MOUNTZ
Revitalized brand leads to a successful acquisition
Mountz makes some of the most advanced torque products on the market, yet its brand felt dated, which affected perceptions, and growth leveled out. That’s when the executive team at Mountz asked Kyle Krajewski, our Director of Brand Growth, to get involved. Kyle delivered an impressive rebrand, GTM strategy and a new ecommerce site – positioning Mountz as one of the most innovative companies in their industry. Customers took notice, sales improved, and in 2023 Mountz proudly became part of Snap-on Tools, an industry giant with a market cap of $17.92 billion – and got to retain its own brand!
from insights to a fully executed GTM strategy
The Mountz rebrand started with a research exercise that uncovered valuable customer insights. In turn, these insights informed the strategy behind the new brand positioning, the design of the refreshed brand identity, and the development of a comprehensive go-to-market (GTM) plan that helped the company significantly increase its revenue numbers. In fairness, a great deal of the credit must be given to the entire Mountz executive team. As a cohesive leadership group, they invested time, energy and resources to make sure the rebrand would be more than a cosmetic exercise. Instead, they championed the rebrand as an opportunity to strive for internal alignment, product innovation and a renewed commitment to customer success.
identifying the winnable addressable market
Prior to the rebrand, Mountz growth had leveled-out, and we wanted to understand why – so we could find a way forward. That’s when our friend and Strategic Partner, Edgar Baum, was invited to help. Edgar’s company, Avasta, operates at the intersection of customer insights, management consulting, and data analytics – providing companies with a clear, actionable pathway to achieve their business objectives. Edgar and his team conducted an in-depth evaluation of Mountz’s customers and purchase behaviors, and identified the Winnable Addressable Market (WAM). WAM is
The study unearthed that Mountz’s core customer base consists of the craftsmen who use the products directly, as opposed to a purchasing agent or a procurement department. This meant that their reputation was on the line, and they had clear expectations about what is a truly innovative and highly reliable precision product. We also discovered that working with a company that delivers on its commitment to quality, safety and service was extremely important to this segment, and a key purchase decision driver.
These insights enabled the team to craft a Brand Positioning that would be sustainable, differentiated and relevant. The insights also informed the team to develop a GTM strategy designed to create traction with Mountz’s core customer segments.
a strategic combination of heritage and vision
Today, Mountz makes high-precision torque and calibration devices for mission critical industries. But that is actually not new. The research, uncovered that innovation was part of Mountz’s DNA from the very start. In fact, back in the 70’s they built the first electronic torque calibration device for Lockheed, a company building advanced products for the aerospace and defense sectors. Companies like Lockheed created demand for sophisticated electronic products and technologies, and this accelerated the growth of what today we call “Silicon Valley”. And Mountz was at the epicenter of all this breakthrough innovation from its beginning.
As Kyle recalls, “When crafting Mountz’s new Brand Positioning, we leaned into the company’s Silicon Valley legacy. This led us to the “Engineered in Silicon Valley” positioning line. Yet, not wanting to rely solely on the past, we also emphasized the company’s vision for the future and its drive to move the industry forward. Mountz’s commitment comes to life through a brand culture that focuses on “what’s next” and values innovation, superior engineering, world-class service and exceptional reliability.
a fresh and energetic new logo
The Mountz logo was widely recognized within the industry – and that was good. However, it felt dated and flat – and that was NOT good, because it contributed to perceptions that Mountz had not kept up with the times. The new Brand Positioning and Messaging was a pivotal influence for the design of the new logo. Given that the strategy was to leverage the company’s Silicon Valley heritage as a cypher for innovation, the team opted to retain the iconic hex shape, while replacing the older serif font with a simple, clean and modern typeface.
The new design also introduces a vibrant orange color that differentiated Mountz from other companies in the sector. The color was a nod to an early version of the Mountz logo, however the original hues felt too ‘vintage’ for today’s aesthetics. The team selected a bright color to convey the energy, creativity, confidence and approachability of the revitalized Mountz brand, and the end result was welcomed with excitement by customers, partners and employees.
In addition to the corporate logo, the team developed a ‘badge’ featuring the line “Engineered in Silicon Valley”, the Mountz hex icon and the year the company was started, 1965. This new asset became a virtual ‘stamp of pride’, asserting the company’s heritage and commitment to innovation.
a complete set of brand assets
To ensure that Mountz had the appropriate tools (no pun intended) to build their GTM campaign materials, we delivered a comprehensive set of brand assets. Besides the logo, we included a family of fonts, an expanded color palette, a unique photography style, a flexible icon system, a variety of patterns & textures, and other graphic elements. Next, we produced a long list of print and digital marketing assets, including business papers, email signatures, trade show booths, email templates, case studies, PPT presentations, lots of promotional items, etc.
Lastly, we provided Mountz with a set of brand guidelines featuring an overview of the Brand Strategy, Core Messaging, Voice & Tone, Logo Usage, Photography Style, and much more. This way, the entire Mountz marketing ecosystem could understand the strategy behind the storytelling, and could ensure that every brand touchpoint delivered a consistent experience.
launching the company's first ecommerce site
To substantiate that Mountz was modernizing – not just its brand identity, but how it met the needs of its customers – we helped launch the company’s first ecommerce site. For the first time in its history, customers could browse and purchase Mountz’s full range of torque tools, calibration equipment and accessories, online. The site was an important brand touchpoint, so it was imperative that it was easy to navigate, informative and helpful. For example, the site features professional photos of each product, includes a tool finder widget, product comparison charts, downloadable data sheets and manuals, instructional videos, and FAQs for each product, as well as access to a chat feature and to knowledgeable customer and service reps.
Mountz customers loved the site immediately, and online sales quickly became a significant component of the company’s revenue stream. Mountz was back in growth mode.
a successful acquisition by an industry giant
Thanks to the rebrand and the company’s renewed marketing efforts, Mountz was getting a lot of attention. Seeing an opportunity for expansion, Mountz started exploring becoming part of a larger organization, which would give it access to greater resources and a larger network of customers.
One of the companies that took notice of Mountz’s growing reputation in the precision torque category was Snap-on Incorporated, the biggest player in the professional tool industry, with a market capitalization of $17.6 Billion USD. And, by 2023, realizing the company’s potential, Snap-on entered in an agreement to acquire Mountz – and the rest is history.
Brad Mountz, the President of the company founded by his father says it best: “The rebrand was the catalyst that helped our business get to the next level. Our positioning line ‘Engineered in Silicon Valley’ signaled to the global market that our commitment to innovation and safety has been in our DNA since the start. Our internal teams became more engaged and excited, and our customers started looking at us differently, and our sales were accelerating – all of this prepared us for a very successful exit.”
Mountz is now a part of Snap-on’s Commercial and Industrial Group. From a revenue perspective Mountz is the smallest company in the Snap-on portfolio, however Mountz continues to proudly operate under the brand that we designed. We’re proud that our work played a role in the pre-acquisition valuation and the success of the transaction.
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ABOUT EDGAR BAUM & AVASTA
Edgar Baum is the valued Strategic Partner who helped gather the insights that led us to the strategy work, and fundamentally informed the entire rebrand. Edgar is the brilliant Founder and CEO of Avasta Incorporated, a consultancy providing business leaders with data-driven insights to improve corporate strategy, competitive positioning, and financial forecasting, with the goal to foster growth and optimize profitability. Avasta specializes in business valuation, market strategy optimization, and measuring intangible assets like brand value and intellectual capital. With a career spanning over two decades, Edgar has extensive experience in valuation, corporate and brand strategy optimization, and has contributed to the development of modern standards for measuring a company’s future value. Edgar is also a primary author of two next-generation business measurement standards: one focusing on financially measuring a brand from the customer’s perspective and another on reporting the future value of intellectual capital and intangible assets to boards of directors.
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