Horning Manufacturing is a producer of innovative silage processing equipment. It started back in the fall of 1997 when Leon Horning Sr. designed and created a set of kernel processing rolls in his Pennsylvania farm shop for his pull-type forage chopper.
With the news of Leon’s success, fellow dairymen were soon lining up asking him to make rolls for their choppers. Since then, Horning MFG has continued to innovate forage equipment and processes, with products continuously improving and their market expanding overseas.
A Communication Gap
Two years ago Leon made a phone call to Rosewood, a call that began an exciting new chapter in their story. Horning MFG had been doing their own advertising but were increasingly unsatisfied with their marketing potency. Plus they wanted to devote more time to what they do best: innovating. The company had matured from a farm shop to a well-known leader in forage processing technology. It was time for a change.
With generational roots in dairy farming, Horning has a deep understanding of what it means to win in the dairy business: optimizing dairy nutrition while reducing operating costs. This insight has driven brilliant innovation along with world-class engineering and quality in their product offerings. But their marketing materials did not communicate this, and there was an apparent need to close the communication gap. The genius of these products simply needed to be connected to the dairymen, nutritionists, custom harvesters and dealers they were designed to empower, in a language they could understand.
We started with a marketing consultation to establish the key market facts and a marketing game plan. Then we worked with them to create a visual identity aligning with their brand values and their brand story. A brand refresh, clear messaging and compelling photography kicked off the journey to the Horning of the future. Product vertical brochures, trade show booths and ad campaigns were also designed to carry the reinvigorated Horning brand and company messaging to the marketplace and set them apart from the competition.
Communication gap? No more. Today every marketing piece is alive with the Horning advantage.
But we are getting ahead of ourselves. We need to tell you about the powerful brochure at the center of this transformation.
We all love a story.
The Horning journey is a powerful and relevant story their market needs to know. But in the telling of the story lies the power of the message. Never underestimate its importance.
With this understanding, the Horning Brand Story Brochure was born. History. Passion. Innovation. A mutual love for the things it takes to win in the dairy industry. The product verticals. The interests of the key market personas. All this is woven together in the Brand Story Brochure to drive home one compelling fact: Horning’s story is really about the customer’s story.
Developing the Brand Story Brochure
Luke met with Horning’s owners, asking questions to understand their values and identity as a brand. What could be said about their history, innovation, and how it all developed? Leon Sr., Leon Jr., and David each shared bits of their early beginnings in the farm shop, and their journey to where they are today. They told of their passion for dairy nutrition, and how each product was invented to solve a particular problem for the farmer. Taking the burning embers of their story, Luke set to work fanning it into a flame of fresh, energetic copy. The goal? To clearly communicate the essence of the Horning philosophy and to highlight each brilliantly engineered product it spawned.
Two photographers, Derlyn and Lyndon, headed out to the Horning farm to shoot high-quality photos and video to help tell the story. As the sparkling forage harvest equipment outfitted with a new Horning head and processor pulled into the field, our team sprang into action, cameras to their faces. A drone soon whirred overhead capturing powerful frames and footage of the impressive machinery from a bird’s-eye view as it chewed through the corn, cranking out high-value feedstock.
Back at the office a few days later, Lyndon, the graphic designer, began designing the brand story brochure, integrating the new brand style with the freshly written copy and memorable photography.
Expanding Horizons
Horning MFG sends a Brand Story brochure to every new prospect inquiry, along with other specific product literature customized to the prospect’s interests. They are enjoying the benefits of clear, potent marketing materials, and have observed long-time customers extending their purchases to new verticals after seeing Horning product offerings in a new light.
And best of all, Horning MFG is back to laser focus on what they do best: innovating, growing and leading the international forage harvesting industry into bright new horizons.
“The Brand Story Brochure has given us confidence in what we have. We are sending out a good quality brochure that clearly portrays the product. One thing I liked about Rosewood is that they forced us to think. Thinking is the most critical thing. You will be surprised how much creativity you can have with the right questions. Overall, I would recommend Rosewood.” – Leon Horning Jr., Horning MFG
Clarify your own brand story. Call Rosewood today for more information.