You Imagine It, They Build It: Craftsmen Industries, Inc.

June 30, 2008

WHEN OLYMPUS AMERICA WAS LOOKING for a new marketing vehicle to promote its consumer and medical products it called on St. Charles, Missouri-based Craftsmen Industries. The solution was a double expandable trailer that traveled the country. The primary mission was to bring Olympus products directly to customers and let them have a tactile experience in a controlled environment.

            The custom-built trailer has been in use for about four years and has yielded significant return on investment, according to Mike McLaughlin, executive vp at Craftsmen. "The ROI has been so good that they're looking to buy another trailer."

            In business for over 25 years, Craftsmen offers a full range of mobile products including custom specialty trailers, truck bodies, modified buses, RVs, vans, automobiles and motorcycles, as well as related event elements such as interactive kiosks, portable displays, sound systems, theater lighting and equipment, branded tents, 3D props and fiberglass components. In-house finish work includes foam/urethane sculptured pieces, custom-wood, laminate and fiberglass elements built to client specifications. The company also boasts an in-house, state-of-the-art graphics department that creates vehicle graphics, banners, signs and special promotion items.

            With a customer base comprised mainly of marketing and advertising agencies, Craftsmen has teamed up with those clients to create successful mobile marketing programs for the likes of A-1 Steak Sauce, Anheuser-Busch, Blockbuster, Bosch Tool, Buick, Carhartt, Cartoon Network, Citibank, Coca-Cola, Coleman, Ford, Fox Video, Gatorade and Gillette, among others.

            "Marketing and advertising agencies come to us with ideas about how they want the mobile marketing vehicle to look and function, and we turn those concepts into reality," says McLaughlin. "We like to say, 'You imagine it, we build it'."

            And what they've built has earned major recognition. Over the years, Craftsmen has collected more EXAwards-the industry's equivalent of the Oscars-per vehicle than all of its competitors combined. This year, Craftsman won a gold for its contribution to the "Planeta Wrigley" campaign for Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. The standout effort was a large trailer with an upper deck and a "pop-up" top that transforms the vehicle into a presentation stage. "Using it, the company can put on big presentations for large groups of people," explains McLaughlin. "And when Wrigley isn't using it for those types of events, the vehicle serves as a sampling unit that the company utilizes to focus on the U.S. Hispanic market."

            With all its projects, Craftsmen always starts with the end in mind-that is, the end result the marketer wants to achieve.

            "We look at where they want to bring the trailer, what time of year the tours will take place, and the size of the crowds that will be going through the vehicle," says McLaughlin. "By factoring in those variables and relying on our 25-plus years of success in the industry, we're able to develop the most effective event marketing vehicle to meet their needs."

For more Event Marketing coverage:
Up Close and Personal
You Imagine It, They Build It: Craftsmen Industries, Inc.
The Power of Integration: Freeman
Stepping Up the Intensity: SSG/Brandintense
The Perfect Blend: XA The Experiential Agency