Who: Con-way Inc. (formerly CNF Inc.)
Industry: Freight transportation / shipping services
Situation: $4.2 billion industry leader simplifies its name and branding, and needs to clearly communicate a new depth of services while assuring core business shippers that they remain highly-valued customers.
What: All customer-facing promotional material, including a new “master” literature piece, introducing the new company structure and outlining its services; the spiral bound 24-page brochure is a pivotal tool designed to demonstrate leadership while communicating an expanded value proposition.

Less-Than-Truckload Shipping Leader Unites All Services Under Their Best Known Name: Con-way
Con-way is a leading North American less-than-truckload (LTL) freight carrier shipping company. Their less-visible parent company CNF, however, encompassed a much wider swatch of the logistics / transportation services industry. Leveraging the well-known Con-way brand became a primary strategic objective.

In April 2006, the CNF name was dropped and all operating companies were united under the Con-way name, including truckload, expediting, and forwarding services, as well as the Menlo brand (supply chain management). The company had grown through an increasingly more sophisticated service offering geared to global manufacturers and their channel partners. However, more than 100,000 businesses that view Con-way’s highly-efficient LTL shipping as a competitive advantage remain the backbone of the Con-way customer base. It is therefore critical to relate effectively to customers at every level of supply chain planning and execution, including those representing the company’s traditional LTL freight business. It was decided that a premium 24-page printed piece would be the focal point for re-introducing the company. After an opening message from the new Con-way CEO, each spread describes a particular service offering and related customer benefits.

The spiral-bound brochure, on heavy paper stock, uses a recurring “Con-way is…” approach, with tabbed pages so that the reader can skip to the services that apply to their needs. Short “customer quotes” are used to provide context and establish the business case for each service area. High-impact visuals and a strong, contemporary design motif reinforce each service story. A new tag line “Business Advantage: Delivered” sums up the value proposition.

Smith-Winchester has been Con-way’s marketing communications partner since 1999, creating and producing advertising, point-of-service support materials, direct mail promotions, and other marketing initiatives for the company.

Joe DeLuca, Director, Marketing Services, commented: “We needed a piece that would convey the benefits of doing business with the new Con-way in a unique and powerful way. Reaction from both our field sales organization and the customers demonstrates that we met and surpassed that goal.”