Approach
PermaGroup is a family-owned pre-fabricated concrete product manufacturer based in Gisborne. As the company grew, it became clear that the existing brands – Permacrete, Permaloo, and Permastore – needed a cohesive brand strategy to maximise market penetration outside of Gisborne and tap into new growth opportunities. We also needed to help establish a space for their new industrial outdoor furniture range. The challenge was to retain the strong brand equity established in the local market while rolling out a streamlined brand architecture to serve wider audiences.
PermaGroup approached Virtual Marketers to address these challenges and help develop a strategy that would cement their position in the market and prepare them for future innovations, including bathroom accessories and outdoor furniture.
We were asked to:
- Develop a brand strategy for all the sub-brands, ensuring a clear brand architecture, purpose, tone of voice, and consistent messaging.
- Create a 12-24 month digital marketing strategy that aligns with their business growth plans.
Our approach began with an in-depth brand workshop held at PermaGroup’s Gisborne headquarters, where we worked closely with their leadership team to understand the unique challenges of their expanding product range and multi-brand structure.
Solution
Based on what we learned in the strategic workshop, we used our brand strategy experience and marketing expertise to set the direction for PermaGroup from 2024 going forward. This included:
- Brand Architecture: We created a unified brand architecture that brought Permacrete, Permaloo, and Permastore under the PermaGroup umbrella, streamlining communication and increasing brand recognition. The strategy ensures room for growth with new products, such as their outdoor furniture range that we named Permafab, making future innovations easier to market.
- Digital Marketing Strategy: We developed a 12-24 month digital marketing plan tailored to their business goals. This strategy integrates targeted campaigns across channels, with a focus on driving brand awareness across New Zealand and increasing customer engagement.
- Rebrand Communication Strategy: We worked alongside PermaGroup's design partner to roll out the new brand visuals and launch a rebranding communication plan to ensure existing customers were well-informed and excited about the changes. This also meant reviewing touchpoints across the business to make sure nothing was missed.
- New Website: A modern, customer-focused website was developed to combine all brands under one digital roof, showcasing their product range, key points of difference and their company story going back over 60 years.
- Ongoing Marketing Activity: We also provide ongoing support for PermaGroup’s marketing activities, including social media management, email campaigns, content creation, conference support, paid ads, and dashboard reporting. This ensures consistent brand visibility, customer engagement, and data-driven optimisation across all channels.
Key Outcomes
The collaborative effort between Virtual Marketers and PermaGroup has resulted in several key wins:
- Unified Brand Presence: The new PermaGroup website successfully brought all sub-brands together under a cohesive brand strategy, positioning them strongly for future growth.
- UX-Focused Website: The new website focused on helping users understand the PermaGroup business, who they are and where they’ve been, as well as communicating important information about their products and how to go about working with PermaGroup.
- Email Marketing Success: Two email campaigns were launched as part of the rebrand, driving significant engagement, one with a 45.9% open rate and the other achieving an impressive 48.5% open rate.
- Social Media Launch: We launched PermaGroup across social channels and have seen a huge uptake in online interactions.
Testimonial
“Virtual Marketers guided us through the complex process of aligning our various brands under one clear strategy. Their workshop helped us not only define our future direction but also gave us tools and strategies to grow sustainably. We’re happy with the new brand, the website, and the marketing activity to date and excited to see where the future takes us.”
— Weston Smith, General Manager at PermaGroup
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