DCI MARKETING

As American forces crossed the English Channel to liberate France in June 1944, Milwaukee native Lloyd A. Sauer was thinking forward to a post-war era.

Sauer purchased a small company called ColorPrint Products Printing and began producing window signage for shoe stores. But it was Cadillac and Harley-Davidson that propelled Sauer’s company forward once American factories started producing cars and motorcycles again for consumers after a three-year hiatus.

ColorPrint Products evolved into Display Corporation Milwaukee during the 1950s, then Display Corporation International (DCI) in the 1960s, and DCI Marketing in 1980.

Thirty-five years later, DCI Marketing was acquired by Marmon Holdings, Inc., a $12 billion member of the Berkshire Hathaway family of companies. As part of Marmon, DCI Marketing has access to the knowledge of other world-class retail service companies and a diverse range of manufacturing businesses.

DCI Marketing Builds Brands

Many companies build signs, but Sauer was interested in building brand recognition. “He was extremely focused on the concept of building a brand in the 1940s,” says Don Michalek, DCI Marketing VP Operations.

“His entire business was built on the individual needs of his customers,” Michalek continues. “If the customer needed something to be wood, metal, plastic, glass, whatever else he could find in his garage, he loved that concept; that idea of innovation and creativity, and an individual focus on a brand or a customer, is really in the roots of this company.”

Sauer’s client-focused approach remains an integral part of DCI to date. “When we’re at our best,” says Michalek, “we’re hyperfocused on the individual needs of our customer.”

Branding in the Digital Marketing Era

For decades, brands like Subaru – one of the top 15 most profitable global car companies – have looked to DCI Marketing for far more than its ability to build displays and kit out a showroom with U.S.-manufactured fixtures, which are still a key part of the business. As digital marketing became prominent, Subaru looked for a vendor to provide customizable signage that could be personalized to the location.

DCI Marketing’s LiveGuide® was the answer. “We can source all the electronics and make sure that the fit and finish are great,” says Pat McGriff, DCI Marketing President. “And because of our marketing services background, we could develop content as well as the platform to deliver it. It gives us autonomy to be a one-stop shop for digital needs.”

Understanding the Consumer Journey

“Our clients are this triangle of the big Fortune 50 brands, the retail locations, and the consumer,” says Brandon Vonck, DCI Marketing VP Technology & Finance. “A lot of companies are showcasing a product,” says Vonck. “We’re the experts at understanding the consumer journey. How we approach innovation is really understanding the client needs, the consumer journey, the path to purchase, and the pain points that consumers have.”

When $3 trillion software giant Microsoft launched the Xbox, DCI Marketing was there to help introduce the gaming console to consumers. “We didn’t have a huge global presence, and our organization needed to quickly adapt to help Microsoft bring their first product that wasn’t a PC to market,” says Vonck. “We had to innovate not just the physical displays and products that were being sold, but our entire supply chain, all of the processes within the organization.”

While Intel doesn’t sell a product directly to consumers, brand recognition is a key driver of its success as a company. DCI Marketing developed pop-up immersive displays in several showcase locations around the country, delivering over 1.7 million impressions.

“That really pushed the limits of getting us into the experiential space,” Vonck says. “Everything from the technology that went into the physical displays to the maintenance of it, and then tearing it all down and shutting it down.” The entire project went from concept to rollout in 90 days.

Innovating From the Voice of the Customer

As consumer purchase behaviors have shifted toward a preference for phygital, the integration of digital experiences with physical ones, DCI Marketing has developed concept laboratories for enhancement and innovation. In Detroit, India, and at its headquarters in Milwaukee, the company set up Innovation Studios that highlight emerging technologies. But the studios are more than that – they’re conversational spaces that allow DCI’s customers to express needs that they may not have otherwise considered.

The Innovation Studios can be revised quickly to help elicit questions and concerns from customers when they visit. “We can bring a client back weekly and give them a new experience every single time,” says Kyle Uhan, DCI Innovation Manager. “The Studio is outrageously modular. A client wants to try a touch-screen experience mixed with a physical display. We can put it in that lab, bring them in, and they can see it.”

But, in the end, it’s connecting through conversation that’s paramount. “When we bring customers in there, they open up,” says McGriff. “All of our innovation really comes from the voice of the customer. It can be from major automotive manufacturers, retailers, or the consumer, but it’s really understanding the root cause of their issues, their needs, and what they’re really looking for.”

The work that comes out of the Innovation Studios germinates, thanks to DCI Marketing’s core partnerships with key retailers around the country and locally, including the Boucher Auto Group, representing 29 new-car franchises in the Milwaukee area, and House of Harley-Davidson in Greenfield, Wisconsin.

“They give us a sandbox to be able to test new products,” says Vonck. “Through that, these core partners get to showcase their own innovation with some of the best technology and products in the marketplace, and we get data analytics around consumer behavior so we can iterate a more formal solution.”

“We are focused on solving problems that aren’t in what I call the ‘Tyranny of the Urgent,’” says Michalek. “We’re very good at not only delivering on the current needs of our customers, but, once we get to know the brand, we can start to anticipate and bring things to them that they are not even expecting.”

Over the years, those innovative efforts have gained approval from automotive clients such as General Motors, Kia, Subaru, and Nissan; motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson; beauty products distributor Titan and retailer Sephora; and software and social media leaders like Microsoft and Meta.

Remaining True to Its Roots

DCI Marketing began as a small company building signs in the 20th century, and during the 21st century, it evolved into a full-service, turn-key business providing integrated retail solutions for brand, dealer, and customer needs. Throughout its history, the company has received over 400 industry awards, but DCI never strays from the creed of its founder. “From the foundation of this company 80 years ago to this day, we are focused on the flexibility to solve problems for our customers,” says Michalek.