Kalevala
Accelerating growth through brand renewal
The rebirth of an iconic jewelry brand
Kalevala is an iconic Finnish jewelry brand with an ambitious growth strategy. At the starting point of our journey together, the state of the business and competitive landscape were challenging. The business was affected by the changes in people’s buying behavior (e.g. growing role of digital channels as well as new competitors, like services as presents, coming into play). Furthermore, Kalevala Koru as a company had two iconic brands Kalevala and Lapponia in their brand portfolio and the investments that the two brands needed were high. The aim was to win the hearts and minds of current and new customers by lifting the brand image and preference and thus, grow sales and build a strong future for the business.
First things first: brand strategy
Kalevala is not just jewelry and fashion. It has a much, much deeper meaning. Something that makes it special and sets it apart from the competition. Kalevala is a message. A statement. A sign of strength. Kalevala is about empowering women and girls, insightful design and celebration of Finnish sustainable craftmanship. It has been like that from day one, and by now for over 80 long years. It just needed to be rediscovered.
Rebuilding brand portfolio
All for Kalevala – Kalevala for all. We helped to create one redefined and solid Kalevala brand that includes three jewelry collections based on the design and heritage: Kalevala Original, Kalevala Modern and Art by Kalevala. These help consumers to see the diversity of the portfolio and find just the one that is for me. Clear, focused and effective.
”The brand strategy, that was defined together with Marketing Clinic team, has created a strong basis for all our marketing activities. We now have a clear direction and target state.”
– Maria Uunila, Brand and design director, Kalevala Koru
Supporting sales and brand building through digital marketing
The new Kalevala brand was launched in September 2020. We supported the nationwide brand launch by planning a multi-channel media plan for the marketing campaign. In addition, and also prior to this, we have been working closely with the Kalevala team on ongoing basis to drive sales and build the brand based on the yearly plan that we have defined together – and optimizing the channels and communication as we go. Our key focus is in digital channels and driving sales especially to Kalevala’s own eCommerce channel.
The results
The brand is a strategic asset for Kalevala. An important brand KPI for Kalevala is the brand preference, which increased by 29% in total, and especially within new younger target groups that have been in Kalevala’s focus. Also, the spontaneous awareness increased by 41% within same timeframe (spring 2020 vs. 2021). Overall Kalevala has a strong position in the market with clear steps on developing the brand and sales further in this changing business environment.
“Without the support from Marketing Clinic team, we wouldn’t have had the courage to do these big strategic decisions.”
– Kirsi Paakkari, Managing director, Kalevala Koru