What we did:
- Brand strategy
- Messaging
- Logo
- Visual and verbal identity,
- Tone of voice
- Brand storytelling
- Brand purpose/philosophy
- Editorial content in French and English
- Photography
- Web design
- Social media makeover
- Weekly Instagram content guidance
- Print ad
- Catalogues
Challenge
Established in 1820, Verney-Carron is the oldest gunmaking house in Saint-Étienne, France. The company was awarded the “Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant” (Living Heritage Company) label by the French state in 2010.
The client wished to expand the company’s customer base by repositioning its brand, Verney-Carron, under which all of its products were proposed with added sub-brand names. These included Manufacture Verney-Carron, L’Atelier Verney-Carron, Verney-Carron Security, and Verney-Carron Défense.
Solution
We knew a total makeover was necessary to empower this two-century-old brand to pursue the status it truly deserved.
To begin, we devised a “moving-upmarket” strategy capitalizing on the company’s long-standing and unique heritage, as well as the premium positioning of their bespoke/handmade hunting gun service.
Moving on to execution, we encouraged them to reduce the complexity of their brand name, Verney-Carron, which at the time was associated with a number of industry segments whose target customers were completely disconnected from one another.
Consequently, the group’s security and defense activity was repositioned under another brand name, “Lebel.” This enabled them to build a more efficient and focused strategy for each business.
Upgrading the Verney-Carron hunting brand and making the security and defense activity a separate brand ultimately played an important role in the future of the oldest gunmaker in France. Verney-Carron ended up attracting an ambitious investor group, who in 2022 officially announced its plan to invest 20M€ over the next five years.