insurance & financial
case study
Oak Street Funding: Wax’s Aggressive Marketing and Branding Strategy
Background
Oak Street Funding LLC is a highly specialized lender focusing on the needs of retail insurance agencies. Formerly part of massive Oak Street Mortgage and its branding image, the company lends to agents and brokerages based on a careful evaluation of an agency’s book of business and future earnings.
Marketing Communications and
Branding Challenge
Oak Street’s primary service – providing loans based on the value of annual commissions earned by an insurance agency – is unique. But the company operates in a somewhat bewildering field that includes premium finance companies, franchisors and banks. Armed with sizable financial resources of their own, Oak Street needed to differentiate itself from competitors; create a clear understanding and branding of its products and services in several distinct channels; and disseminate this information to audience segments within the insurance industry. To do this they had to revisit their marketing strategy and establish signature Oak Street branding.
Integrated Marketing and Branding Solution
Wax conceived of a complete integrated marketing solution that included new branding and market positioning for Oak Street; a carefully considered media buy targeting the best trade publications for their proposition (with Wax creating, negotiating, buying and placing all ads); an aggressive direct mail campaign that involved multivariate testing and enlightened list management to maximize results and circulate new branding; creation of new sales collateral for the company’s primary channels; an array of interactive activities; coordination of Oak Street’s trade show and field sales; a complete overhaul of the company’s public relations strategy and tactics; proprietary research; and close integration with of all marketing and branding activities with Oak Street’s sales force to optimize tracking of various efforts.
Results
Within the first 100 days, Wax had already completed the following for
Oak Street Funding:
- Rendered new creative, branding and messaging, and quickly placed it in
desirable media - Executed initial direct mail flights to introduce Oak Street branding and products to prospective clients and tracked response through sales call center
- Crunched early multivariate feedback and immediately began perfecting creative/messaging
- Substantially raised the company’s PR profile through carefully crafted story pitches to influential publications
- Completed an annual media calendar, including trade exhibitions and speaking engagements for senior management
- Consulted on the formation of one or more new business units
- Completed the company’s new media kit with multi-channel sales collateral
