We flexed our creative muscles in this multi-product advertising campaign for Aeroflex.

The Aeroflex brand had been a household name for much of the last two decades in the RF/Microwave industry. Formerly a highly successful semiconductor and test equipment manufacturer, the company was taken private in 2007 by a group of investors that included Veritas Capital, Golden Gate Capital, and GS Direct, and began a roll up strategy that included several key players from up and down the microwave signal chain. In 2010, Aeroflex announced an initial public offering of 17.25 million shares, and in 2014 they were acquired by Cobham for $1.46 billion. Not a bad run for a brand with humble beginnings.

So, where did Strand fit in? It was an interesting journey of our own. In 2000, Strand started one of our most enduring client relationships with a company called MicroMetrics, a diode and semiconductor company in Southern, NH. In 2007, now seen as a formidable competitor to Aeroflex’s Metelics brand, MicroMetrics was acquired by Aeroflex. Impressed by our advertising work for MicroMetrics, we became the advertising agency of record for all Aeroflex RF/microwave business units. Other well-known industry brands also wrapped up in the group included Weinschel and Inmet. Two brands with great legacies of their own.

Our first challenge was to develop a recognizable brand style for the Aeroflex full page ads running throughout the industry. Time and again our creative won the accolades of each business unit, and we built up an incredible library of ads for them that dominated the pages of the most popular microwave industry magazines. Subsequently, the ad style was reformatted as digital ads that also became recognized in several online communities.

Aeroflex Control Components was a newly formed sub-brand created after several acquisitions netted a complete portfolio of advanced PIN diode and GaAs FET switches and integrated assemblies and rack mount units, such as microwave synthesizers. For this group, ads were focused on innovation, speed of delivery, and the benefits of optimal performance.

With the acquisition of MicroMetrics, the Aeroflex Metelics group became king of the RF and microwave hill for passive semiconductor devices and diodes. A series of ads for this group focused on the benefits of their components to radar and surveillance system and solid-state switch designers.

Two other well-known RF and microwave industry brands, Inmet and KDI, had a long-standing reputation for delivering both coaxial component solutions and innovative thin/thick film devices. Our focus for this group was on their ruggedized, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions and a brand of surface mount attenuators called Powerfilm attenuators.

With perhaps the longest and strongest brand recognition within the Aeroflex RF and microwave team, Weinschel, also offered some of the most complex solutions. For this group we developed a series of ads that positioned their component, subassembly, and integrated systems as the ultimate choice when high-performance and time to market were critical.

Interestingly, the format for all these ads became so recognizable, that when Cobham purchased Aeroflex in 2014, Strand was brought onboard once again to subtlety retool the campaign with Cobham branding and updated messaging. And most recently, we’ve been tapped again, this time to be a strategic advisor and GUI designer for Cobham’s next RF/microwave products website.

To see our most recent success stories, visit our work section.

To read more of our creative spotlights, visit our spotlights section.