• YMCA
• Hayes Brake
• Meals on Wheels
• A. O. Smith Electric Products Company
• Sink Outlet
• Hatz Diesel of America

The Client...

A. O. Smith Electric Products Company

The Product...

Pool & Spa Motors

The Situation...

• A. O. Smith has been the market leader in pool, & spa electric motors for more than 40 years.
• Their share of motors used by pool & spa OEM manufacturers such as Hayward and Sta-Rite for their pump systems is dominant.

The Challenge...

• While A.O. Smith dominates the market with OEM pool & spa pump system manufacturers, replacement sales have always presented a challenge
• Convincing service technicians to replace an A. O. Smith motor with the same kind was difficult, as they tended use cheaper motors or whatever was in their truck.
• Agency was asked to develop a program that would encourage service technicians to replace with A.O. Smith and also help better brand the A.O. Smith name throughout the industry.

The Solution...

"Powering Up Replacement Sales"

Marketing Strategy — Part One...

• Agency first developed an ad that would tell service technicians that it's important to replace A.O. Smith motors with the same brand because the pump systems are engineered for these motors.
• But we knew the technicians were not going to read an informational type ad, so we developed one with a humorous approach.

Initial Ad to Service Technicians

Marketing Strategy — Part Two...

• We also knew that one ad was not going to convince them to start replacing worn out motors with A.O. Smith Motors
• So we created some clever "give-aways" that featured the laughing zebras concept. When service technicians came into the distributors to pick up a motor, they were given "laughing zebra" t-shirts, coffee mugs or a hat.

Marketing Strategy — Part Three...

• The next step in changing the mind-sets of the technicians was to utilize an "Intel Inside" type campaign that helped add value to the A.O. Smith Motors being part of the pump system
• We designed a "Powered by A.O. Smith" sticker which A.O. Smith marketing people convinced pool & spa pump manufacturers to put on their pumps.
• Technicians would see the stickers on pump units they were servicing and gain a better appreciation for the value of A.O. Smith motors.

The "Powered By" Sticker

Marketing Strategy — Part Four...

• The final step in changing the mind-sets of the technicians was to create a "Powered by A.O. Smith" ad campaign
• The campaign was designed to convince retailers and service technicians to put the sticker on pump systems with A.O. Smith motors they handled.
• Again, we decided to use attention-getting ads that we knew would capture the eye of the service technicians as well as the rest of the industry.

Arm & Leg Ads

Head & Shoulders Ads

The Results...

This campaign helped triple A.O. Smith's replacement sales and push the brand to a new level of leadership with the service technicians. The campaign later appeared in Europe where A.O. Smith brand recognition and sales also rose to a new level of success.