Making something new.
After years courting investors and raising funds to perfect their patented REV™ (Radiant Energy Vacuum) technology, EnWave successfully pivoted from a simple tech company to an innovative solutions provider with better messaging and a fresher, friendlier brand.OVERVIEW
EnWave is a global leader in the innovation and application of vacuum microwave dehydration. From its headquarters in Vancouver, BC, EnWave has developed a robust intellectual property portfolio, perfected its Radiant Energy Vacuum (REV™) technology, and transformed an innovative idea into a proven, consistent, and scalable drying solution.
By becoming an EnWave partner, companies gain access to their patented REV™ technology: a better, faster way to dry that vastly outperforms conventional drying methods in terms of efficiency, capacity, product quality, and cost, but before ODG got involved, all of those amazing benefits were not immediately apparent.
By 2021, REV™ had long been perfected and EvWave was looking to expand their partner list, but their marketing was still focused on investors rather than potential partners. Most of their content was devoted to sunny predictions about profit and notions about industry disruption, but little was said about the exciting, real-world opportunities that REV™ could provide, or about the value that EnWave could offer its customers.
It was clear that EnWave needed more than just a new website; they needed to change the way they were communicating.
CHALLENGES
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Tactics Over Strategy
EnWave had been very proactive in their marketing tactics and used everything from white papers to podcasts to help spread the word, but there was no unifying strategy—no clear message about who EnWave was, what they did, and why it mattered. Potential partners were confused. What, exactly, was REV? Was it really worth the time and money to adopt this new, unfamiliar technology? What could it do that traditional methods couldn't? And what was EnWave's role in all of this? Were they selling a proprietary process? A machine? A service? There seemed to be more questions than answers. -
An Unknown Technology
Marketing a new technology can often be challenging, and REV™ was no exception. In the food industry, REV is readily compared to freeze-drying, a process so ubiquitous and iconic that it has become a household term. While REV drying is gentle, precise, and results in a measurably better product compared to traditional air drying, freeze drying can virtually destroy all the benefits cultivators work so hard to preserve. Due to its popularity, many potential partners struggled to see REV as a solution that was completely separate from, and superior to, freeze drying in nearly every way. -
A Lot of Content, But Little Meaning
The website, pitch decks, and other marketing materials contained an overwhelming amount of information, but with little hierarchy, no clear call to action, and a lot of repetitive content. Things seemed complicated and confusing, and relevant information was hard to find. -
Focused on Tech Rather Than People
EnWave's brand felt slick and professional, but somewhat cold as well. All-caps headlines were hard to read, cool gray and deep blue dominated their marketing and sapped the vibrancy from their photos, and while their two biggest strengths are their R&D facility and their people, they were strangely missing in the marketing material.
SOLUTIONS
1. Strategize
Develop an underlying brand strategy and position EnWave as an authority on food science and drying.
We love working with companies that offer a clearly superior product or service, because it makes our job as marketers that much easier. EnWave's new brand tagline needed to be simple, compelling, and appeal to both food companies and other industries. "Dry better, faster" short, impactful and, best of all, easily backed up.
EnWave's original website headline, focused on food companies, was a bit long and clunky, especially when set in widely kerned, all-caps. Their new headline, "Let's make something new" communicates similar ideas in a more concise and engaging way, and serves as a clear call to action for food companies.
Did they all have a bottleneck in their production? Our retooled hook focuses instead on the core selling point REV drying for that industry, and speaks to the competitive nature of producers. REV drying is so fast, it's almost unfair.
USE RELEVANT, MEANINGFUL LANGUAGE
- Dry better, faster.
- Simple and to the point, this hook speaks to all stakeholders in no uncertain terms. Its weak point is that it's slightly vague, but that is easily countered by short supporting text.
- Let's make something new.
- This is an engaging call to action for those in the food industry. It speaks to the creative act inherent in using REV technology, and its inclusive language ("Let's") reassures the audience that they're not on their own—that EnWave is offering a complete solution. "Something new" could be a new snack or ingredient, but also a new opportunity, new idea, or new way of thinking. The audience isn't buying a machine, they're starting a journey.
- So fast it's almost unfair.
- Developed specifically for large producers, it speaks to a desire to get out ahead of the competition and dominate the market, while maintaining a good-natured sense of humour.
2. Streamline
Identify the key takeaways that our audience needs to know and make it easy to find.
EnWave's marketing contained a number of impressive claims, but there was little data to back it up. Through a series of strategic meetings with marketing, sales, and engineering team members, we created a master list of all of the measurable, provable benefits that REV™ technology has to offer, then worked to refine that list to just a few that would be most relevant to potential partners. The result is a clear and compelling sales pitch that both informs and persuades.
3. Simplify and Shine
Use brighter, more vibrant, more natural imagery, show the human element behind the brand, and use friendlier tones and typography.
Out with the monotone blue images, reams of capitalized text, and multiple icons, and in with vibrant product and team photos, a refined colour palette, new, friendlier typography, and simplified visual brand elements.
Adopting a new technology and, in the case of food companies, attempting to create a new, never-before-seen product can be stressful and risky. EnWave helps reduce a lot of that risk by working directly with their partners either on site or at their R&D facility. EnWave needed to show their facilities and their team members to show their potential partners that they're not just a tech company, but a full-service solutions provider who will help shoulder some of the burden of research, development, and early-stage production.
4. Show, Don't Tell
Emphasize the collaborative and creative aspects of an EnWave partnership, simplify the process using a problem/solution perspective, and show what partnership and collaboration looks like.
It's important to lay out a framework early on and make it absolutely clear what your audience can expect once they sign up. We helped EnWave create a crystal clear four step process to explain how an EnWave partnership works, and worked to highlight key clients, case studies, products, and success stories.
5. Sell a Solution
Make it clear that EnWave doesn't just sell machines or license technology. They serve as a partner in product innovation to help others achieve their goals. Identify what potential partners want to achieve, then show them how to achieve it with EnWave's help.
With its focus on attracting investors, the old EnWave website was written and structured to explain the basics of REV™ technology, but it did a poor job of communicating how that technology could benefit others, and why companies would choose to partner with EnWave.
With a new web design came a new online experience and menu structure designed to present EnWave's technology, team and machinery as solutions for food innovators.
The result is a website that feels much more relevant, engaging, and focused.
It's important to lay out a framework early on and make it absolutely clear what your audience can expect once they sign up. We helped EnWave create a crystal clear four step process to explain how an EnWave partnership works, and worked to highlight key clients, case studies, products, and success stories.
Successes
With a new brand, a new website, and new, more effective sales tools, the EnWave team was ready to confidently get out and spread the word about the solutions they can provide, and everything worked as intended. It worked so well, in fact, that they received numerous proposal requests in the first week of the website launch.
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