As part of our clients’ roles in serving their community, we encourage them to support their neighbors and create a give-back work culture. To that end, we partner with many of them to craft and implement campaigns that provide a direct way to give back.
Cornerstone Advertising is a marketing and lead generation agency for HVAC/plumbing contractors throughout the US. As part of our clients’ roles in serving their community, we encourage them to support their neighbors and create a give-back work culture. To that end, we partner with many of them to craft and implement campaigns that provide a direct way to give back. Furthermore, cause marketing allows our clients to reach new audiences, and supporting organizations in their community will earn consumer trust and loyalty.
Recently, Service Plus Heating, Cooling & Plumbing, our Indianapolis-based client, launched their Everyday Hero initiative in March. The campaign’s mission is to recognize and honor military and front-line workers by giving away a free HVAC replacement system to a deserving local hero. It stretched over two months, starting with a nomination phase, followed by winner selection, equipment installation, and concluded with the winner announcement.
Giving Back Improves Employee Morale and Attracts Top Talent
For Service Plus, this program was a first for their company, and they thoroughly enjoyed the process and being able to give back. We involved their entire company with an all-staff campaign kickoff that included buttons, posters, and an announcement sheet calling for nominations. Service Plus team members could use these as they interacted with their customers in the field and over the phone. Giving back to the community is also a great recruitment tool. Just like today’s consumers, prospective employees want to know that the brands they’re aligning with are doing the right thing. It is a win-win!
Planning for the Expense
As for the financial investment, Cornerstone leverages and negotiates the media plan/buy each year. We use the added value (that media stations set aside) to negotiate these campaigns into the annual contract with the station. Additionally, a manufacturer is often willing to donate the equipment. Therefore, the cost to our client is minimal. Expenses are mainly associated with program management and working with the client and station to build the assets and pre-promote the campaign through social media and websites. We create additional assets to announce the winner and capture the install as well. Last but not least, there is an investment of time—review of the nominations to determine the finalists, visit their homes, select the winner, and complete the install.
Gain Media/PR Opportunities While Boosting Your Reputation
During the nomination period, the station runs numerous :10 and :15 promos encouraging nominations. In conjunction with social, emails, and the website, we are doing the same with the client. Once a winner is selected, we use social to relay the location and date of the winner’s announcement. After the winner has been announced, there is another week of numerous :10 and :15 promos. Again, we use the client’s email, blogs, website, and social to do concurrent post-announcement promotion.
In between the nomination, selection, and the announcement, the installation of the new equipment takes place. We arrange for a video crew and photographer to be on-site to capture and record the winner’s announcement and equipment installation.
And here is the best part … Service Plus awarded Jeremiah Monroe and his family a brand new, energy-efficient HVAC system AND a new water heater as well. Indianapolis’ WTHR’s 13INside Track news program attended the installation. During the May 11 segment of the program, 13INside Track announced Jeremiah, a local firefighter, as the deserving winner.
Click here to read more about the winner and watch the videos that tell the story of Jeremiah and his wife Jodi, who are dedicated servants to their community.
Cornerstone Advertising is a full-service (digital and traditional, including media planning and buying) marketing and lead generation agency focused on working with residential HVAC/plumbing contractors. Cornerstone has maintained and honed this focus for more than 25 years, helping contractors grow from a handful of trucks to a large fleet – $5 million to over $20 million. We currently serve approximately twenty clients throughout the US and are always looking to help additional HVAC/plumbing contractors grow.
Contact Kerry Foster, account executive, for more information about opportunities to grow your business. kerryf@cornerstonead.com or (317) 804-5640 x108.