Helping an analog industry step into the digital age
GIVE PAPER THE BOOT
Red Wing was set to revolutionize their business — and the industry — by launching a new technology and program that completely digitizes ordering, buying and fulfillment processes between customers, stores and corporate. SCHERMER was hired to market the new capability, but instead convinced them to launch it as the core of a new B2B brand – Red Wing For Business.
LAUNCHING A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND B2B BRAND AND SAFETY PROGRAM
The launch of Red Wing for Business had to be huge—not only because it represented the most innovative service offering in Red Wing Shoe Company’s 115-year history, but because it was the first safety footwear program to use digital technology in place of manual, paper-based processes – something no other competitor offers.
The launch objectives included:
- Raising awareness of Red Wing for Business and educate customers about the program
- Capturing double the number of leads over the prior year
- Rallying Red Wing personnel around the new program
Based on our audits, interviews, and analytics, we developed a demand gen strategy that would: meet customers where they were and move them along the buyer journey; target customer personas by job title, role and industry; and use lead nurture email and LinkedIn InMail to reach, engage and educate more prospects.
BY ALL MEASURES, A HUGE SUCCESS
Our launch campaign and demand gen program was consistent across channels, hyper-targeted and relevant to our buyer personas. Our work helped tell a compelling brand and cohesive program story over time, resulting in awareness of both the new Red Wing for Business brand and demand for the new safety program offering.
+108%
OF THE MQL GOAL
+8x
HISTORICAL MONTHLY LEAD AVERAGE
+35%
QUALIFIED LEAD CONVERSION RATE
LAUNCHING ON THE BIGGEST STAGE
From there, we concepted creative ways to engage prospects before, during and after the National Safety Council Congress & Expo (NSC), the ideal stage for making the biggest splash possible and the biggest trade show event for our target customers.
To achieve Red Wing’s objectives, we developed a go-to-market strategy that involved pre-event social marketing to build anticipation and drive booth traffic, an epic booth experience to capture qualified leads and generate buzz, and post-show marketing to build on the momentum and capture new leads among non-attendees.
The team at SCHERMER created a really thought-provoking way to frame up our value proposition for customers. The entire booth, both the thinking and the fun elements they added, showed that B2B doesn’t have to be boring. We couldn’t have done it without them.
DAVE SCHNEIDER
VP/CMO, Red Wing Shoes
2x
CAMPAIGN MQLs VS PREVIOUS YEAR
4x
TRADESHOW SQLs VS PREVIOUS YEAR
1/3
OF LEADS FROM NEW TARGET SEGMENT
SCHERMER really understands what business to business marketing is, and how to bring that experience to life. It has been a true partnership.
CRIS HERMAN
Global B2B Marketing Manager, Red Wing Shoes
