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

The Client...

Hatz Diesel of America

The Product...

Small Diesel Engines

The Situation...

• Hatz Diesel of America is the U.S. subsidiary of a worldwide German small diesel manufacturer headquartered in the Bavaria Region
• They make very high quality diesel engines in the 2 to 70 HP range for generators, pumps and other construction equipment.
• When the agency started working with Hatz, we conducted market research and found that, even though Hatz is well known throughout the world, the company had very little awareness in the US Markets.

The Challenge...

• The agency needed to build Hatz awareness and reputation in the United States in two distinct markets: (a) The Rental Market, and (b) the OEM Off-Highway Equipment Market.
• Research also told us that US customers felt Hatz did not have a good dealer organization that could provide them with readily available parts.
• They also believed that diesel engines generally had trouble starting in cold weather
• And they didn't understand why diesel engines were higher priced than gasoline engines

The Solution...

"Changing Attitudes & Awareness"

Marketing Strategy — Part One...

• Agency recommended an ad campaign that met customer objections head on.
• The first ad we created dealt with the perception that Hatz didn't have parts nearby.
• This ad told customers that if our local dealer didn't have the part they needed in stock, Hatz would overnight it to them within 24 hours free of charge.

Parts & Service Ad

Marketing Strategy — Part Two...

• The second ad we created dealt with the perception that diesel engines do not start well in cold weather
• The ad told customers that Hatz diesels have been used by armed forces around the world.  And, in order to get U.S Military approval, Hatz engines were kept at -65º for 24 hours and required to start on the first try.

See Cold Starting Ad

Marketing Strategy — Part Three...

• The third ad we created dealt with justifying the higher cost of diesel engines. Many potential customers didn't realize that diesel engines outlast gasoline engines 3-to-1! They also didn't realize the extra quality features they received with a Hatz diesel engine.
• So we developed an ad that told customers about some of the extras they get with Hatz diesels like the one that shuts the engines down when the oil gets too low.  This feature generated particularly high interest…

Value-Added Ad

Other Award Winning Ad Campaigns

The agency has developed several more marketing campaigns for Hatz throughout the past several years. Each one presented a new level of creativity that cut through the clutter and got the attention of the off-highway and rental markets.

Below is a sampling of the branding campaigns that have appeared in trade magazines such as: OEM Off-Highway, Diesel Progress and Rental Product News.

Dog & Pony Show

The Ants Go Marching

From Kings to Mimes

Protecting Customers & The World

The Results...

These campaigns helped build Hatz awareness from what research reported was a relatively unknown company in the United States to the market leader image it holds today.

In fact, a recent independent research study showed the advertising helped place Hatz near the top in awareness as Hatz ads scored at the top of the industry with 70% of the readers recalling seeing them out of the hundreds that come across their desks.

And the increased awareness has paid off for Hatz as sales are at an all-time high and have continued to climb each year the agency has been its marketing partner.