CHALLENGE
Aiwa was the #1 brand in Mini Systems, the #2 brand overall in consumer audio and the fastest growing brand in all of the key segments.  However, AIWA’s potential was limited due to a lack of top-of-mind awareness, ranking #7 in unaided awareness among the prime target audience.  Without the legitimacy of a strong brand image, AIWA was forced to compete primarily on price.  GVP recommended a shift in advertising direction from product support to a focus on building recognition of AIWA and enhancing the AIWA brand image.

SOLUTION
GVP brought a critical insight to the Aiwa brand challenge.  The one simple thing that consumers looked for in audio equipment is GREAT SOUND and no other brand was claiming that position.

GVP created and introduced a branding campaign with the objective of building awareness for the AIWA brand and establishing a brand image as “The Leader in Sound”.  The campaign used the tagline, AIWA SOUND.  “You Gotta Hear This” and was designed to convince prospects that – whatever the audio product – AIWA represented the highest quality sound performance they can get.

RESULTS
The AIWA SOUND campaign produced results immediately.  In the first year of the program, awareness among the target audience increased by 44%.  And, although AIWA Share of Voice over the first 3 years remained flat and never exceeded 5% of the Consumer Audio category, awareness doubled.