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Raymarine case study: A new life on a hundred-year story

Raymarine case study: A new life on a hundred-year story

Since 1923, Raymarine has been a trusted, leading name in the marine electronics industry. But, due to stiff competition and product-forward advertising, their brand story was getting lost in a sea of sameness for their boaters and anglers in the United States. The writing was on the wall: They had to do something different. And that’s exactly what we did.

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Leave doubt in your wake

When it comes to marine equipment, there is no room for error and doubt. Boaters and anglers need reliable products they can count on. So, we tapped into that emotional need in order to give Raymarine a new, refined voice that exudes confidence, rugged reliability and trust. We combined influencer partnerships, lifestyle branding and creative storytelling to deliver a brand refresh and 360 campaign that spoke directly to the hearts of those who dare the deep.

Coast Guard stamp of approval

There’s saying your product is trustworthy, and then there’s actually backing it up. The fact that the U.S. Coast Guard was already relying on Raymarine only reinforced our messaging, and having them as brand ambassadors spoke volumes to our audience.

Not just a new brand.
A campaign with bite to launch it.

From the logo to becoming a lifestyle brand, we made a significant shift, found a compelling new storyline and reinvigorated the brand to be forward-thinking yet in tune with the lifestyle of boaters and anglers. We helped support it on the website, as well as through an integrated digital and social media plan to break through the noise.

Putting the pros at the helm of the story

We also partnered with a wide network of pro ambassadors and influencers to capture their own content and show just how well Raymarine’s equipment holds up, even in the toughest waters.

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Chevron case study: Influencer video series opens minds and inspires decision makers

Chevron case study: Influencer video series opens minds and inspires decision makers

When your entire operation relies on the performance of a single piece of equipment, protecting it shouldn’t be an afterthought or an area to pinch pennies. But when maintenance professionals look at only the input cost of engine oil, they end up doing just that. Chevron Lubricants needed to change that mindset and demonstrate how a compromise on engine oil now could mean bigger costs down the line. 

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A strategically formulated approach

Nationwide focus groups with target buyers validated by a quantitative survey revealed a skeptical misconception and key insight: maintenance professionals believe “oil is just oil” and that all options are basically the same. With this perspective, why would anyone pay more for one brand over another? We needed to help these buyers realize that their choice was impacting their bottom line well beyond the purchase price and take a social-first approach to show them how the right oil could not only help them overcome obstacles but provide a competitive advantage.

Gather round
the expert table

Since we were dealing with some seriously technical information, we needed an approach that would pique interest and educate the audience. A roundtable discussion format set the stage for natural, organic conversations with two senior engineers from Chevron Lubricants. 

But in order for the content to really hit home, it had to come from someone they could relate to and trust. So, we tapped industry influencer Bryan Furnace, founder of the YouTube channel Diesel & Iron and host of the Equipment World YouTube show The Dirt. With his experience as a heavy equipment operator and established social presence (over 8.4 million YouTube views), Bryan was the ideal personality to interpret technical explanations through the lens of an end user and ask the tough questions that would elicit the clarity and understanding this audience demands.

The power of proof

To uncover the truth behind oil formulations and how they keep engines protected, we went straight to the source at Chevron Lubricant’s Richmond Technology Center in Richmond, California. We got exclusive access to the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, for a behind-the-scenes look at how oils are torture tested to prove their ability to protect in the most extreme conditions. This gave us all the proof we’d need to tell the story.

Mission accomplished

The primary objective of this campaign was to get operators thinking about their choice of engine oil as a strategic business decision and to move them to engage with educational assets. The roundtable conversational video series garnered 435K views and 4M impressions at one-third the cost of the CPM benchmark. The social content resonated extremely well with our target audiences and has consistently been Chevron Lubricant’s top-performing content since launch.

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“We knew the information we had to share was complex. 
So, we took an experienced industry influencer and sat him down with our experts to 
unpack the stories in a way that our audience could relate to and clearly understand.”

— Walt M. Collier

| Americas Brand Manager for Delo engine oils and ancillary products

Graebel case study: Proving “people first” is second to none

Graebel case study: Proving "people first" is second to none

Throughout its 70+ year history, Graebel has maintained a reputation for authenticity and high-touch service. Its brand promise, “people-first mobility,” is true through and through. Yet, in early 2023, a key competitor was beginning to look and sound a lot like Graebel. This ABM campaign proved that a brand is more than skin deep and that Graebel’s people-first mobility promise is second to none.

Using ABM to show you’re un-copycat-able

Well beyond a logo or tagline, brand is how a company shows up in the world, how it approaches challenges and how it delivers on its promises. Graebel, a leading global relocation management company (RMC), has been uniquely living its people-first mobility belief—and brand—for decades. But lately, it seemed like everyone (including a large, key competitor) was jumping on the “customer-centric” bandwagon—and Graebel had something to say about it.

Through the ABM program, we needed to make clear that people-first mobility with Graebel is not just a surface-level claim. It’s a promise. Following a thoughtful ramp-up that included a Martech Stack Audit, ABM Readiness Assessment, Martech Roadmap and Sales and Marketing internal alignment and buy-in, we launched a 1:Few program targeting 62 accounts that had existing contracts with or were displaying intent toward this key competitor.

Preparing the roadmap

With multiple decision makers in the mix, we needed to fire on all cylinders—channel, content, creative and tech strategy—to differentiate Graebel and plant seeds of doubt against our competitor. Working closely with the Sales team, we identified our target accounts. We assessed the health of account and contact data in Graebel’s database leveraging Demandbase and RampedUp while also acquiring contacts using SalesIntel to ensure we adequately covered the buying syndicate.  

To maximize reach and engagement, we planned online and offline touches coming from both Marketing and Sales. Content and creative would need to be clutter-busting, insightful and resonant. And martech would need to undergird everything, helping orchestrate and automate a complex program with ease. 

An unwavering creative concept

With competitors evolving toward more customer-centric positioning and messaging, the apparent contrast between them and Graebel was diminishing. But people-first mobility is more than skin deep, and Graebel had a set of values and ways of conducting business that were 100% un-copycat-able. Our creative needed to affirm our strengths and challenge assumptions without slinging mud at competitors—because that would be so un-Graebel.

The resulting concept was undeniably on brand but with a proud and polished swagger. The campaign headline that anchored all creative assets (“Often imitated. Never duplicated.”) made clear that while others may waffle or overpromise, Graebel maintains an unwavering focus on people-first mobility.

A people-first program

We developed an ambitious, multi-channel, multi-touch campaign that spanned three phases over several months.

Aware

The Awareness phase was about getting on the radar and planting seeds of doubt. Through email (deployed via Pardot), content syndication and LinkedIn, educational content on global mobility trends and creating exceptional relocation experiences took center stage.

Engage

The Engage phase was all about nurturing the relationship. Inbound activity through personalized Demandbase display banners and LinkedIn paid social drew audiences into the campaign story, while outbound email linking to Uberflip-hosted landing pages sent key messages out. A Drift custom chatbot encouraged direct Sales outreach.

The nexus of activity was an industry expert-led, Zoom-hosted webinar. Contacts were sent a personalized direct mail gift that invited them to attend an insightful discussion on the criticality of people-first mobility—and how to begin making the switch if they’re dissatisfied with their current RMC. By integrating Zoom with Pardot, we were able to then surround registrants and attendees to the webinar with Sales and Marketing reminder emails and branded follow-up content.

Connect

The Connect phase aimed to secure Sales conversations with highly engaged contacts. Sales took the lead by sending a personalized video via Drift and LinkedIn InMail. Marketing emails supported the program with bottom-of-funnel, credibility-building content.

An ABM victory

Within three months, we achieved 98.4% account engagement and 36% conversion through new contact information acquisition. What’s more, as a direct result of the ABM campaign, active sales opportunities, representing millions in potential revenue, are in motion. By staying true to their brand and following foundational ABM practices like smart targeting, savvy orchestration and strong creative, Graebel proved that “people-first mobility” belonged to them and them alone.

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“We’ve been on a journey to experiment with ABM. 

This pilot validated how powerful account-based can be, both externally and internally, 
when done right. It was a really big deal for us, and I couldn’t be more thrilled with 
what we’ve achieved together.” 

– VP, Global Marketing | Graebel

Upending the status quo with an unexpected ABM approach​

Upending the status quo with an unexpected ABM approach

Industrial powerhouse Chevron Lubricants needed to demonstrate how a compromise on heavy-duty engine oil now could mean bigger costs down the line. Together, we developed an ABM campaign targeting ~220 high-potential accounts that blended best practices with an unconventional approach designed to stand out and shift thinking.

Addressing a serious business challenge…with humor

To effectively reach time-starved decision makers at our target accounts, we needed to cut through the noise—and appeal to both the emotional and rational sides of the brain. Our creative concept was a bold departure from the usual territory for this industry, leveraging a series of humorous, out-of-context scenarios that commanded attention and got the audience thinking about something that isn’t normally on their daily agenda: their choice of engine oil. 

Imagined by humans, generated by AI

To bring the idea to life, we tapped into generative AI, offering greater latitude to think and create outside of the box. Each creative execution drove home the key strategic insight: There are times you shouldn’t compromise; the heavy-duty engine oil you depend on to protect your fleet is one of them.

A curated journey of discovery, deployed at scale with new martech

To entice our audience to discover and engage with educational content, we helped activate targeted display ads and personalized landing pages by augmenting Chevron’s martech stack with short-term trials of Demandbase and HubSpot. Later touches featured video clips that further inspired prospects to engage, explore and learn. The pinnacle of our educational content was a video podcast featuring industry influencer Bryan Furnace and two Chevron SMEs, housed on a dedicated information hub complete with a HubSpot-powered chatbot.

Old-school tactic gets a digital facelift

A subset of core decision makers received a video direct mailer (DM) featuring a customized preview invitation from the influencer host. With real-time DM interactions tracked using 5G, prospect activity and intent signals were shared with Sales teams, enabling timely follow-up with tools that included personalized emails, phone calls and LinkedIn InMail.

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Big strategic and creative swing, home run payoff

The campaign reached 96.8% of targeted accounts, with 80% showing engagement. It also proved the role strategic direct mail can play in demand marketing, with 59% of contacts viewing the video mailer. Importantly, Chevron discovered the value of ABM—how channel, content, creative and tech can work seamlessly together—and now have a solid foundation for future campaigns.

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