Brand Positioning & Experience Design

Mabe is a Mexican-owned company with revenues of U.S. $4 billion that designs, produces and distributes appliances in more than 70 countries around the world, with a special focus on the Latin American market. In 2010, Mabe partnered with MBLM to define a strategic plan to enter the high-end market, after signing a strategic alliance with General Electric to distribute its premium brands, GE Monogram and GE Profile.

Traditionally positioned as a value brand, this task involved a notable challenge for Mabe to obtain the credibility and trustworthiness required to target a radically new customer profile. MBLM created Prime Blend by Mabe, a multi-brand sales platform, a unique concept combining an unparalleled gourmet, luxury and avant-garde offer. MBLM’s ideation and execution of Prime Blend by Mabe included a holistic and extensive array of services, with the aim of delivering an attractive but viable experience model for growth and expansion.

A thorough research-driven diagnosis across 15 countries was the starting point to identify the market opportunity for Mabe. Highly valuable insights were gathered by interviews with various stakeholders, on-premise best practices and benchmark analysis as well as mystery shopping initiatives. We identified and later defined the ideal target and allies for the new concept and created a compelling value proposition for them. This led to the creation of a proprietary definition of ‘luxury,’ aimed at a niche audience with a fresh mindset. The strategic framework was delivered with the ‘Experience Center’ concept, a state-of-the-art retail space to showcase the premium products, while hosting a wide range of contents and features such as classes, lectures, meetings, fashion catwalks and other related events, with the goal of building a reputation for Mabe’s ‘vanguard and gourmet connoisseur’ style of audience. To define this new environment, MBLM partnered with architects Mauricio Martínez and Diego Garay, as well as Ariel Rojo, a well-known Mexican industrial designer.

Prime Blend by Mabe’s Experience was based on six key components, designed to address the needs and desires of a series of audiences that ranged from potential clients to architects. Co-branding guidelines were created to ensure the right level of identification when being identified along with premium brands. Messaging was especially developed to facilitate tailored content creation and inspire audiences. The communications and identity material was supported by the work delivered to choose the right ‘Experience’ consultants, defining a complete profile for the in-store staff.

The 2+ year engagement with Mabe helped turn a mid-tier sector leader into a successful new player in the high-end appliances category. As a result, two brand new centers opened in 2013 in Mexico and Colombia and were highly praised by customers, renowned architects and the specialized media.