Hobart Corporation, a commercial food equipment manufacturer, provides its equipment to restaurants and retail locations around the world, not to mention theme parks, stadiums,
cruise lines, the airline industry, government and military facilities, universities, healthcare providers, hotels and bakeries. It's a natural that the company's brand theme for
the last several years has been "everywhereness." Employees were aware of just how ubiquitous their products were, but were challenged to convey that message to clients,
prospects and other stakeholders.
The communications team decided to let customers tell the story for them by gathering testimonials about how Hobart products are put to use in various locations. But they knew
procuring testimonials could be a delicate and extremely time-consuming process for PR staff. The solution was a simple Web-based contest that offered Hobart equipment users a
quick, painless way to provide feedback. It also offered a prize which, during the planning stages, seemed like the perfect incentive for users to share their thoughts: the
winner, who will be selected in a random drawing in May 2002, will receive an all-expenses paid trip for two to any destination in the world.
Travel Terror
Soon after the company kicked off its "Here, There and Everywhere" contest, however, the appeal of that prize took a nosedive. Hobart launched the contest at the industry's
major tradeshow, the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM). The show ended on Sept. 10, one day before attacks that would leave the country terrified
of travel. "Hindsight is 20/20," laments Dean Landeche, director of e-business, training and communications. "If we had to do it again, we would probably consider an alternative
prize given today's circumstances. A year ago as we started planning this, travel was at a record high, and even as we launched the program prior to Sept. 11, the idea of a prize
that was travel-related was spectacular. That's obviously all changed."
Hobart's team didn't panic, however. Like other corporations, the company scaled back its promotional efforts as the U.S. began its War on Terror, and they kept promotions for
the contest and its prize, in particular, low-key.
As the country has returned to a semblance of normalcy, communications efforts have gotten back on track, and the company has ramped up the contest once more.
At NAFEM, Hobart had offered an on-site demonstration of the entry process, along with kiosks where attendees could register. After the show, the company sent out post-event
materials including links to the contest site. The team also began a targeted email campaign to its customer database which produced a remarkable 15 percent clickthrough rate.
Plus, they ran banner ads on its Web page, http://www.hobartcorp.com; sent mailings to their sales force including materials to provide to
redistributors when making calls; and "sniped" corners in existing advertising. The company has also promoted the contest in corporate newsletters sent to a variety of
stakeholders.
Tasty Results
Despite the unfortunate choice of prizes, "Here, There and Everywhere" so far has been a tremendous success for the company. Although the team wasn't sure what to expect in
terms of quantity of entries, the 100 they have received so far have exceeded all qualitative expectations. "We've been delighted because when you compare this to other direct
response mechanisms like the number of leads generated from advertising in the trade media, the [relatively small] amount of money--$30,000 for all costs--and effort versus the
amount of testimonial is just fabulous," Landeche says. The team has received everything from short messages saying a customer has always been satisfied with Hobart products to
five printed pages of material on how much one customer loves Hobart equipment. A particularly moving entry documented how a Naval vessel off the coast of Africa used its Hobart
cooking equipment to feed a group of African orphans. "The quality and variety of entries already seen in two short months is nothing short of amazing and has done the work of
countless PR professionals working hard to get customer testimonials," says Patty Sorrell, senior public relations consultant for HSR Business-to-Business, Hobart's marcom agency
on the campaign.
Hobart will continue to promote the contest until May and expects to see a dramatic hike in entries as Americans begin warming to the idea of travel again in coming months.
(Contacts: Dean Landeche, 937/332-2496; Patty Sorrell, 513/346-5552)
Hobart Contact
Dean Landeche, director of e-business, training and communications
HSR Business-to-Business Team
Ann Farmer, VP client services
Rachel Doubet, senior account coordinator
Patty Sorrell, senior PR Consultant
Tearjerker Testimonial
"I've got a story about how we were in war-torn Ethiopia, and the local bakery was burned out because the owner was from a different village. So they burnt down his business to
send him away. In doing so, they also cut off [their] only supply of available bread.
"So here we were, fully equipped galley, Hobart machines and all, able to serve over a hundred hungry Marines in one sitting. Word got out to us onboard the ship that the local
orphanage was full to capacity and the babies and kids were going hungry.
"What is a good American to do? Ignore the cries of hungry children or feed them and help them? Of course we had to feed them and help them and fast or they would have been
left to their own devices.
"The Hobart mixers and blenders were literally working day and night. Not once did any of the equipment complain or suggest that it might be getting tired. It knew what was at
stake, and like a good American, it did what it had to do at any cost, until the job was done."
--Stephen Migliara, First Assistant Engineer, American Overseas Marine,
Wilmington, NC