The Legacy Brand Turnaround
Reviving a legacy brand to reverse declining sales in priority states
New York, NY | McGraw Hill Education | 2024-2025
Challenge
Underperformance of product line in key markets
Mature brand perception with 60 years in market
Lack of digital presence and outdated marketing materials
Sales teams lacked confidence in solution suite
Strategy
Reverse declining sales by building a clear marketing plan
Repackaging products across the portfolio to enable cross-selling
Modernize narrative around the product suite to feel fresh and relevant
Launch internal “Lead with DI” campaign to spread internal awareness and excitement
Key Results
Spearheaded internal sales enablement campaigns: “Why DI? (Direct Instruction)” and “Lead with DI (Direct Instruction)” — improving confidence, fluency, and product knowledge across sales teams to support products’ proven efficacy
Reversed declining sales trend in priority states
Launched modernized Direct Instruction Sales Toolkit with sales decks, one-pagers, and battle cards, and more
The Rollout
Segmented Positioning: Developed segment-specific positioning and messaging frameworks
Sales Enablement: Ideated and created the "Why DI?" and "Lead with DI" campaigns to boost internal fluency and excitement
Asset Modernization: Overhauled the entire library of sales collateral, decks, and talking points
Data-Driven Storytelling: Integrated new product performance data and research insights to validate the selling narrative
Collaboration: Partnered with other PMMs to build master brand of Direct Instruction Literacy and Math
“Matt, I just want to say how much I appreciate you and all the help and support you offer to me. I feel so fortunate to be part of this team but you’ve added an extra layer of knowledge, experience, and support in an area that I am still learning [product marketing]. Thanks so much for being you and know you’re a wonderful teammate!”
— Tracy, Sr. PMM of Direct Instruction Literacy at McGraw Hill