Midwest BioResearch

Marketing Challenge:

Midwest BioResearch (MBR) is a contract research organization focused on toxicology. The organization was founded by scientists, managers and directors from major pharmaceutical companies to provide personal and focused expertise based on deep experience. The contract research market is extremely fragmented and highly competitive. The need for strong differentiation and consistent communication is paramount to establish credibility and obtain clients.

Our Approach

MBR’s greatest strength is its team, which has contributed to one of the healthiest drug pipelines in the industry. When drug developers outsource studies, they essentially want to have the right people on their bench. To help communicate the experience of the MBR team, we used a red bench as the icon for the organization. Like in any sports team, the bench refers to a group of players that can be interchanged at any time. In addition, the bench refers to the lab bench.

We delivered a messaging platform based on the strength of MBR’s team, its experience and the value of their bench. The company’s tagline became “Midwest BioResearch is on your bench.” Using the red bench as a focal point, we redesigned all the sales collateral, print advertisements, direct mailers and website. In addition, we developed an actual red bench to be used at trade shows.

Results

The red bench has literally been a showstopper for MBR. The new creative is a major departure from the traditional approach in marketing to scientists. In addition to the trade show booth, all MBR materials have contributed to create a true point of differentiation, while at the same time reinforcing the company’s main strength: its team. The staff not only embraced this message, but also found ways to push the bench message in daily communication. Since the launch of the bench campaign, the company doubled its revenues, expanded its facilities and grew its staff by 35 percent. MBR was recently acquired by WIL Research Laboratories.