Bahco

The Cool Tools Challenge

Summary

Initial research showed that the Bahco brand was virtually unknown amongst younger professional trades people with no word of mouth. With a very limited budget, PR was the most cost effective method of reaching all of the audience, particularly the apprentice/young professionals.

Further Information

Bahco, a leading hand tools manufacturer, once traded in the UK as Sandvik; synonymous with Swedish quality and performance amongst professional trades people. When the Sandvik hand tool division was bought by a US company, the Sandvik name was exclusively retained for industrial and engineering tools. 

The hand tools division now trades as Bahco (formerly a sub brand) which posed significant challenges.To avoid erosion of Bahco’s long term hand tools business it was important to create a Bahco brand as strong as the Sandvik name and thereby transfer brand loyalty as quickly as possible.

Campaign Objectives

• To make Bahco a talked about brand for all professional users.
• Introduce the Bahco name to the trade apprentice in a specifically relevant way.
• Use the interest created to reinforce the Bahco name with the seasoned trade professionals.
• Use our close relationships with key press editors to convince them of the importance of our approach and its relevance to their audiences.
• Continue to expand the communications over several years to the target audience to maintain awareness and build continuing loyalty with new entrants to the market.
• Create a multi-layered approach capturing the imagination of the youth sector and using web.
• Through this create awareness in trade press with seasoned professional tradespeople who are less web aware.

Target Audience

• Student / trainee tradesmen
• Schools / colleges
• Professional tradesmen
• Trade and regional media

Media Channels

Industry-wide, young trades people were being encouraged to complete vocational courses for professional qualifications to make up a widely perceived skills shortage. For this campaign IAS developed a strategic alliance with the Government initiative for vocational colleges COVE (Centre of Vocational Excellence) in order to build added credibility and aid students as they are taught professional trade skills.

Collaborating with six COVE colleges in the first academic year, IAS were able to extend this to a further 17 colleges in the 2005 – 2006 academic year; with exposure to a new audience of young tradespeople every year.

Further brainstorming identified sport as a popular key to the predominantly male students. To carry the messages IAS created ‘The Cool Tools Challenge’, using the compelling image of a snowboarder on a saw. This was felt to help:

• Generate brand loyalty by investing in tomorrow’s professional tradesmen
• Encourage ‘growing up using Bahco’
• Educate - best tool practice, ergonomics, health and safety, the right tool for the job
• Help them have fun!
  

After recruiting the COVE colleges and their departments, printed flyers and posters, IAS encouraged apprentices to enter a simple competition of a multiple choice questionnaire on the history of Bahco. All answers were contained in the Bahco Tools website, to encourage visits. 

One student winner received a snowboard and vouchers for snowboarding lessons. One runner-up from each college won a personal toolkit worth £150, and each participating college received a selection of Bahco hand tools to the value of £250. 

At the same time, seasoned tradesmen were targeted through relevant trade journal coverage. The Bahco messages were communicated through the investment in skill shortage through the Cool Tools Challenge and COVE, creating awareness of Bahco as a responsible, caring manufacturer, and re-introducing the brand.

Client Testimonial

“IAS succeeded in penetrating a vital new market for us, with overwhelming response. IAS PR thought outside the box to deliver a low cost PR programme that worked on many different levels.” Barry Ross,

Marketing Manager, Bahco

Results

Young tradespeople response:
2800 college students approached through 17 colleges in 2005/2006, 17% response rate (very high for average age of the group - 19).

General professional trade:
Half a million opportunities to see achieved, with a 4:1 return on investment generated in trade press coverage compared to the equivalent advertising spend.