times the industry average, went from marketing in 3 countries to marketing in 100+ countries worldwide, expanded to full-fledged agro-bioscience company with five product lines, and whose revenues were 60% from overseas. Importantly, the company’s limited partners were eager to sell the company and put the company “on the auction block” by entering into M&A. Thus, all those factors pointed to the need for greater sophistication in their corporate brochure. 

Our involvement: To guide the company through this particularly sensitive and important time in their history and provide them with sophisticated trappings. Thus, it was mutually decided with the client that they needed a total re-brand. The corporate brochure was one part of that. Inclusive of the re-brand was an overhaul of their logo, concepting and shooting custom photography, writing of all new copy to reflect growth to 5 lines of products, development of iconic design element for the cover of the brochure, and redesign of the entire brochure to the highest of European design standards complete with use of extensive white space and much subtlety. Collateral piece had to strike a delicate balance of appealing to European Ph.D.’s setting food regulations and current large block of revenue generators: U.S. farmers doing the tests–all while appealing to the Investment Community.

The result: Company was sold to a 1.5B S&P player.