Underwriters Laboratories, based in Northbrook, Ill., tests products like lamps, hairdryers and industrial equipment. If its safe, the manufacturer is permitted to brand the tested product with the UL certification mark. Trouble is, fewer and fewer people are concerned with that seal, and they may not even know about it.
So how does this B-to-B try to ensure relevance and solid business? By skipping on over to point C - the consumer.
Underwriter Laboratories has just wrapped up a fascinating publicity blitz that incorporated The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting, a presence in People, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and more. Suzanne Lavin, UL's Global Corporate Communications and Public Relations Director, did a stand-up job showcasing the recent marketing strategy at a luncheon Thursday for the Chicago chapter of the Business Marketing Association - while fighting the flu, no less.
Lavin explained that even though UL tests close to 20,000 different products, components, materials and safety systems, and even though it has been around for more than 100 years, the recognition of the UL brand has been deterioriating. So to rejuvenate awareness and purpose, UL took a look at the types of everyday customers familiar with the UL brand, and those who weren't familiar with it.
The not-for-profit organization decided that awareness was lacking in a demographic it knew could be capitalized - young mothers.
New mothers are deeply concerned about safety in their homes and safety for their families, Lavin argued. And as a demographic, they are well connected, making billions of person-to-person contacts each year.
So just as Christmas was approaching, UL went out on a major media spree to educate mothers about safety, while also educating them about the UL brand.
UL sponsored the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting and television special. It also sponsored a tree-lighting ceremony in D.C., complete with an adjoining Santa's Workshop meet and greet area. As kids and their moms waited to meet St. Nick, mothers received UL magnets and general safety tips.
UL took out ads in magazines like People and American Baby that depicted young mothers with their babies, complete with a written message about safety and UL's role in consumer protection.
UL also sought out a celebrity spokeswoman for some print and TV PSAs who herself was a young mother. They opted for actress Keri Russell, who not coincidentally, was making national television show appearances during the Christmas season promoting her new movie Bedtime Stories. So while Russell was on shows like The View and Ellen talking about her movie, she also talked about UL and shared safety tips. Ellen herself shared some special Christmas-time safety pointers on her show, and, as a joke, plugged in a light that was not UL-tested. Click here to watch the clip.
UL also created a special site, safetyathome.com, that features marketing materials, safety tips, and a blog written by the women behind rookiemoms.com. These elements and others, from conception to execution, were completed in six months, Lavin said.
Lavin teased that they aren't done with consumer-targeted marketing, but the next crucial step will be trying to package the outreach results when dealing with business stakeholders. She admits that there are no formal measurements yet, but feedback will hopefully make an impact, in the short term, but perhaps more likely, the long term.
"Building awareness takes a long time," she said. "We may not deliver increased business in a year. The measure will be how we get the message out."
We're looking to write more about leveraging B-to-B brands in a future issue of Marketing News. Keep an eye out.
