Company: Underwriters Laboratories
Agency: MS&L Worldwide
Timeframe: November 2008- December 2009
“UL” is a mark people have seen hundreds of times around the house, especially if it’s loaded with electronic products. But what UL really stands for could be a mystery to many.
Underwriters Laboratories is an independent product safety certification organization that has been testing products and writing standards for safety for more than a century. UL evaluates more than 19,000 types of products, components, materials and systems annually, with 20 billion “UL” marks appearing on 72,000 manufacturers’ products each year. They also have a global presence, with 64 laboratory, testing and certification facilities serving customers in 98 countries.
Looking to reassert the UL brand’s relevance, the organization tapped agency MS&L Worldwide to help engineer a rebranding effort around safety standards for a key target group.
UL partnered with MS&L to develop a consumer awareness and education campaign to increase understanding of UL, create demand by encouraging consumers to buy UL-certified products and to start a “safety movement” by prompting new generations to spread the UL message. The robust rebranding and repositioning campaign was designed to shift UL’s market leadership position from a mostly B2B reputation to a highly recognized consumer brand. The call-to-action for the campaign was simple: “Just Look for UL.”
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| Actress and new mom Keri Russell was the centerpiece of Underwriters Laboratories’ holiday rebranding campaign. Photo courtesy of MS&L Worldwide |
THE RESEARCH
Initial rebranding work started in 2006, when UL conducted a consumer brand values study. Data showed the organization lacked high awareness among the huge U.S. consumer population. Rather than focus on a massive, unsegmented audience, MS&L helped UL zero in on one specific subset—moms. In particular, new moms, defined as expectant mothers or women between the ages of 24 and 35 with children under age 2.
“While baby boomers and their elders were familiar with UL’s “seal of approval” mark, younger generations had little to no awareness of UL and didn’t understand its role in helping safeguard their homes,” says Brett Carrey, senior VP-consumer marketing at MS&L.
Incremental proprietary research by MS&L’s Research & Insights Team showed that new moms represent a broad and growing population who collectively touch 64 million people monthly, delivering nearly 7.7 billion person-to-person annual contacts.
“We also found that these moms are insecure about bringing a child into the world,” says Carrey. “They are concerned with safeguarding their homes and thus receptive to messages about protecting their children, their families and their homes.” They also value what they have learned from their own mothers, and scour a wide variety of sources for additional information, adds Carrey.
In addition to identifying the “new mom” as the target audience, MS&L also identified the Q4 holiday season as a key period when these moms are particularly concerned with and receptive to messaging about safety. Home fires during the holiday season hover around 47,000 nationally, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Between the significant rise in the use of electrical devices such as holiday lights and accessories, and the purchase of gifts—especially electronics—for their families, new moms are more mindful of identifying products that are considered safe.
MS&L also conducted extensive psycho- and socio-graphic research on this audience to understand where they live, work, play and consume their information. “Providing new moms with relevant information about how they could keep their homes and their families safe would be crucial to driving awareness and understanding of UL,” says Carrey.
THE CAMPAIGN
Tactically, the approach included reaching new moms through the channels most influential to them: the digital media they use to stay informed and connected to family, friends and other moms; their preferred entertainment venues and TV shows; their favorite shops; and their trusted news outlets. To reach them, MS&L activated several integrated marketing disciplines including earned and paid digital media, celebrity influencers, sponsorships of key holiday events, strategic entertainment integrations, print media, word-of-mouth marketing, advertising and employee engagement.
“We sought to surround these moms at all touch points to build awareness and familiarity of UL’s safety at home message, educate them about the value of the UL Mark and create new advocates for UL both inside and outside the company,” says Carrey.
In time for the holiday season in 2008, UL and MS&L rolled out a multifaceted campaign, Just Look for UL, which focused on holiday safety and was designed to increase awareness of the UL Mark and position the company as the leader in safety certification. To do so, it leveraged the celebrity of new mom and actress Keri Russell to help the target market relate to the message of safety in the home, especially during the holidays.
Russell, star of the TV show Felicity and of movies such as Waitress, was a new mom herself and within the age range as UL’s target audience. “This group had a strong emotional tie with Keri, having grown up at the time of Felicity,” says Carrey. “Additionally, Keri believed strongly in UL’s message of promoting home safety and felt it was a good cause to align with.”
The timing of Russell’s involvement was just right: In December 2008 she had a new movie coming out, Bedtime Stories, that put her front and center with the media. And Russell was also out front with UL’s holiday safety message; she was involved in the following campaign initiatives and events, which were nationwide with emphasis in New York and UL’s home base of Chicago:
• Russell spread the word at tree lighting events in New York and Chicago.
• A PSA and print advertising campaign were created featuring Russell. The ads appeared in women-focused consumer publications such as Parents, American Baby, Ser Padres, People and OK!.
• The PSA and ads were placed in and around “Santa’s Village” at various Simon and Westfield Malls across the country.
• A national satellite media tour was coordinated featuring Russell.
• Russell was used as an internal spokesperson to inspire and empower UL employees to get involved in the safety movement.
• A Web site (www.safetyathome.com) was created where moms gathered safety information, watched PSAs, linked to a safety blog and digital campaign components including AOL, Café Mom, Facebook and Twitter.
• A mobile contest asked consumers to submit photos of the UL Mark.
SOLID-STATE RESULTS
The six-week campaign resulted in some impressive gains, including:
• 540 million media impressions, which included
TV placements on The View, FOX and Friends, Martha Stewart, CBS Early Show, MSNBC News Live and a number of local news broadcasts in New York and Chicago;
• 100% employee participation in the internal communications program and empowered all UL employees around the world to be advocates for safety and ambassadors for the UL brand; and,
• 97,000 entries were received for the mobile contest.
FOLLOW-UP EFFORTS
In 2009 MS&L and UL continued the holiday tradition with another six-week campaign, UL Keeps the Holidays Safe and Bright. In this effort, UL partnered with House Party to host “Safe and Bright” holiday parties at more than 1,000 homes nationwide. Each party was designed to help share UL-branded messages around the importance of keeping your home and family safe during the holidays—and beyond.
UL’s online presence was expanded by enhancing www.safetyathome.com and taking the safety message beyond just the holidays. Additionally, UL partnered with Brickfish to host a holiday photo contest that asked consumers to submit photos, videos and short stories about how they keep their holidays “Safe and Bright.”
“Our Facebook fans jumped nine-fold to nearly 9,000 fans,” says Carrey. “We also increased our blogger presence, working with them to help spread the word about the importance of safety on behalf of UL.”
CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTS
The digital part of the effort stood out for Carrey. “The digital and social media connections with new moms were effective in engaging with moms in a two-way conversation about the importance of safety,” says Carrey. “The photo contests were also very successful in engaging the audience with the UL brand.”
Carrey adds that entertainment integrations— The Ellen DeGeneres Show, HGTV and ABC Family Channel—were also very influential in establishing positive consumer connections.
The internal component of the UL campaign was important as well. UL engaged its employees online, through videos from Russell and CEO Keith Williams and with toolkits featuring safety magnets to share with others. “UL employees were hugely receptive to the campaign and applauded their company for its efforts,” says Carrey.
Some advice for organizations looking to ramp up their brand? “They need to firmly understand their business and lifestyle relevance in the mind-set of their consumer and clearly articulate the unique value proposition of the service or product that they deliver,” says Carrey. PRN
CONTACT:
Brett Carrey, [email protected]; Sandra Saias, [email protected].