In this work we used the power of innovative brand naming and story to make an unknown challenger brand instantly recognisable in highly contested but rather dull adhesive category.

Challenger marketing tactics were utilized across the whole brand, design and the marketing activities.

Brand name had a promise that manifested itself in all our touchpoints. Design was unique and helped the consumer to select the right product. Marketing activities shunned away from traditional channels, but instead made use of artists and influencers to maximize fame for the brand.

We needed to launch a new brand in a highly contested adhesive category. We had a superior product from technology stand point, but how to differentiate it in rather dull and price-driven category was the key challenge.

The brief was to be as bold and innovative as possible. We could not outspend the competition with media money, so we needed to outsmart them. As a mandate, nothing was sacred and we had the opportunity to challenge every category convention.

The business goal was to get product to the shelves in the major hardware stores and open the discussions of international expansion. The brand goal was to create wider brand awareness and fame for the new brand beyond just category buyers. Through the strong branding we would be also able to keep our more premium price point.

We were launching a new adhesive and sealant brand. The category is highly contested, but many brands do not have a real differentiation on the market as they are mostly price driven.

Category has been lacking in product efficacy, but also it has lacked any interesting marketing activities. Boring is the category norm. There are no proper brands in this category, just product names.

Products are confusing for consumers and quite often they end up choosing wrong product. This is due to inadequate design and many brands are not helping consumers to select the right product for the right need.

After years of r&d, Rakennuskemia had created innovative products that were the best in the market. Technologic superiority is not enough, we needed to find an edge on how we communicate that superiority to the audience.We needed to totally rethink what branding, design & bravery means in category.

The core challenge we were solving was awareness. How do you launch a completely new brand to the category and make it credible? Especially if you do not have unlimited budgets. Visibility on the product shelf is reserved for known brands, but how you can get the level of familiarity if you are completely new brand?

The first breakthrough was naming. What if we could have a term that everyone knows as the name of the brand? We figured out that we could register name and trademark “WTF” in adhesives category.

We just created a new meaning to fit the category: “World´s Toughest Fix”.

New brand name was tested with consumers and it immediately had similar levels of brand favorability as BMW or Coca-Cola. The new brand did not leave anyone cold and got instant feedback. It worked in the category but also had broader appeal for fame.

WTF-mentality needed to come across in all the marketing activities:

1) Design & TOV

Many of category colors are quite bland and neutral. We used black as our base color and spiced it up with strong visible colors. The product naming was also built on the premise on being “World´s Toughest” and products were called Extreme Tack, Offensive Flex, True Grab etc.

2) Strong visibility on POS and professionals.

The POS was the cornerstone of our visibility. We also handed out the product to key influencers in construction scene. Our adhesives were tested in various extreme conditions to prove that they are truly “World´s Toughest”.

3) Brand activities aimed to build fame.

We want against creative activities that drove fame and buzz. We collaborated with Finnish party rap duo “Pasi ja Anssi” to create anthem celebrating the construction site culture. Our social media posts were full of witty puns.

WTF was stocked in all the major hardware stores in Finland, with prominent in-store visibility. It became the most popular adhesive brand, despite a higher price point than our competitors.

Although international expansion was on a further roadmap, we were able to secure a distribution agreement with Lowe's hardware chain in the USA (no.2 in the world). This was the result of us winning a global product competition among more than 7000 companies.

Discussions are also opened with seven biggest hardware stores in the world, way ahead of our planned schedule because of the strong branding.

Our music video and influencer collaborations amassed way over 3M listens, whilst overall campaign got over 5M reach (reaching nearly everyone in Finland). The song also received a gold album because it got over 2M streams in Spotify. It was also played on radio and is staple in karaoke joints in Finland.

Before WTF, all the brands were really product and function driven. They were boring and forgettable. Whilst we did not skimp on effectivity, we built the brand around lifestyle and distinctive design.

The name “WTF-World´s Toughest Fix” was our brand promise and all the activities were designed to strengthen that promise in all the touchpoints. The adhesive category has not really seen a brand like this. WTF flipped the script for the category and that resulted in high interest.

We utilized popular culture and influencers in our communications. Packaging and design was completely different from the competition. And most importantly we did this with confident humor and unique tone-of-voice. Every brand activity we did was aimed to build fame, because strong brands are known also outside the category buyers.

WTF was the first adhesive brand to truly become part of popular culture. It was not only sold, it was shared.