They said they wanted to be "the Neiman-Marcus of hardware stores, and they wanted The Hively Agency to create that image for them.
Starting in 1940, Bering's had become an institution the Houston retail market. Customers would drive as far as 60 miles just to shop in their store. Their employees had been with the company five, 10, 15 years, and they were noted as some of the best-informed sales people anywhere. In 1989, they opened their second store. Fearing cannibalization of the original store, they asked us to develop a print campaign that not only introduced the new location, but enhanced their overall image. Upon seeing a single outdoor board, customers wrote the owners applauding the new campaign.
The results: the original store enjoyed its best Christmas season ever with an increase in sales of 10%, while the new store exceeded sales goals by 33%.
