Unique marketing strategy gives smaller projector vendor competitive advantage

by Don Kreski

How do you compete in a tough market like projectors when you know you're never going to approach the size or manufacturing efficiency of an NEC, Sharp or Sanyo?

Dukane president Jim Locascio says he's ready to make an unusually strong commitment to dealers who are willing to make a strong commitment to him.

A case in point: a targeted promotion Dukane launched this summer on behalf of dealer South Western Communications of Newburgh, Indiana.

This was no ordinary co-op project. Dukane took the lead in planning and implementing the promotion, helped South Western create the product offering, offered special warranty terms to buyers, and brought in Kreski Marketing to write and design the printed pieces. "We really have a close relationship with South Western," says Locascio. "They have agreed to solely promote Dukane projectors. And we've done some pretty creative and unique things with them in return that help separate them from their competitors."

The genesis of the project, Locascio says, goes back about 2 1/2 years. South Western and Dukane put together an installed classroom package which consists of a Dukane projector, a Promethean interactive whiteboard, document camera, control system and lesson development software. Dukane assembles all of the components at their plant in St. Charles, Illinois, including cabling, then ships them directly to the schools.

"Basically it's a complete package that we will kit," says Locascio. "This is the one of the things that was so attractive in South Western's eyes. They simply go to a classroom, open a box and all the components are there to install a multimedia solution. It has cabling, wall mounts, ceiling mounts, everything customized for the requirements of that room."

This summer's promotion came about when KISTA, the Kentucky Interlocal School Transportation Association, announced the availability of grant money for classroom technology. Locascio approached Holly Adams, South Western's educational sales manager, and suggested that the two companies partner on a mailing to Kentucky schools.

The challenge for Kreski Marketing was to create printed pieces that made the advantages of the package credible to jaded school administrators. At that point there were five Kentucky districts who had purchased the system. We decided to interview some of the superintendents and technology coordinators and ask if we could quote them in the mailer. Their comments were so positive that I went back and suggested we put an additional sheet in the envelope so we could use longer, more detailed comments than would fit in the product flyer.

I asked Locascio why he hired Kreski Marketing rather than using a local design firm or his own marketing staff. "I brought you in, Don, because there are areas of expertise that you bring that we simply don't have, and because, with your knowledge of the AV industry, I felt that I wouldn't have to train you on what we were trying to accomplish.

"Then too," Locascio says, "I wanted to do something special as far as the creative. Sometimes we can't see the forest for the trees. We get so close to a project that we can't be as effective as we'd like."

Results so far have been very encouraging. Locascio won't reveal sales figures, but he says that South Western is already closing systems as a result of the promotion. He also revealed that a little over 7% of the superintendents targeted "have responded to the mailing in a positive way." That is, in fact, a very high number. The rule of thumb in direct mail has always been about a 1 or 2% response rate. At 7%, we've achieved a result at least 3 1/2 times higher than what most marketing professionals would have projected.

Click to see the Kentucky flyer or the Kentucky educator comment sheet which we enclosed in the mailing.