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Client:
Firestone Industrial Products Company
Background:
When we began working with Firestone Industrial, we found the Firestone
brand was well known to truck and trailer OEMs by virtue of its industry-leading
AirRide® suspension products, but two similar products, AirStroke®
(an actuating device) and AirMount® (an isolation device),were virtual
unknowns in the industrial marketplace.
Firestone Industrial
had introduced the AirStroke and AirMount products using the traditional
means: advertising, public relations and direct mail. But the results
had been distinctly lackluster and, according to Firestone marketing,
somewhat attributable to the industrial design engineers' lack of understanding
as to how to utilize these new products. (They can replace any pneumatic
actuating device such as pneumatic cylinders, or shock-absorbing device
as used in mounting a parts vibrator.)
Our
Charge:
To resuscitate the AirStroke and AirMount programs by leveraging the strength
of the Firestone brand. We also needed to educate the industrial engineer
regarding the features and benefits of these products and the various
ways they can be used.
Leveraging the Brand:
Our first idea turned out to be a winner: develop a design contest for
industrial design engineers that called upon them to create uses for these
products. Promote the contest using advertisements, public relations,
posters and direct mail and then utilize trade press editors to act as
contest judges. The top design engineering magazine, Design News, was
also commissioned to write feature articles on some of the best designs
(both serious and humorous, as the contest included both).
The
Results:
The contest created a buzz about Firestone and its new products among
design engineers, raising the brands' awareness position significantly.
In fact, the contest was deemed so successful that we were asked to run
a contest for engineering students the following year.
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