Cavallo

A rebrand as a mid-market distribution software company, increase brand awareness, and announce a new product suite exclusive to the mid-market distribution industry.

Technology provider built by distributors to exclusively serve mid-market distributors with a suite of on-premises and cloud-based software solutions.

The Story

Founded in 2003 as SalesPad, Cavallo is the only technology provider built by distributors to exclusively serve mid-market distributors with a suite of on-premises and cloud-based software solutions. Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Cavallo delivers technology and services that help mid-market distributors gain unprecedented insight into their distribution operations, optimize and accelerate the customer-to-cash lifecycle, improve customer relationships and enhance profitability. Its mission is to help every distributor on the planet harness the power of a solution tailored to their precise processing and operational needs, engineered to surface critical data to guide strategy and company growth, no matter where they are in their digital transformation. In 2021, Cavallo hired Red Fan Communications to accomplish the following:

Challenge

Company rebrand: Establish the Cavallo brand, formally SalesPad, as the mid-market distribution software company and increase brand awareness

Product launch: Announce Cavallo’s new product suite exclusive to the mid-market distribution industry

Achieving these goals meant targeting a range of audiences:

Distribution and supply chain industry professionals
Target multiple industries that require a distribution sales channels, including medical, consumer goods, agriculture, food and beverage, and more
National, regional, industry trade and local media

Solution

To initiate our efforts, Red Fan researched and aggregated data, including market landscaping and media share of voice against its competitors, and provided in-depth messaging to support both the brand launch and product launch.

Insights indicated the distribution software industry landscape presented an opportunity for Cavallo to specifically own the mid-market distribution sector through its new branding.

Results also indicated that Cavallo’s new product launch was among the first of its kind in the supply chain market, informing additional opportunities to position both brand and product among pioneers in the industry for mid-market distributors.

Red Fan prides itself in building foundational messaging for our clients and establishing narratives that resonate with specific audiences. After a thorough evaluation of the SalesPad brand, its executive positioning, product write-ups and more, Red Fan conducted a complete reconstruction of the company’s brand messaging, which ultimately informed a strategic media relations campaign to announce both the rebrand and new product launch that targeted local, regional, technology trade, distribution trade and national media. Leveraging newly crafted press kit materials, executive positioning for the brand’s C-suite and an interview offering with the Cavallo CEO, Red Fan conducted an initial embargoed outreach effort to secure top-tier media coverage in line with the official launch. Upon launch, Red Fan conducted wider media relations outreach to an expanded list of targeted publications. As a result, the rebrand and specific product launch was the company’s biggest news to date and agreed the embargoed method followed by larger outreach would allow for momentum to grow and sooner reach identified KPIs.

In addition to the media relations-specific outreach, Red Fan facilitated an executive positioning and media training session for the Cavallo CEO and chief product officer. In this session, Red Fan provided a messaging diagram specific to the executives’ POV, pre- and post-launch interview prep materials, a Q&A, interview best practices and more. Red Fan always seeks to ensure our clients are confident, comfortable and 100% familiar with how to speak about their brand prior to every campaign. As such, this session sought to do exactly that for the rebrand and product launch.

Results

On June 28, 2021, SalesPad, the only distribution technology provider delivering comprehensive on-premises and cloud solutions for mid-market distributors, became Cavallo. The Cavallo launch reflects the company’s growth and intention to drive efficiency in every stage of the distribution process. Built on the 18 years of success of SalesPad, the company will continue to develop tailored solutions for distributors to accelerate operations and enhance profitability.

As a result of Red Fan’s media relations and rebranding campaign, the Cavallo announcement received 2,681 views and 77 link clicks, including syndicated pick-up within the 24 hours of launch. In addition, Red Fan earned top-tier placements in the media outlets that mattered most to Cavallo, including Grand Rapids Business, Microsoft Dynamics World, Modern Distribution Management, Industrial Distribution and more.

Following the success of the rebrand and product launch, Cavallo continued their engagement with Red Fan Communications to oversee all activities related to media relations, executive positioning, thought leadership and analyst relations. In total, Red Fan’s efforts over a six-month period garnered 84 total mentions, 15% of share of voice (SoV) related to ALL distribution software media coverage and 197 million aggregate readership impressions.