Client Brief

Ipsen is the international market leader in the vacuum heat-treat industry. Their advances in heat-treating technology have pushed the boundaries of industrial furnace performance with improvements to precision temperature control, cost-effectiveness and ease of operation in a compact layout.

Opportunity

The new HybridCarb® from Ipsen is an ultra-efficient gassing system designed to replace endothermic generators and other outdated gassing systems. Rather than simply burning off excess gas, HybridCarb recycles, reconditions and reuses the process gas (which is burned off in current systems) to save money, improve product hardness and reduce emissions.

Challenge 

HybridCarb was successfully launched in the European market recently, but the company was unsure of how well the “green” technology would be embraced in the seemingly complacent U.S. market.

Strategy

Heinzeroth collaborated with Ipsen Marketing Manager Mary Grimborg to devise a strategy that would introduce the HybridCarb in the U.S. as the money-saving solution that companies were waiting for, even if they hadn’t realized it yet. More specifically:

• Raise awareness for this innovative new technology with an aggressive teaser campaign culminating in a high-impact unveiling across multiple media.
• To position HybridCarb as more than a green product that merely recycles heat and benefits the environment. It is a money-saving technology that is a giant leap forward in ease of use, hardness uniformity, and carburizing efficiency. It’s a true game-changer.
• Drive traffic to a HybridCarb microsite to learn more about the advantages and to generate product inquiries. Include a QR code on each print ad to further ease information seeking.

Tactics

Heinzeroth developed and implemented an integrated multi-media campaign that included print advertising, collateral and web. To conjure a sense of mystery and anticipation regarding the official tradeshow rollout, a short prelaunch phase included back-to-back teaser ads that laid the groundwork for the “you now have a better choice” message.

Results

• Ipsen reports this has been one of their most successful product launches ever, surpassing their expectations for inquiries and sales.
• Hundreds of prospects were driven to the HybridCarb microsite directly by the URL and the QR code.
• The third ad in the series won an Ad Readership Award in Industrial Heating, scoring high marks for “ad recall.”

“The product has been quite the buzz since the launch. Between the teaser ads and the tradeshow, and, of course, the continued ads about HybridCarb, the requests have been coming in fast and steady. As it turns out, Americans are more concerned with ‘being green’ than we originally thought! Our strategy paid off. Great job!”

– Mary Grimborg, Ipsen Marketing Manager