Background
Sentinel is a leading provider of water treatment products for domestic, commercial and renewable heating systems. Access was appointed in 2013 as Sentinel’s lead integrated marketing agency.
The Question
Sentinel’s business objectives included international growth, a company-wide re-brand, a new online presence and production of comprehensive literature, digital and selling tools. So how would Access deliver complete consistency across the entire integrated campaign?
The Answer
The first task was to quickly gain a deep understanding both of the business and the challenges it faces, which we did through workshops, one-on-one meetings with senior staff, attending Sentinel sales meetings and going out on sales visits.
In collaboration with Sentinel’s in-house team, we then defined the target audience and developed their new positioning before creating a suite of materials and messages to be adapted for use internationally.
The key projects we’ve delivered include:
Brand Guidelines. Our re-brand created a fresh, innovative and premium look for Sentinel to reflect their market position, with a 64pp brand guideline showing how to use the logo, the new ‘dot’ system, the Clean, Protect, Maintain (CPM) positioning, fonts and colours.
Website re-design. Combining existing content with new features and functionality, the new website built in Drupal CMS presented the new brand with a better user experience and a fully responsive design across desktop, tablet and mobile.
SystemCheck. Part of the Sentinel Hub members’ area, this allows tracking of water quality samples between lab and customer. Originally a labour intensive and time-consuming offline process, the new, more automated online portal cuts time and cost.
SystemCare. A sales pack especially for specifiers, this comprises a 20-page brochure, desk-top presenter and document wallet with a premium look to help secure high value contracts. Exhibition stand designs were also produced.
Product packaging. 141 product labels across 8 languages needed re-designing and re-branding, and we worked closely with Sentinel’s marketing department, supply chain manager and fulfilment company to maintain stock levels throughout.
Literature. Sentinel’s most used literature, including product range brochure, product leaflets and specific collateral aimed at homeowners were redesigned and used to set the style for the rest of Sentinel’s printed materials.
Radio Advertising Partnership. Working directly with the team at TalkSport radio, we produced a big product promotion campaign involving Sentinel, a leading boiler manufacturer and a major heating merchant to drive sales in their store network.
Video. Content we’ve produced, including a best practice video explaining Sentinel’s new positioning and product categories, has been key to the success of the website and digital communications, also being used as a sales tool and at exhibitions.
Result and Achievements
The new integrated campaign has proved extremely successful for Sentinel.
The new ‘Clean, Protect, Maintain’ proposition has been well-received, with installers commenting that it “provided strong cut-through” and tradesmen appreciating how the ‘three-step’ concept mirrors the way systems are maintained and how “marketable” it is as a concept to consumers.
Website performance has also significantly improved.
Traffic levels in 2015 are up 95% on the previous year and the new ‘How-To’ Guides now account for nearly 15% of total web traffic, with the main best practice video receiving 6,000 views.
The SystemCheck project has saved time and resource for both Sentinel and their customers by moving the business service online, and as the new brand has been rolled out internationally research shows we’ve delivered “clear stand-out impact”.
