(… helps build great b2b BRANDS)
Jacek KOWALSKI Presdent & CEO
chips > chip packaging > reader technology
From a vision to a brand
The tough start When we began working with Inside, it was called « Inside Technologies ». The name said it all: A 30-people company in an industrial park in Aix-enProvence trying to sound like Bell Labs. Nobody in the industry knew the company. Its competition was formidable: Infineon, Philips, ST… chipmakers with sales measured in billions of $, not thousand of units. But something was even worse: Very few of the potential clients felt that « contactless » had a great future. Inside designed only contactless chips, and the « less » did not sound that good to the tech buyers, who thought they were doing just fine with normal chips, thank you. Applications were scarce, not so easy to understand (access control vs security? RFID anyone?), the market was small and the offer looked sometimes gimmicky. So, Inside Technologies had no brand to speak of, a monstrous competition, and it needed to sell « contactless » before it could sell itself. For this, all it had was an ugly brochure and a Ppt. So, yes, it was a challenge…
The T.R.U.E. break The strategic break came with the realization that, for better or worse, the future of Inside was indeed tied to that of contactless technology. So, rather than fight it, why not leverage this risk? Inside was - and still is - the only chip designer creating only contactless chips. This was the visionary move of its founder, Jacek Kowalski, this was the T.R.U.E. fact that set it apart from its competition: True, Relevant, Unique, ® and Expressed easily with power - passing our LAMTAR T.R.U.E. positioning test. This was thus the foundation on which LAMTAR proposed to build the Inside brand:
« Creating a Contactless World »
The T.R.U.E. positioning The rational side of our brand’s foundation, our T.R.U.E. positioning, was thus « Creating a Contactless World »: Inside is the irreverent, young, and visionary brand that is helping build a contactless future. Its success hinges on the technology’s success. As market and applications grow, Inside will grow with them. For the emotional side of the brand, its territory, we followed what the positioning naturally told us to do: - focus on contactless: We changed thename of the company to « Inside Contactless » and designed a complete brand identity that singlemindedly said: « chips » - embrace risk: Our creative concept pushed forward the risky « less », poetically depicting a contactless world. Less mess, with RFID tracking, less stress with transportation passes, etc. - play like a challenger: We went against the grain of the accepted « rules » of the industry. In a world of Silver and Blue giants (at that time, the omnipresent codes of engineering brands), we created an Inside made of Yellow (Youth, risk, boldness, invention). We discarded the busy photoshoped layouts seen everywhere for a rigorous « Swiss » grid signifying rigor and precision. Instead of the shiny-happy Image Bank visuals of its competition (handshakes, phone calls and laughing consumers), we shot our own campaign in an unmistakably different yellow-black bichromy.
The marketing machine With the right brand foundations in place, all that remained to do was… everything! LAMTAR followed up with years of tenacious marketing and sales support: - building the brand brick by brick, across years and markets, from Europe to Asia and the Americas - making sure that it stayed on track, resisting the constant temptation to ‘make it better’ by generations of product managers and partners - launching products, running trade shows, holding marketing and PR events, creating a partners ‘club’, convincing and reasuring new investors… and helping win contracts Among the hundreds of tools and events produced over the years: - Brand book, corporate and market ads, corporate brochure, web, Powerpoint presentations, XMas card, partners club… … - Product fliers, cases studies, mini- brochures, trade shows, email campaigns, packaging design, product marketing campaign, prospect databases… - Application campaigns and market pushes, pre-sales support and post-presentation follow-up… - Investors and partners meetings, anniversary event…
The net gain … and? And Inside Contactless did not qui te become Bell Labs, but in the several years we worked for it - it grew to become a multi-million dollar company, - it raised several rounds of investment, helping it fuel its development - … in short it turned its brand into a valuable asset When its visionary founder left Inside - the last year when LAMTAR helped with its marketing - Inside had become a major player in Contactless and chip design, a company whose image is far above its sales figures.
Who are we?
A small, creative agency specializing in: - b2b and High Tech - brand-building With references ranging from BT to Inside, from Mediametrie to Logiways. More info at : www.lamtar.com www.lamtarb2b.com Contact: Philippe BoutiĂŠ +33 143560470 +33 611530089 boutie@lamtar.com
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