Uncle Josh, a division of ACME tackle, came to Bast Durbin for help with packaging on their Pork line of crawlers, minnows, and leeches. The problem, although the products worked, they were not visually appealing in old standard forms of plastic packaging.
Bast Durbin designed a new brand logo, new packaging, photography, copy writing, styling, and brand strategy for Acme. How do you make PORK stand out on the shelf in the stores? Disrupt the expected. The box looked unlike anything else on the shelf and made clear it wasn’t just another plastic. That really caught consumer eyes in a way never before seen in the bait industry. Bast Durbin’s brand strategy put placement in artificial lure aisles and also on small displays set out by REAL live bait areas where real night crawlers were displayed.
Uncle Josh pork crawlers could last for several hours on the hook unlike real crawlers. They were also great for moms and dads that took small children out fishing because they required far less re-baiting hooks. The premise was to place the pork crawlers out as a more user-friendly alternative to real crawlers.
The results? Some skus saw 1500% growth in Walmart stores and other stores that formerly carried the product in the older “bag” style packing.
The company drastically increased their print and tv ad exposure, focusing on several regional publications to help drive customers to their dealer base. They also became anchor sponsors of Fishing With Joe Bucher and John Gillespie’s Waters and Woods television programs. “The shows offered a one-two punch that OWNED most Midwest cable fishing blocks and were still visible nationally,” Durbin said. “We made sure that the buyers at all the Big Box and Mom and Pop stores knew what the topics were for each program, so they knew what they needed to have in stock. Sure, you can run spots, but if the vendors don’t have product, all you did was waste your time.”
The combination of print, television, social media, and new packaging inspired sales increases that went as high as 1500-percent for some retailers. People were now talking about PORK again and product was flying off the shelves. In fact, the buzz from consumers was so strong that Uncle Josh products found their way back on the shelf in certain store chains that hadn’t carried the time-tested brand in the past. Bast-Durbin had successfully coordinated the rebranding of PORK and the effort paid off for consumers, retailers and Hard & Soft Fishing.
