Branding

Rockford Systems: A Brand Comeback Story

🤔 BACKGROUND
When Rockford Systems—a trusted name in industrial safety—was acquired by a venture capital firm, the transition was anything but smooth. After decades of family ownership, the brand had faded into the background. Competitors were louder, customers were confused, and the market whispered a damaging rumor: “Rockford Systems? Didn’t they go out of business?”



🥅 OBJECTIVES
The company’s identity was fractured. Its website looked dated, its messaging lacked confidence, and its digital presence was nearly invisible. Worse, the perception problem was costing us trust—and revenue. My mission was clear: revive the brand, restore credibility, and reignite growth.



💡 STRATEGY
· Bold new identity with vibrant visuals and confident messaging. We introduced a striking new visual identity—bright, assertive colors paired with copy that spoke with authority. Safety wasn’t passive; it was powerful. And Rockford Systems was back to prove it.
· Two new WordPress sites launched with streamlined navigation and optimized product pages.
· WooCommerce enhancements made buying frictionless, while Amazon listings were reimagined for clarity and conversion.
· Behind the scenes, we implemented Salesforce CRM, trained the sales team, and created dashboards that finally gave leadership visibility into the pipeline.
· To amplify the message, we invested $500K in paid advertising, optimized SEO with Yoast, and ran multi-channel campaigns that put Rockford Systems back in front of the right audience.

🏆 RESULTS
Within a year, the numbers told the story:

· Brand Awareness: Unaided awareness climbed 5%, aided awareness soared 27%.
· Demand Generation: Over 15,000 qualified leads flowed into the pipeline.
· E-Commerce Growth: WooCommerce sales jumped 30%, Amazon sales doubled (+100%).
Rockford Systems wasn’t just back—it was stronger than ever. Through bold creative, digital transformation, and data-driven marketing, Rockford Systems went from near invisibility to renewed market strength—proving that even legacy brands can make a powerful comeback, with the right marketing approach.

👩MY ROLE
As the Vice President of Marketing, my role was to lead this effort. I worked with a large cross-functional team of all the company leaders and VC partners to scope the project. I created a SurveyMonkey questionnaire and conducted primary quantitative research to measure brand recall, attribute ratings and competitor scores. I also conducted primary qualitative research at two industry trade shows with both customers and non-customers to evaluate their perceptions of Rockford Systems. From this research, I conducted a SWOT analysis, created a value proposition and messaging framework. I hired a public relations firm and an advertising agency to create a brand look and feel using visual storytelling and oversaw a massive media outreach. I also overhauled the website, conducting an agency RFP and selecting using American Eagle. I served as the project manager to develop and integrate all the marketing elements into an integrated rebranding campaign. Each year I conducted the same research to measure our changes over time.