"BrandEdge's in-depth knowledge of the Internet and digital media was crucial in this process. They understand the digital world."

Paul Riley, Vice President of Marketing, CAE eSolutions Group

CAE, based in Canada, is the global leader in simulation and control technologies and training solutions for the aerospace, defence and marine sectors. Headquartered in Canada, CAE employs more than 7,000 people worldwide and generates annual revenues in excess of $1 billion.

To define a new niche category for Web-delivered simulation technologies within the larger e-learning market.

The concept of simulation e-learning - or seLearning for short - is new and still evolving, and therefore difficult to both grasp and explain. From a branding and positioning perspective, this presented a significant challenge to BrandEdge and CAE.

BrandEdge worked with CAE's new eSolutions Group to define the market for seLearning and develop a screening model for new market opportunities. In the process, BrandEdge discovered conflicts in branding within CAE and set out to identify seLearning's unique value proposition for each of the target industries. The result: a comprehensive branding and marketing blueprint that outlines branding strategies in individual markets as well as the most effective approaches to the various sales channel

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  With BrandEdge's input, CAE was able to put forward a business model that recognized the unique opportunities and challenges of a Web-delivered simulation technology, while at the same time defining seLearning's position, now and in the future, within the larger e-business environment. Paul Riley, vice president of marketing for CAE's eSolutions Group, says BrandEdge's in-depth knowledge of the Internet and digital media was crucial in this process. "They understand the digital world," he says. "A lot of people in traditional marketing say they can do Web stuff too but to me, that's not true. It's a different, multi-dimensional medium that demands a different business model. Nancy and Catharine understood that."
  
  
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  To fill in the gaps in expertise in CAE's eSolutions Group, BrandEdge stepped in as a virtual marketing think tank and resource. Members of the eSolutions Group took to Nancy and Catharine immediately. "What I found of value with having BrandEdge as part of our team was that I could sit and debate with someone who could really challenge my thinking," says Paul Riley. "There was high value in their discussions." BrandEdge also proved to be extremely resourceful. Working against a tight deadline to produce a white paper on seLearning, they were able to source the appropriate writer and provide guidance in crafting the document. "I knew I could forget about it because Nancy and Catharine were dealing with it," says Riley. "They could act on my behalf and communicate my message to the writer."