AHEAD of the one year anniversary of Rokbak’s rebrand, MD Paul Douglas has revealed the full story behind the move.
Despite being one of the biggest stories in the construction equipment sector in 2021, the team managed to successfully keep the rebranding from Terex Trucks under wraps until it was time to make the official announcement.
“I was amazed that it didn’t filter out, I kept thinking I’d see something on social media,” Paul said. “As the project progressed it pulled in more employees and more departments – there wasn’t a single function in the business that didn’t have to get involved.
“For instance, we had to try the new colour scheme out in the paintshop. We said it was a customer-specific colour – which is something we’ve done for our customers before. Then, before the launch, we had to take the RA30 and RA40 to a quarry to take photos for the marketing materials. It was incredible how everyone in our team, the dealers and our external partners worked together to ensure it remained confidential. It just goes to show what a fantastic team we have, everyone pulled together and did their bit.”
Rokbak explained that the pandemic and lockdowns helped to keep the news a secret, due to the lack of live events and the fact customers and journalists were unable to visit the Motherwell factory.
“We didn’t have to drop the Terex Trucks name but we had overrun on the initial agreement,” Paul added. “For the first few years changing our name wasn’t a high priority, as we focused on stabilising the business and investing in the product, manufacturing and our people. But after we’d made such significant performance improvements to our articulated haulers, it was a natural progression to rebrand – the Terex Trucks name was holding us back. Our customers and dealers also expected and supported a name change to reflect the new machines, so the rebrand was set in motion about four years ago.
“The Volvo Group is extremely brand aware. Originally we investigated whether there would be any mileage in resurrecting one of the group’s sleeping legacy brands, until the practicalities and legalities outweighed the benefits. This was the first time Volvo had created a new global brand from scratch, so they were heavily invested in its development and success. We got a lot of help and support from the Volvo Group and Volvo Construction Equipment in particular.
“On top of the significant investment they made in the Rokbak brand, we also benefited from shared resources and support when it came to things like design, branding, marketing and legal work – they really helped us bring the brand to life.”
With a small focus group comprising people from marketing, branding, commercial, sales, and dealer development backgrounds, the task of selecting a new name could begin.
“Some of our original shortlist names turned out to be similar to those used elsewhere, but the team came up with one that we all loved and was truly unique and impactful,” Paul revealed. “We were told by Legal that they had never seen anything as clean as it, and that we should grab it with both hands!”
The team consulted a handful of dealers across Asia, Europe, the Americas and Oceania to understand how different cultures would perceive the most ‘critical aspects’ of the new brand.
Paul added, “One piece of dealer feedback was that it was important to ensure our eight decades of hauling heritage was embedded in the new brand, which was essential for us too. One way we incorporated this is through a ‘Made in Britain’ element within our machine branding for certain markets.
“Of all the dealers we initially tested the Rokbak name and new colour on, the majority were immediately enthusiastic, leaving just a couple of individuals who needed to see a little bit more to be convinced. I wasn’t remotely surprised at how quickly they changed their minds at the launch. Two dealers in particular immediately flipped 180° – they were literally jumping for joy, and couldn’t wait to start promoting the new haulers. I’d never seen them as enthusiastic when they were selling the previous machines! They are now some of our biggest champions.”
Paul revealed he was ‘delighted’ at the external reaction when the Rokbak brand was finally revealed on September 1, 2021.
“The momentum built quickly, with customers and dealers alike eager to get their hands on Rokbak-branded products, whether that was haulers, work wear or coffee mugs,” he explained. “Seeing the news bouncing around social media was great too, perhaps the best feedback you can get.
“When people see the new Sand paintjob in real life they are blown away – it looks incredible on the iron. We’ve been out at a few trade shows and open days this year – including Hillhead, Balmoral Show and ScotPlant – and the feedback has been that our haulers were the best-looking pieces of equipment on site!”
The success of the rebranding project was also recognised when the company received five accolades at the Star Awards 2022 from the Marketing Society, as well as a CeeD Industry Award at the start of the year.
