Putting the Brand in BrandSource
The BrandSource concept was introduced to an existing group of disparate retailers who had originally joined a “buying group” organization known as Associated Volume Buyers, Inc. (AVB). The benefit of being a member was to gain a competitive advantage by leveraging the group’s collective buying power with their suppliers, as well as to benefit from peer networking and regional and national events designed to create buying opportunities and to provide relevant education and training. AVB was a very successful organization in this format.
However, the leadership of the group realized that ultimate survival, profit and long-term value, was dependent upon the ability to create consumer awareness and to leverage advertising and co-marketing resources – in other words, to build a national brand identity. This however, was impossible to do in the existing local store “one of one” format. An independent retailer, no matter how large simply did not have the resources to compete with Sears, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target, Radio Shack and a slew of regional and multi-market competitors. Therefore, BrandSource as a national cohesive identity was rolled out to the membership in 1998 in concept, with very basic store level branding introduced in 1999, and this has developed into the current program of today.
The creation and building of the BrandSource brand required courage, commitment, innovation, and the support of both the individual retail members and key suppliers – GE, Whirlpool, Maytag/ Amana, Frigidaire, Fisher & Paykel, and Samsung just to name a few. These are the largest suppliers in their industry segments. These forward thinking supplier partners provided initial funding and support to launch the concept and continue to support the efforts of the group in an ever-expanding manner almost daily. These supplier partners understand that their success is tied closely to that of the independent retail channel as well as the regional and national chains. They know the value of community based high service retail outlets to introduce new products, demonstrate the features and benefits of these products and to add value to their brands.
BrandSource Marketing is seamlessly integrated into the national organization. Torus Marketing as a close working partner organization known as BrandSource Marketing have worked diligently side by side through fair and turbulent times with the BrandSource organization from the initial concept stage, through introduction and rollout, and ongoing implementation.
