Recognizing Marketing’s Finest
Here, we present all of this year’s winning submissions, highlighting a different category each week.
SELLING TOOL /
Atlantic Coast Electric Supply
ACES Power Punch
The ACES Columbia, S.C., branch experienced a decrease in both foot traffic and stock sales, prompting the need to devise a strategy to bring customers back.
“In a competitive market, fostering customer loyalty is essential. To address this, we launched ACES Power Punch, a loyalty program
using the Stamp Me app alongside a traditional printed card” was written on the entry form.
The program was executed with staff training and customer onboarding, dual loyalty card options (digital or physical), a promotional campaign that included flyers for counter displays and social media posts, a reward mechanism wherein customers received a stamp for every $100 spent, and email reminders.
“ACES’ approach to integrate digital convenience with traditional customer service values is smart,” said the judges, noting that “many times companies view this as an ‘either/or’ decision and rarely combine both. I appreciate too that the traditional printed card was maintained. This clearly isn’t about cost savings but about anticipating their customers’ needs and delivering what they want.”
Granite City Electric Supply
Specialized Division – Bratalog Series
To establish Granite City Electric as a distributor that has expanded into new specialized markets that need electrical supplies and equipment outside of the typical residential or commercial applications, the marketing team produced a series of “bratalogs” (a combination of brochure and catalog).
“The series focused on targeted categories within the electrical industry to build brand awareness among customers who may not be aware of the breadth of our product inventory, ultimately leading to increased sales and a larger market share within New England and the Albany, N.Y., region” was written on the entry form.
Copies were sent to all 31 branches to display and hand out, inserted into weekly deliveries, and passed out by the Business Development team.
The judges called it “well done and well branded” with “attractive colors and consistent branding” and appreciated the “clean layout and good mix of product and application photos.”
Electrical Wholesalers—CT & HZ Electric
2023 Design-Build Catalog
The 2023 version of the EW/HZ Design-Build Catalog was designed to streamline the planning and pricing processes for commercial and industrial jobs for electrical contractor customers.
“Recognizing the demand for a user-friendly resource, we dedicated ourselves to creating a catalog that would be both practical and highly sought after by our contractor customers, while also reaching toward our goal of increasing e-commerce users” was written on the entry form.
The catalog features product lists, QR code integration, contractor tools, manufacturer/rep agency ads, a contact form, and company information.
It was promoted via QR code scan-todownload cards, an email campaign, digital TV displays, social media posts, website banners, and a download landing page.
The judges called it “a comprehensive promotion, unified campaign theme, well coordinated with good metrics” and praised the “attractive colors and consistent branding.”
Summit Electric Supply
5 Ways to Save eBook
To establish Summit Electric Supply as its customers’ go-to expert and guide to their success, the marketing team developed a resource geared toward providing time- and moneysaving tips for them.
“This eBook provides a transitional call to action for customers visiting summit.com that gives them actionable concepts and allows us a way to begin a selling conversation” was written on the entry form.
The eBook led customers down the path of reaching out to Summit for a zero-cost, risk-free site assessment, providing the company with invaluable leads and a leg up over competitors selling similar solutions. It also ties in well with the StoryBrand framework used throughout Summit’s marketing efforts.
The call to action for users to download the eBook was placed at the bottom footer of the summit.com home page and on all Solutions pages for maximum visibility. Summit also developed a download page with a message encouraging prospects to “Talk to a Pro” to discuss their unique situation, utilized a series of organic social media to encourage prospects and customers to download a copy of the book for themselves, collected names and email addresses as leads for future marketing campaigns, and concluded the book with an invitation to get a free site assessment to help identify areas for improvement.
The judges call it “a great example of a thoughtful tool that provides help to business leaders and upper management” and admired how it “built a case for how this target can become more efficient and illustrated how Summit can deliver.”
OneSource Distributors
Lighting Stock Book
To make it easy to find the right products and get all the details needed; create a tool that salespeople could use to communicate with their customers, help them plan, and leave behind with the customer; showcase in-stock products that can be delivered quickly; shorten the decision-making and sales process for lighting products; and drive lighting product sales, the OneSource marketing team created a 56-page lighting stock book organized by lighting type and supplier.
“Our sales team and product category manager wanted to have a robust tool that sales reps could truly work from to help their customers find what they are looking for and to get all the detail they need easily” was written on the entry form.
The book highlights 208 in-stock lighting products in 37 categories. Each item has a photograph, product ID, the part number, basic information about the item, and a QR code that takes the user directly to a spec sheet for the item. A page of locations and direct contact information for lighting sales and services reps is included, and a PDF copy of the book is posted on the company website.
“This tool goes beyond a simple printed catalog,” said the judges. “It’s really an ecosystem of tools that support the customer and provides a positive halo for OneSource.”
Keystone Technologies
2023 Keystone Product Catalog
As Keystone has grown from a ballast manufacturer to offering a full portfolio of lamps, fixtures, modules, power supplies, and controls, its catalog has grown as well. The 2021 edition was downloadable as a PDF; the 2023 version, at 316 pages, needed even more accessibility to appeal to customer needs. Links to pages, products, and services meet that goal.
“In addition to a sizable print run, the 2023 edition of the Keystone Product Catalog is fully digital. In accessing the PDF, users can click through to individual products and product pages, arrange for lighting layouts, book Keystone LIVE! On Tour (Keystone’s mobile showroom) appearances, and request free samples” was written on the entry form.
The judges loved the embedded links that go from the table of contents directly to the products listed. “Giving customers the ability to click through to products and product pages, arrange for lighting layouts, request samples, and book the mobile showroom all anticipate customers’ needs and bolster the relationship with Keystone,” they noted.
Cooper Lighting Solutions
Light ARchitect App
Cooper Lighting Solutions saw an opportunity to become more competitive by finding a way to empower people to create lighting designs and bids faster and increase access to the design process for a broader audience.
“The decision was made to create an app that would work as a sales tool by dramatically cutting the time it takes to create a lighting layout, giving users a distinct advantage over competitors. We created and branded our lighting layout app: Light ARchitect” was written on the entry form.
Using augmented reality, Cooper made sure Light ARchitect works on any mobile device and is easy to use, making creating a lighting layout fun and accessible to everyone, no matter their technical skill level or knowledge of photometrics. A web version of the app was added so the tool could be used on any browser.
Promotion of the app is ongoing and includes in-person customer demos; live instructor-led webinars for sales teams, agents, and end-users; inperson instructor-led training at The Source (Cooper’s in-house training center); a dedicated website landing page that includes links to app downloads; case studies to demonstrate to users the real-life benefits of using the app; and social media posts.
“The app is a real sales tool that provides a significant value-add for customers. It was well promoted and supported and I like that they printed QR codes for downloading the app on business cards to hand out at industry events,” said the judges.
SELLING TOOL – Honorable Mention
ABB Electrification
EV Grid-to-Charger Simulator: Online Sales and Education Tool
Tagged with awards, Best of the Best, marketing