Positioning for a new center for the manufacturing industry

There is an increasing shortage of skilled personnel in practical professions, including the manufacturing industry. How do you ensure that there are sufficient sustainable professionals in the manufacturing industry? By allowing students to gain experience during their training that matches the work of employers, so that they are truly skilled when they graduate.

This requires cooperation between education and the business community. And that's exactly what ROC Central Netherlands (ROCMN) and Training company Metaal Midden Nederland (OBM) do.

An inspiring positioning, a new name and visual identity

It is November 2019. ROCMN and OBM approach Branddoctors for a unique project. Together they want to launch a new practical training center on the market from September 2020. A public private partnership. With the common goal of ensuring that there are sufficient sustainable professionals in the manufacturing industry.

Branddoctors was asked an inspiring one positioning with accompanying visual identity and a new name for this practice center. Based on the strengths of both partners, which is guiding both for the organization (the new practice center, OBM, ROCMN) and for its target groups (including students, companies).​

Branddoctors was asked to develop an inspiring positioning with accompanying visual identity and a new name for this practice center.

We work closely with Marcel Veening, project leader, Hans van Zelderen OBM marketing manager and of the new practice center, and Margot Bon, senior communications advisor at ROCMN. How did they experience the process with Branddoctors? And how do they look at the result?

Two parties that really become one

Hans: “Several project groups had already been started. But in order to bring more coherence and speed into the project and to facilitate decision-making, central management and a clear dot on the horizon were needed. We are going to gain clarity about that. Otherwise we would have stayed in the old situation. ”

“We put all brands together to create unity. To create support from a solid foundation. ”

Margot: By pushing the brands ROCMN and OBM to the background, we create the opportunity to give a new face to education in the manufacturing industry. And to address all target groups with a new name. A different look with matching brand values, so that people feel and experience it as new. The dream is that we really become one. That we are building a beautiful center together with flashy facilities and innovative education. ”

Result: The MAKE Center!

The MAKE Center: The inspiring place for a future in the manufacturing industry, where you learn, design and create.​

Here, education and business work together intensively, they work with modern equipment in an environment where technology comes to life, students receive a work and internship guarantee, extensive attention is paid to the match between student and company and lecturers have extensive and up-to-date knowledge. of practice and didactics.

For the time being, MAKE's focus within the manufacturing industry is on metal and mechanical engineering. The first training courses have already started. And on September 17, the first pile for the new building went into the ground.

Hans: “Visibility started with the announcement of the name and logo. MAKE Center soon started to live, it's a catchy name. We had nothing yet, no property, work name, no resources. When MAKE Center was mentioned in a number of news items and financing was offered, things went quickly. ”

Margot: “The business community invests in state of the art facilities and machines, which is not always easy in regular education. The collaboration and the MAKE Center brand certainly contribute to this. ”

Marcel: “The business world is very visible here. That is really unique. An initiative often stops when the subsidy ends, but this is a long-term, sustainable collaboration. I think it's an example for other public-private partnerships in the Netherlands. ”

Biggest challenges in the process:
Bringing two worlds together and maintaining speed

Hans: “Bringing two separate cultures together is difficult. A piece of pride must arise. You always run into something, but what matters is how you solve it. As long as your long-term goal (also referred to as the dot on the horizon above) is clear. The process was already the first step towards merging those two cultures. ”

“Those conversations with the outside world were especially important. Internal stakeholders have different opinions. You cannot solve that if you keep an internal perspective. ”

Marcel: “The biggest challenge in the project was speed. We were able to speed up with Branddoctors. Especially those conversations with the outside world were important. Internal stakeholders have different opinions. You cannot resolve that if you keep an internal perspective. We looked for strange eyes.

It helps if you have a solid piece that involves stakeholders. That is important for support. Because a positioning, logo and name make the center concrete and visible. This helps to get the internal organization going. ”

The creative process was worth its weight in gold

Margaret: “I would certainly recommend Branddoctors for a project on positioning. It is a considerable investment, but it is worth it. The expertise, the independence. A connecting factor with expertise. We really needed that in this dual culture trajectory and you did it well.

We really involved everyone during the process. First through the interviews with stakeholders and then in the namestorm session, the workshop in which we brainstormed about the name. A creative and interactive session, completely digital because of the corona time. That is worth a compliment. ”

“Branddoctors is a connecting factor with expert knowledge. We really needed that in this process with two cultures. ”

Hans: “Yes, those workshops are really a very good way to involve everyone and create involvement. Everyone must believe in it. To see the added value of this. People make the difference. This is an absolute precondition for success ”.

Marcel: “The creative process was worth its weight in gold. Your models (insight, promise, proof, the fire cube) are very helpful. The thorough feedback after every step as well. This was certainly a topic on the agenda of the steering committee agenda that could always count on enthusiasm. ”

Next steps: Support and involvement

Marcel: “It is especially important to create support and involvement. That is why it is important that something is really done with the results of the workshops. It will be exciting how everyone is doing. ”

Hans: “We are thinking carefully about how we implement the MAKE Center feeling in the new organization via the internal communication strategy. Next week, the first of four workshops with the employees will start to make the translation of the brand values ​​and the positioning together. An open conversation, how do they see it for themselves? What do these brand values ​​mean to them, and what is expected of the employees?

In this way MAKE Center acts as one organization, based on the same brand values. ”

Interview with fltr: Hans van Zelderen marketing manager OBM and of the MAKE Center, Margot Bono, senior communications advisor of ROCMN and Marcel Veening, MAKE Center project manager