Textron Aviation

Sector: Transportation

Textron Aviation, known for its Cessna aircraft, is one of the world’s largest original equipment manufacturers (OEM) in the General Aviation sector; it is a business unit subsidiary under the conglomerate parent company Textron. In 2014, Textron acquired Beech Holdings which included Beechcraft and Hawker aircraft. At the time, Gilmore Group assisted in executing a strategy to separate the two brands, Hawker and Beechcraft, as the Hawker brand was moving towards retirement, while Beechcraft, and its world-renowned King Air, had strong equity and sales. In 2018, Textron Aviation approached Gilmore Group again to help with their next phase of strategy and develop various marketing & sales tools in order to drive aircraft sales.

Dive Deeper

Objective
The Wichita-based aircraft builder contracted Gilmore Group on a wide-ranging brand strategy program to assist with articulating the mission, vision, and values of the multi-faced company with one voice. A secondary goal was to drive sales of the large jet category, which included the new the Citation Latitude and Citation Longitude, via refreshed designs for the collateral system, website, and a new digital sales toolkit.

Solution

After conducting a research program which included in-depth personal interviews with key members of leadership, workshops, a company-wide brand audit, and competitive landscape analysis, Gilmore Group delivered a defined brand blueprint for Textron Aviation. As part of the overall brand blueprint, Gilmore Group developed the brand positioning, brand architecture, and core identity explorations. Using the strategically developed brand blueprint as a guide, Gilmore Group developed a new visual identity system which was applied to designs for the collateral system which included brochures, brochure pocket inserts, product cards, optional equipment selection guides, quick reference cards, specification and description brochures, flight planning guides, and the guide to operating economics. We also developed additional explorations for icons and infographics, technical layouts, and cover studies. Stationery applications developed included business cards, corporate letterheads, and folders.

Gilmore Group worked on exemplar applications for print advertising, signage & facilities, vehicle livery, ID badges, lifestyle & gifts (promotions), branded video content, and an all-new NBAA tradeshow exhibit. Gilmore Group also developed the rationalization for new Textron Aviation website modules and their page layout designs. Additionally, a digital sales tool kit intended for use on tablet or mobile application was developed to assist sales personnel in communicating with customers interested in purchasing new aircraft.

Results
The strategy component of the project work scope was successfully implemented, and the highly collaborative process of the program led to important learnings for both teams. Design elements developed in tandem have been adopted by Textron Aviation.

Services