SGK Reinvents the Relationship Between Brands and Business

DES PLAINES, IL--(Marketwired - Jun 27, 2013) - SGK (NYSE: SGK), formerly marketed as Schawk, Inc., a leading global brand development, activation and deployment company, announced today the introduction of a new business model designed to help chief marketing officers (CMOs) drive brand performance.

The organizing principle behind SGK's new business model is to categorize its brands into two distinct categories: brand development and brand deployment. This will give each brand the elasticity it requires to operate robustly within its space while laddering up to the SGK brand performance promise.

The Company's brand development group includes Brandimage and Anthem, who create brand desirability to drive brand performance. SGK's brand deployment group includes Schawk!, who drives brand profitability. Schawk! has earned market leadership in the packaging deployment category over the past 60 years and applies its expertise across multiple mediums today.

Brandimage and Anthem create desirability in complementary ways. Brandimage creates brands through the development of brand equity design and brings them to the 'shelf.' Anthem sells brands from the 'shelf' out by amplifying and elevating brand desirability. Schawk! drives brand profitability by producing brand assets and protecting brand equities.

David Schawk, chief executive officer, stated, "We know that CMOs are looking for greater performance from their brands. We believe that our offering is unique in that we are able to drive top line growth to marketers through our development brands and cost-efficiencies through our deployment brand. We drive brand performance and we help accelerate it."

Eric Ashworth, president, explained, "Brand performance is an approach to brands and branding that recognizes the relationship between brands and business. It incorporates the emotive component of branding and the financial requirements of brands. It also acknowledges changes in the marketplace -- the increasing power of the consumer and social media, the evolving role of shoppers -- and the changing nature of branding and brand management.

"The core components of brand performance -- for both activity and measurement -- are desirability and profitability," Ashworth continued. "While each of these measurements has distinct characteristics, the dynamic combination of the two is what delivers breakthrough brand performance. Most important, the current state of the market demands that these two be inextricably and intimately linked."

SGK is a leading global brand development, activation and deployment company that drives brand performance. By creating brands, helping sell brands, producing brand assets and protecting brand equities, we help our clients achieve higher brand performance. SGK's global footprint spans more than 20 countries. SGK was formerly marketed as Schawk, Inc. For more information visit: http://www.sgkinc.com.