CAREER CHANGE

In 2003, NVCS Cast Stone Systems was a regional maker of one–of–a–kind custom products. NVCS’s best opportunity for a more profitable catalog line lay with fireplace surrounds, since they’d already made enough molds for custom products. Others offered similar products, but none looked like industry leaders.

What we did:

We named the line and gave it a logo that might have been carved in stone in Venice. Some competitors had higher ad budgets, but their ads weren’t at a taste level worthy of the product category: the literacy and photographic standards of high–end shelter magazines. We started with a top photographer and a top stylist and stepped out like the leader of the pack.

Where they are now:

After six months, sales were up 64% over the previous year. NVCS moved to a new plant down the road with double the manufacturing capacity.