Baxter Boots

Marketplace Communications was engaged by Baxter Boots and Shoes to create a consistent visual and verbal marketing campaign that centred around a tagline that was repeated across all retail sectors. The tagline ‘It’s Better in Baxter’ was used to market the following products:

• Men’s Dress Boots;
• Work Boots; and
• Kids’ / Women’s’ Pony Boots.

Marketplace Communications developed an integrated marketing campaign utilising traditional marketing techniques including direct marketing initiatives based on Customer Relationship Marketing strategies, cost effective advertising, creative design and branding, and a concerted public relations campaign.

The key deliverables of the campaign for Baxter’s were to sell more boots, maximise their results for each marketing dollar spent, and increase brand awareness as well as competitive advantages over their major competitors, such as RM Williams.

By selling the ‘It’s Better in Baxter’ message, MPC was successful in assisting Baxter to sell themselves and as a result sell more footwear.

Marketplace Communications raised Baxter’s public profile and awareness in the marketplace via stories of public interest and editorials. To achieve this we targeted both the mainstream and industry media; we put in place a regime of one media release idea for distribution per week; we scheduled media events to target the press as well as coordinated media promotions to target trade and specialty publications; and we used Marshall Baxter as the spokesman in all media, events and promotions to profile Marshall as an industry leader.

To ensure the Baxter message is not diluted, it was important that the retailers selling their product consistently delivered the Baxter message to the consumer. To achieve this, Marketplace Communications recommended a two-pronged approach to educate retailers through promotional events and communication collateral, such as a revised catalogue and retailers’ newsletter.

A website was the most cost effective way of backing up the Baxter campaign message. The most common source of research for potential customers when discovering a new brand is the Internet.  Strategies such as e-newsletters, online advertising and other e-marketing devices were developed to encourage people to utilise the Baxter website.