Our Success Stories

PCM recommendations contributed to these positive outcomes:

•Telecom start up, in do or die situation, secured $10M in venture capital

to launch and is now pursuing Series C funding.

•Wine company sales increased from 13,000 to 275,000 cases in 5 years.

•Supply chain company saved over $450K by not building a dedicated

sales force for a vertical market.

•Fortune 500 bank saved over $100M by steering clear of an unprofitable geographic segment.

•Winery’s premium brand realizes 25.7% growth in two years.

•Online company pushed $295,000 to the bottom line by not renewing

a celebrity contract.

•Snack food company reversed sales decline by revitalizing the brand.

Sales increased from $38M to $55M annually.

•Credit card provider reduced customer exposure to identity theft

and saved millions of dollars in the process.

•Innovative re-positioning of wine results in 41% growth in one year.

•Non-profit completed a strategic directive from the board.

Revenues increased by 17%.

•International shipping company increased annual sales by 15%.

•Internet joint venture grabs market share with 3.5 million subscribers

in under two years.

•First brand of ultra-premium vodka from Norway had first year sales

of over 100,000 cases on a minimal marketing budget.

Please scroll down to see what role we played in these success stories.

Enabled “do or die” funding of a telecom start up. Client received $10M in venture capital based on PCM assessment of concept viability. Company went on to launch and is currently pursuing Series C funding.

Wine brand management company increased case sales from 13,000 to 275,000 by creating a reserve wine for its best selling brand. Marketing EVP said, “We rely on PCM” when developing new products and re-positioning declining brands. “Invaluable information…remarkable insights.”

Ensured supply chain management company avoided a costly marketing mistake. Advised against building a sales force dedicated to the wine & spirits industry saving over $450,000.

Saved Fortune 500 bank over $100M. Recommended against the deployment of people, infrastructure and systems which would have been necessary to service small businesses in rural markets.

Value brand of wine from the Central Coast grew 25.7% after being re-positioned as a premium wine. Advised the CEO to leverage the up scale lifestyle image of the Monterey Peninsula to support the higher price point for a family of varietals. The revitalized brand contributed to the company becoming the fifth largest winery in California.

CMO at a social networking company asked PCM to be the tie-breaker for a deadlocked senior management team enabling them to beat a critical deadline and save $295,000.

Snack food company was threatened by a major decline in sales. Collaborated with the VP of Sales & Marketing to revitalize the brand by reworking the product, packaging and promotions. Sales increased from $38M to $55M.
Re-positioned brand of wine was able to command a 100% increase in the original price point. Pacific Crest was an integral part of the management team that maximized the competitive advantage of a Sonoma County wine. Differentiated the brand by creating an engaging and one of a kind story built around the rich architectural history of Healdsburg, California. Case sales increased by 41% in one year.

Leading provider of credit cards saved millions in potential identity theft losses. Recommended card holder photo be placed on the front of all cards.

Maximized the strategic planning of a non-profit arts center. Revenue from ticket sales, space rentals and sponsorship income increased by 17%. Created the framework for the marketing plan, wrote requisite messaging and guided the reorganization of their sales and marketing function, including interviews for a full time director of marketing. Their Executive Director acknowledged: “Pacific Crest brought the marketing capability and capacity we were lacking at a critical time for our organization.”

And three more, including an even greater level of detail, created by using our proprietary

Pacific Crest Marketing Success Story Template


Situation	Emery was teetering on insolvency and needed a new positioning with improved service offerings.
Process	Key player in re-positioning and voice of the customer initiative. Pacific Crest Marketing conducted over twenty five Customer Advisory Boards in the U.S. and around the world using proprietary tools and techniques to uncover rational and emotional components in the customers’ decision making process.
Results	Emery Worldwide re-positioned itself as the leading supply chain provider in heavy weight shipments developing new products and creating new divisions. There was a $120M turnaround in the first year alone. In just over one year the balance sheet was positive. Emery went on to record three of the most profitable years in company history.
The Upshot	Increased the company’s competitive advantage. Income from companies participating in Customer Advisory Boards run by Pacific Crest increased by 10%-15%. Customer Advisory Boards became a part of the Emery Worldwide corporate culture. The CEO said: “These sessions represent an indispensable contribution to a track record of phenomenal growth.”


Situation	The company needed to make a “go / no-go” decision on the proposed YAHOO/SBC joint venture, looking to determine the appeal of an alternative ISP that offered high speed Internet access and a content-rich environment. Part of our charter was to also evaluate the vulnerability of MSN and AOL to this venture.
Process	Pacific Crest Marketing designed and conducted two strategy studies which included 12 focus groups in select U.S. markets. Respondents included both high-speed and dial-up users, and some focus groups included current and former AOL customers. Inclination to migrate to the proposed YAHOO/SBC venture was a central focus, with potential new services, bundling issues, and price points also to be explored.
Results	Based on our findings, we presented to senior management the recommendation that they proceed with the joint venture of SBC DSL and YAHOO. Our studies confirmed that emotional connections to the YAHOO brand were very positive and very strong. AOL’s vulnerability was validated by uncovering subscriber’s anger and frustration. Other findings led to the conclusion that users are open to paying for premium services – in particular, entertainment services like Movies On Demand and DVD subscriptions – and guidance was obtained as to bundling such services (versus a la carte), as well as setting the price points for such services.
The Upshot	Recommended the “landmark alliance” of the Internet portal with one of the Baby Bells. YAHOO/SBC successfully launched this high visibility joint venture into the online space. DSL becomes a household term and 3.5 million subscribers are reported within two years.


Situation	The company was floundering with key branding, marketing, and product line decisions, and needed savvy stateside marketing expertise to help them launch and penetrate the U.S. market with their products. This same expertise would also be leveraged to help them raise Norwegian investment capital. Our early assessment was that they needed a new brand name and positioning for their vodka line (it carried the brand name ‘50 Below’, positioned as a premium vodka), new packaging, taste tests, evaluation of their Nordic pedigree, a breakthrough print campaign, plus strong bartender involvement.
Process	The first step we took with Nordic Beverage was to recommend and help them select a new advertising agency in the U.S., as well as set the stage for the needed market research. With the new agency in place (Clear Ink), we planned and implemented focus groups with consumers (vodka drinkers) and potential brand ambassadors (bartenders). Subsequently, we helped them demonstrate the viability of their product to existing and key potential investors through a series of presentations in Oslo.
Results	A superior brand name was created: Christiania. (This was the name of the Norwegian capital city prior to Oslo.) This supported a key point of differentiation: Christiania is the only vodka from Norway distributed in the States. This was deemed to be important, as Norway’s image as clean and icy cold proved to be perfect for vodka. The packaging built on these positive associations with a frosted glacial blue-green bottle which also set it apart from Grey Goose, Belvedere, Chopin and a long list of wannabes. And so, the product was re-positioned as “The World’s Smoothest Vodka”: an ultra premium vodka from Norway with a commanding price point and a beautiful, up-scale bottle. What’s more, the infinitely smoother formulation of the vodka itself garnered accolades from the discerning trade.
The Upshot	They got their funding! Christiania, the first and only brand of ultra-premium vodka from Norway, launched in over 12 states. According to the General Manager, PCM “was an indispensable player in our new product development.” Sales exceeded 50,000 cases in the first year rolling out to trend setting markets: San Francisco, Miami, Los Angeles, New York City and Las Vegas.