Marketing to the Professional Tradesman in the Construction, Industrial and MRO Markets...we call it B2T (business-to-tradesman) marketing.
Meet Sonnhalter and see what we can do.
2. Not Afraid To Get Our Hands Dirty™
• Leading B2T agency in the country
• Help OEMs/Manufacturers market to the professional tradesman
• Key market focus:
• Construction
• Plumbing/Electrical/HVAC
• Industrial
• MRO
• Experience and industry knowledge
• Very good at developing channel marketing programs
• Never lose sight of our main goals – to increase sales and to help
you grow your business
3. Sonnhalter Overview
• Founded in 1976
• 7 million in capitalized billings
• 50% of clients outside Northeast Ohio
• Strategic partners:
• BlueVolt: Online training for suppliers, distributors and end users
• Great Lakes Integrated: Management of digital and printed assets
• H. William Moore & Co.: Marketing research and customer insights
• GHI: Web/digital solutions
• Ultimate Leads: Web-based sales lead management and back-end
processing support
4. Agency Services
• Areas of expertise:
• Strategic Collaboration
• Channel Marketing Programs
• New Product Launches
• Sales Promotion and Support
• Brand Development and Integration
• Other key services:
• Advertising, Art/Design, Collateral, Interactive Marketing, Marketing,
Media Planning & Buying, Public Relations, Social Media, Web, Writing
5. B2T Marketing Consultant & Advisor Service
• “Marketing” function within a company often overlooked and/or not
given the proper resources to perform their task effectively
• Purpose of this service is to offer independent, third-party advice,
recommendations and guidance to companies who target the B2T
(business-to-tradesman) space
• Some of our more popular service packages include:
• B2T Marketing Check Up
• Half-Day Brainstorming Session
• “Virtual” Director of Marketing
• New Product Launch Process
6. Tradesmen Insights
Agency Blog
• www.TradesmenInsights.com
• Tips, tools and for marketing to the professional tradesman
• Emphasis on Social Media
Other Resources
• White Papers
• Industry Experts and Leaders
• Podcasts
• Vertical Market Overviews (e.g. mro/industrial, electrical, hvac)
20. Why Clients Work With Us
We never lose sight of the main goals…
Increase Sales and Grow Your Business
21. C. John Sonnhalter, Rainmaker Journeyman
More than 35 years of experience in business-to-business marketing, specializing in
the durable goods industries. Leads the agency’s new business efforts.
Specialties include development of marketing programs for various types of
industries, new product rollouts and distributor communications.
Matt Sonnhalter, Vision Architect
More than twenty years of consumer and business-to-business advertising account
service experience, 10 years with Sonnhalter; responsible for leading the agency
as well as the day-to-day operations; experience includes branding initiatives for
national consumer brands, product launches, brand positioning and development
of marketing plans.
Scott T. Bessell, Idea Builder
Thirty-plus years of experience in business-to-business advertising on both the
agency and client sides: 30-plus years at Sonnhalter, with responsibility for the
agency’s creative product; five years as head of a Fortune 500 corporation’s
inside agency, with responsibility for advertising and promotion campaigns.
Owner Bios
Notes de l'éditeur
MATTStrategic Partners-agency our size can’t be experts in everything-have key partners that compliment our offerings-will talk further about “digital” later on in presentation
MATT-areas of expertise within B2T market-what we are really good at
MATT-again focused solely in the B2T market
AYLIEHow we helps guide effective strategy & execution from an account service standpointOur DIRTY process – “Not afraid to get our hands dirty” – representative of how we dig into your business
AYLIEDigging in – getting smart on the topic/client/brand/challenge/landscapeInvestigate – the problem, the market, the audienceReview - of Insights, information and development of strategy and plan Tactics – and executionYardstick – measuring results, adjusting/optimizing, refiningOne point of contact – coordinates with you, your vendors and our strategic partners
AYLIEBuilding strategically relevant, compelling, memorable programsCreative skills – all starts with a strong strategy to help us get to the theme at the top of the pyramid – the “big idea”We wean ideas out to make sure they have “legs” or extendabilityFOCUS IS ON THE IDEA not the executionThen executed upon across many points of communication
MATTMOLEX: Woodhead electrical brand campaignBackground-Molex acquisition of Woodhead Industries-changes in org structure (sales leaders, reps, etc)-lost focus on electrical market-well known competitive brands (Hubbell, Copper, Ericson)Strategy/Plan-getting back to basics-core of what Woodhead brand stands for-Key Messages of: Safety, Performance, Reliability-elements (ad campaign – print and electronic; direct mail; tradeshow support; safety roadshow and safety webinar tied into national safety month in June)Results-just started in Oct ’10-sales trending up year-over-year
MATT-new connection system-all you had to do was “push” to lock it into place-”pushed for” theme addressed 3 end user issues: 1) Time – savings; push to lock; fastest way to make connections 2) Performance – unique radial seal and mechanical locking design eliminate intermittent signal problems; IP69k rated 3) Reliability – eliminate operator dependancy (no over- or under-tightening)Program Elements -global ad campaign (print and electronic) -NA, Europe -multiple languages -micro site (captured leads for sales follow up) -sample boxesResults -UL technology now being speced into automation equip mfrs -Molex expanding this technology into other product areas
AYLIECreated by end-user inputVery specific nichepackaging, sell sheets, social media, PR testimonial and release, samples to key editors, ppt presentation for sales, direct response programOver 1000 sold in first 6 months – impressive bc of the nicheAlso revamped their product launch process with this programCreated microsite to entice users to submit new tool ideas
AYLIEWRIGHT- Started from the beginning – top downbusiness goals and sales/marcom planIdentity - Logo and tagline; packaging, catalog, logo/tagline, sell sheets, ppt, flyers – core product and vertical, social media (pages on twitter, fb and YouTube) translated stuff
AYLIERIDGID POOL: calls with end-users provided great insight for creative brief/strategy; utilized different component to launch the product -2 page spreads (NEVER DONE), insert, full page ads, all in key trades enewsletter, eblasts, GlobalSpec, tradeshow support “map” adsin program and event guides for IPSP Expo, Distributor flyers for Ferguson, Roto-Rooter, and Lion Supply. One of the strongest launches to date in a new market. Over 400 HPLs created since inception of campaign.
MATT-2005 launch into new market for RIDGID-move from plumbing line locating into broader utility locating-very well-known established locating brands (3M, Ditch Witch, Radio Detection, Metro Tech)-RIDGID was not known in this marketMedia Event-to kick-off and launch the product-hands-on demonstration-press kit, collateral-held in conjunction with “Dig Big” show-more than $300k in free press and more than 3 million impressionsAd Campaign-evolved from product-specific to testimonial type ads-RIDGID gained credibility in the market (refer to video)