Case Study: Trinity Lightweight
Trinity Lightweight is the largest producer of rotary kiln expanded shale and clay lightweight aggregate in North America with production facilities in California, Colorado, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Arkansas. In addition, the company specializes in engineering design consultation for many of the nation’s massive construction, construction management, design-build, infrastructure, environmental, and other projects.
However, being the largest of anything can often present with challenges, such as how to engage important customers, clients and industry influencers on a personal selling level.
This became evident when the company faced challenges in terms of brand cognizance on the parts of its key business-to-business targets. The company’s marketing communications had left numerous critical stones unturned in regard to being recognized as a national leader in the lightweight aggregate and engineering fields. This is where Eberly & Collard Public Relations was engaged to help generate new forms of brand awareness for our client, ultimately moving publicity levels from 0 to 90 in just a few months.
How we got there:
Our Eberly & Collard Public Relations marketing team conducted a S.W.O.T. Analysis with key leaders at our client’s former Big River Industries’ offices. Unearthing the company’s strengths and opportunities was a baseline for addressing weaknesses and threats.
The process revealed numerous factors pointing to the fact Trinity was a frontrunner in civil and structural engineering, whereas internal curing and lightweight aggregate-based specifications were used in construction applications. Yet, a combined market study and focus group showed that competitors in the space were consistently winning key business in conjunction with significant construction, architecture, bioswale, storm water, and engineering projects based upon their wider amounts of messaging and influence.
Eberly & Collard Public Relations’ strategic marketing campaign development started with writing and designing new print and online content, focusing upon Trinity’s unique selling propositions. From a revamped website, technical white papers and creative collateral to digital press campaigns, carefully aligned sponsorships, and trade / symposium support, we concentrated essential messaging upon our client’s capabilities and core product and service offers.
Rather than simply attempting to tell engineers, architects and others within the design and construction fields about the company and its product line through one-way advertising, we conceptualized and implemented a series of real-scenario press campaigns with results-oriented touch points engineers, specifiers and construction managers could apprentice.
The foundation included drone photo shoots and videography to capture infrastructure projects presenting Trinity at work. Technical white papers, project case studies, corporate and product news releases, articles, and feature stories were meticulously researched and written to explain the various coastal protection, high-rise, geotechnical, internal curing, horticulture, bridge highway, concrete, and other applications that benefit from the engineered product being specified. Unified with pictorial, video, and narrative content – all prepared to satisfy Associated Press guidelines – our PR team set to work conducting media relations and press tours to develop interest in publication by editors, journalists and reporters.
Each campaign was geared to reach our client’s customers, clientele and prospects everywhere- no matter where, how or when they preferred to conduct their engineering project research. Placements via mainstream media from Yahoo News to The Denver Post helped generate national and regional awareness. Articles in newsletters like the Expanded Shale, Clay & Slate Institute News and specifier trade magazines such Architect, Masonry, Transportation Builder, Bridge Builder, Storm Water Solutions, Engineering News Record, Green Roof News, Landscape Contractor & Specifier, Construction Today, and many others led to amplified business-to-business interest in sales for our client.
While our client’s leadership team was busy in the field, we worked in the background on their behalf to create public and media relations opportunities to give them the interactive branding tools they needed to reach, involve and impact their targets.
impressions
The Results:
Our Eberly & Collard Public Relations marketing team persuaded and educated construction specifiers based near and far about our client’s engineered and technical products. This directed them to the fact Trinity not only could manufacture and supply a world-class, cost-savings technical product to construction projects from coast to coast, but also provide the related engineering consultation for how, when and where technical innovation was necessary to support many feats of engineering.
Our daily marketing initiatives were designed and executed to communicate Trinity’s expertise as a leading enthusiast of research, independent testing and field studies to improve the manufacturing process and expand the beneficial uses of its highly technical products.
Trinity’s media coverage first doubled, then tripled, and achieved nearly a 357 percent increase in under three years. The publicity showcased the talents of its engineering consultants and proved the benefits of its technical products with 125 original media placements in the form of published case-study features. We also saw to it that republication of the company’s press releases and white papers exceeded the top competition with an accomplished 20 million impressions. As part of a group-executed, overall sales and marketing program, results included creating an advanced thought-leadership perception for Trinity with an extended sales pipeline of 21 percent.
