Building a master brand: the Tork story

Hugh O’Brian

The name Tork is derived from the Swedish verb ‘torka’ which means to wipe. The brand Tork originated in Sweden in 1968, when the former SCA-owned organization Mölnlycke introduced A-Tork. The original A-Tork product from 1968 was a large diameter roll of tissue wipers on a metal stand, like you might see in an automobile workshop. In 1970 the smaller and more consumer friendly M-Tork center feed rolls were introduced. During the years 1970 to the 1990s a wide variety of products were launched with the Tork name. SCA bought Mölnlycke including the brand Tork in 1975, at the start of its relentless move into the tissue sector which has taken it to the world’s number four position.

PJL: WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THE TORK BRAND?

BN: SCA has made a corporate decision to build a leading global AFH tissue brand, namely Tork. To start this process we needed to simplify the complex and inconsistent naming system. The previous Tork range was a legacy from our organic growth and acquisitions in various markets over more than a decade. Therefore we have over the last couple of years created a new Brand Platform for Tork including a new global assortment structure which simplifies the Tork assortment and makes it easier for everyone to understand.

PJL: WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE OLD BRAND PLATFORM?

BN: There was nothing wrong with it, but it was difficult to understand - it took you, as a customer, too long to find an appropriate product covering your needs. We wanted to streamline our offering to support our aim to build the global Tork brand. SCA has made many acquisitions over the past 10 years which have added new brands to our AFH assortment. This includes companies such as PWA in Europe, Georgia-Pacific’s AFH line in the USA and Carter Holt Harvey in Australasia.

In 1996, for example, when we merged with PWA we got four new AFH brands: Apura, Hotel Exclusive, MAP and Amandi. So with SCA having two AFH brands, Tork and Edet, and PWA adding four more, we simply had too many disperse brands to support and invest in. They were essentially competing for resources and attention. Eventually the decision was made to prioritize Tork as our leading European AFH brand.

Of course it didn’t really go that fast. It is quite a long, and delicate, process to decide to prioritize one brand and dispose others. What is important is a clear strategic direction and top management commitment. However, before we could build the brand we needed to get a lot of other issues cleared up. So during the late 1990s SCA’s focus was to secure a successful merger of Mölnlycke Tissue and PWA. This is important in order to create a common culture as well as mutual understanding.

Once we were happy with the structure of the company we have focused more on building the brand, which is what we have been doing over recent years. This process is quite similar from one merger and/or acquisition to another. We also experience that alignment around a common brand is becoming an important contributor to the speed and success of the integrations.

PJL: WHAT HAS THE TIMING BEEN FOR THESE RECENT BRANDING EFFORTS?

BN: You could roughly say that during 2001-2002 we defined the brand and during 2003-2004 we worked to broaden the brand platform to make it more global. In the brand-defining phase we concentrated on exploring our core values and defining them. From this we could develop a brand Essence, Position and Platform. It was a huge project but one that we needed to go through, involving lots of people and functions. We wanted everyone to understand the point of view of the others. After going through this thorough exercise, we got on with it.

This project marked the first time that this ‘brand identity’ study had been carried out for Tork in a very structured way. Previously it had been more informal and on an ad hoc basis. But with the company growing rapidly, we knew we needed to do it.

We looked at our positioning in the market and how we are different from the competition. Our main focus, we concluded, should be on customers. From this work we defined our Brand Position as being “Close to Customer”: Tork is actively listening to its customers and unique in understanding their needs and translating them into products and services that provide clear customer benefits. And we further distilled this position down to one word that best describes the essence of the Tork brand: Attentive.

For the communications side we came out with a Tork brand book and a visual identity manual which of course helps ensure that everyone understand this position and communicate consistently.

PJL: HOW DOES SCA NORTH AMERICA FIT INTO THE PICTURE? DON’T THEY HAVE THEIR OWN BRANDS?

BN: North America is of course a key part of SCA’s Tissue strategy. We acquired the GP North American operations in 2001 and the GP business was, in turn, composed of the former Chesapeake and Wisconsin Tissue assets. Through this we got several North American AFH brands including Park Avenue, Coronet and Main Street in addition to the existing Tork business we had at that time.

After the initial work we did in 2001-2002 to define the brand, we spent much of 2003-2004 working to broaden the scope of the existing Tork brand platform to make it more global. In January 2003 we joined forces with SCA North America on a project to define the global opportunities of one single brand strategy. I was the project leader with the project team consisting of representatives from both Europe and North America, reporting into a steering group of senior SCA executives. Interbrand, a strategic marketing agency, was used as facilitator in the process.

These efforts were concentrated on creating a global brand structure with global design and guidelines. This part of the project included several rounds of internal and external interviews with distributors, end customers and Facility Service Companies on both sides of the Atlantic. The global brand structure was defined and visualized around a common set of pack guidelines in the beginning of 2004 and during February to December 2004 we focused on transferring all existing European Tork packs from old to new layout and design. This was a demanding job involving the Away From Home category, the Supply Chain organization and the European Marketing & Sales organization. The European launch to customers took place in January 2005.

PJL: IT SEEMS LIKE IT IS TAKING A LONG TIME TO GET EVERYTHING IN PLACE. WHY?

BN: Quite honestly, this is a very sensitive process both externally and internally. We wanted to ensure customer focus as being the most critical part of the process. We did not want to lose credibility or customers through the effort. You have to be very careful when you make changes to brands and must work at the speed dictated by the market. We have chosen to make the change in Europe first so we can then, after working out the teething problems, transfer the knowledge and experiences to North America and Australasia. Since Tork is well established in Europe it made more sense to do the pioneering here.

In North America, the names Park Avenue, Coronet and Main Street have long term relations with customers which we have to respect. The same is valid for the brands Hygenex and Deeko in Australia/New Zealand. In both markets we have Tork customers which we want to involve in these processes. Our customers decide how fast the transitions will be. So we listened very closely to customers, which is the Tork way of doing things. Attentive. Close to Customer. By doing so, we have gained commitment to the Tork platform, which is very important to have before starting implementation activities. There was a lot of internal hesitation as well, which I think is natural. But we were able to show lots of research that confirmed the value of the strategy of a global Tork brand. We will have to invest in training to make sure everyone is on board understanding the essentials of Tork. That’s what a brand is all about: Everyone carrying the same message so the customer recognizes the same set of values independent of location.

PJL: WHAT ROLE DOES THE SCA CORPORATE IMAGE PLAY AND HOW FAR UP IN SENIOR MANAGEMENT DOES THE COMMITMENT TO THE NEW TORK BRAND GO?

BN: The commitment goes to the very top, starting with the CEO Jan Åström and Senior Vice President Thomas Wulkan who have been extremely supportive and clearly see the value of a strong global brand. Overall, we feel that we have very good support from SCA headquarters in backing our strategy.

The SCA Corporate image is also very important.

We are definitely trying to tell the combined SCA and Tork story. Who is SCA is and who is Tork? We think it is a very good story and the strength in both names complement and reinforce each other. Tork is quality products, solutions, dispensers, services, AFH employees. SCA is the strong mother company, financially solid, leader, endorser, environmentally responsible.

We go hand-in-hand to customers.

PJL: WHAT IS THE BRAND ARCHITECTURE THAT CAME OUT OF THE EFFORT?

BN: It is rather simple, based on a good, better, best architecture: our Tork refills are named Tork Premium - Best refills, Tork Advanced - Better refills, Tork Universal - Good refills.

Tork dispensers are named as such, e.g. Tork Dispenser Hand Towel Roll.

Tork is always the Master Brand. The refills are followed by one of the sub brands and then a straightforward and simple product descriptor, like e.g. Tork Premium Hand Towel Roll, Extra Soft. This makes the assortment easy to understand, easy to sell and easy to buy. In addition, in our communication material we are making clear recommendations what systems (Tork dispenser + Tork refill) to use, making the choice easy for the customers. This is also the slogan of the launch campaign: “Tork – The Choice is Easy!”

We have decided not to change article numbers or EAN codes, as customer research told us to keep them as they were. This makes the whole transition much easier for our Tork customers, as they don’t have to make significant adjustments to their software systems.

In January 2005 we carried out the Pan European brand roll out, meaning the physical launch of the new product architecture.

As far as North America and Australasia, the timing is an open question – they will launch at a later stage.

PJL: IF YOU LOOK ON THE CONSUMER SIDE, BRANDS ARE IN TROUBLE. OF COURSE THE AFH MARKET IS DIFFERENT FROM CONSUMER BUT WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVATION FOR SPENDING SO MUCH TIME AND EFFORT ON THE TORK BRAND?

BN: It is not totally true that brands are in trouble. Strong brands are increasingly reinforcing their positions in several markets.

It is true that retailer brands are increasing in importance in Europe, however A-brands are still very strong globally. As for SCA our consumer brands are continuously increasing their shares.

The ‘business-to-business’ marketing is quite different from traditional consumer marketing as there are many additional factors that come into the buying equation. The needs of our customers will always be our main focus. As there is a substantial need for knowledge about end customer demands and Tork provides that knowledge, we are quite certain that we can add value to our strategic partners. It is the Tork attitude to create win-win situations with our partners, and as long as our partners are receiving benefits increasing their value by cooperating with Tork we are confident that this investment is worthwhile. We are focusing on factors that help us differentiate ourselves from our competitors. Of course everyone is looking at price and delivery but what makes us stand out is the knowledge and expertise we are providing. We are looking at ways to strengthen both our position as well as our partners’ positions by offering attractive products, close-to-customer services and unique and innovative systems.

PJL: I AM ALWAYS PUZZLED BY THE FACT THAT THE BRAND NAME IS ALMOST NEVER ON THE PRODUCT. IT IS ON THE PACKAGE, ON THE DISPENSER, BUT NOT PRINTED OR EMBOSSED ON THE PRODUCT. WHY DON’T YOU PUT THE BRAND NAME ON THE PRODUCT?

BN: There is not so much end user focus in the AFH business as it is in the consumer market. But I think that may change and the focus on end user needs will strengthen in the future for AFH. This is an area where Tork would like to be in the forefront.

PJL: WHAT IS THE FUTURE FOR TORK?

BN: First of all, we want to make sure that the transition to the new naming structure is as smooth as possible. We don’t want to lose customer credibility because of it. Then of course we want to grow our business to firmly establish Tork as the leading European brand and also make it the leading global AFH tissue brand. A key to this is to continue to increase brand awareness.

Our research shows that we are very good at retaining customers. So our biggest challenge is in getting customers to try us.

Thus we are working a lot on brand awareness programs. As part of this we are running big campaigns for targeted end customers within the area of Washroom, HoReCa and Industrial.

That’s where we are now. We have built the bridge through this new Brand Platform and cleaning up of the assortment: now we have to generate the traffic. •

Björn Nordvik, 37 years old, is Category Marketing Director at SCA’s Away From Home group, based in Gothenburg, Sweden.

He is responsible for Strategic Marketing, with his major task in recent years being the globalization of the Tork brand.

He joined SCA’s Incontinence Division in 1994 in Norway, where he worked for six years in various positions. In 1999 he relocated to Prague as responsible for the SCA Czech and Slovak incontinence operations. In 2002 Björn moved to Sweden where he has since been working as Category Marketing Director in the AFH division of SCA.