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INVENSYS INTERACTIVE PROMOTES THERMOSTATSTHE P-O-P Times RICHMOND, VA. – Invensys hopes its new promotional program will help pass the time for contractors waiting for their orders by educating them about the company's Robertshaw programmable thermostats. Introduced in July and slated to run through March 2006, the campaign includes a permanent, interactive display complemented by a quarterly sales-promotion plan and specialized training. Khary Scott, director of marketing says, "We've run other promotions with the intent of getting customers to switch to our product, but we've found that it's not easy to get them to do that unless they have a chance to touch and try the products." The four-sided, corrugate display, produced by Baird Displays in Milwaukee, features a different thermostat application on each side. All four sample products are wired into either a low-voltage battery in the base of the display or to a front-loaded battery, ensuring power on all sides. The display stands 88 inches tall and sits on a 25-inch-square base. The display explains the Contractor I.D. program, which allows contractors to program the thermostat similar to a cell phone, so that at appropriate intervals, the thermostat's screen reminds the homeowner that it's time for a maintenance checkup and gives the contractor's contact information. Each side of the display features copy explaining the thermostat's value and allowing the contractor to interact with the unit. The set-up allows contractors to read Invensys' Interactive Promotes Thermostatsthe store's temperature, program the unit to turn on and off at different times, and try other settings. Product literature also explains the programming steps. The campaign, titled "Make The Connection," also includes a promotion offering contractors a $50 gasoline card for every $1,500 worth of Robertshaw electronic thermostats they buy. Literature pieces available at the counter explain the promotion, and buttons worn by wholesaler employees tout the campaign. Invensys' sales team and technical staff provide training to help wholesalers learn how to best present the program when the display is set up in their stores. The creative, design and execution of the marketing campaign was handled by JMC Public Relations & Marketing Communications in Kingston, N.Y. The program is designed to introduce a new sales promotion every 90 days through the end of Invensys' fiscal year in March. The company originally planned to produce approximately 500 displays, but Scott now says the production run will be set at 750 to 1,000. Three versions of the display are being produced — one for the West Coast, one for the rest of the U.S. and one for Quebec. The campaign also works as an umbrella for other Invensys lines, he notes. Additional phases will tie in with the company's safety and refrigeration products under the same slogan and with interactive features — but not necessarily all including a P-O-P display. Click here to download a PDF copy of the article.
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