Strategic Planning Case Study

GlenGuard

GlenGuard’s superior breathability and moisture-wicking properties are routinely held up as the most comfortable, compliant flame-resistant fabrics for industrial FR work wear on the market. The people who need this kind of work wear have a tough, uncomfortable job. From climbing 50-foot poles to manning oil rigs in 100-degree temperatures to repairing high voltage electric lines during an ice storm, these are not your standard 9-5ers. And GlenGuard is not your standard work wear fabric.

The Challenge:

When you’re working in the baking heat of the Texas oil fields, any extra comfort can go a long way. We knew that work wear made with GlenGuard fabric provided a cooler, lightweight option, but reaching the workers would be a challenge. Many of these “roughnecks” worked on contract in temporary placements, moving from place to place only for short periods of time. We not only needed to reach these elusive workers, but needed to communicate effectively that GlenGuard’s product would keep them far cooler than anything they had worn before.

The Strategy/Campaign:

After considering the challenges that lay ahead, we knew that all of our efforts had to approach our audience on their own turf and had to relate to their own concerns. Our six-month campaign placed billboards on the commuter highways frequented by oil and gas workers going to and from the fields. We launched radio spots on stations popular with our audience. We even incorporated guerilla marketing tactics like giving out posters and helmet stickers and distributing branded coasters through a local beer distributor. And to help measure our results, we established a dedicated 800-number to track phone inquiries.

These efforts were coupled with a national print advertising campaign that focused on reinforcing the message of GlenGuard’s comfort to the safety managers and directors in charge of specifying a crew’s work wear. GlenGuard also got their partner’s sales team primed and ready for what we knew would be an increased volume in sales calls and inquiries. Leads would be generated, and their Sales team was ready to strike while the iron was hot.

The Results

As expected, this campaign created a real increase in both brand awareness for the end-user and their safety managers, but it also resulted in the generation of substantial leads for the Sales team. The GlenGuard name and its primary value proposition—“The Coolest FR Workwear”—had penetrated the market in a powerful way. This was most obvious through the engagement we got on their social media pages. The GlenGuard name became a part of these oil workers’ everyday routine, and this made a positive impact on the GlenGuard book of business.

The Marketing Manager for GlenGuard’s partner who distributed the work wear, had this to say:

“Sales leads have increased substantially; we have signed additional business and benefited from greater product awareness. We have had far more people coming to us and asking for more information about our FR offering.”