What can a landmark Wisconsin church, a vintage, luxury
apartment in Washington, D.C. and a leading Chicago medical facility possibly
have in common?
Each uses heating systems fueled by boilers from Weil-McLain and each served as dramatic
illustrations of the products’ benefits in a high-profile case study editorial
media initiative that won a Trumpet award from the Publicity Club of Chicago.
Some background: Weil-McLain, although a leading North
American manufacturer of hydronic boilers, historically had minimal visibility
in industry trade publications, a vital conduit to customers.
In addition to launching an ongoing editorial coverage
campaign, LCWA recommended the sales force
would benefit most from publication of case study articles that showcased how Weil-McLain boilers solve
an array of heating challenges.
However, case study articles are submitted to media every
day with editorial space in print editions at a premium; even publications’
online versions do not use every article submitted. That’s why LCWA determined it critical to
feature facilities that were decidedly distinctive to pique editor interest, such
as:
- The Zion Episcopal
Church, a Wisconsin landmark founded in 1846 by the Rt.
Reverend Jackson
Kemper, the first missionary Episcopal Bishop
- The Mendota, Washington, D.C.’s oldest intact
luxury apartment built in 1901
- The Weyhill Guest House, a former farm house now
used as an historic boutique bed and breakfast
- A medical facility operated by a leading health
care provider, Presence Health
The articles also needed to:
- Focus on end-users’ unique challenges
- Portray how Weil-McLain boilers responded to
these challenges with high-tech, innovative features
- Include strong customer endorsements
Another key tactic: development by LCWA of well-written,
clever copy. A small sampling:
- “Historic Church
Sings Praises of New High Efficiency Condensing Boilers” (headline from
Zion Church article)
- “Pennsylvania Country
Club Gets Guest House in Order with New Boilers” (headline for Weyhill
Guest House article)
- “A medical center
in Chicago required a quick, efficient remedy to nurse its aging and failing
boiler heating system back to good health” (lead to Presence Health
article)
- “Advanced System
‘Harbors’ Efficient Heat for Chicago Condo Building” (headline for Belmont Harbor
article)
Six in-depth case studies were researched, written and
published in leading HVAC and engineering journals.
Prominent editorial coverage was gained in a major way.
In just a 10-month period, a remarkable 56 print and online placements were
attained (17 print and 39 online). That’s more than one per week! And, these
were not just mere product mentions. Coverage ranged from two to four pages
with large color photos.
Even more valuable, these articles vividly illustrated how
Weil-McLain boilers solved major heating challenges and featured comments from customers
that delivered impactful testimonials. Some examples:
- “Weil-McLain
products restored this historic guest house to its former heating glory.”
- “These new boilers
are more energy efficient, feature low-range pressure controls and have the
ability to modulate.”
- “We didn’t have a
single service call through all of last year’s heating season, which says it
all for the quality of the units.”
- “It really is a
phenomenal, efficient system and the energy savings have been fantastic.”
These powerful, third-party endorsements conveyed through
yet another influential third-party (the editorial media) boosted the
Weil-McLain brand and provided the sales force with compelling information to
present to sales prospects.
The "Making the Case for Weil-McLain Boilers" Campaign won a Silver Trumpet from the Publicity Club of Chicago in the category of Media Relations - Business to Business.