Challenger Brand Issue: How to make one shining moment in the NCAA tournament last longer than a moment.

Werner ladders have always been the preferred brand for professional contractors. And Werner ladders have long been used to cut the nets down at the conclusion of one of America’s favorite sporting events – the NCAA Basketball Tournament. GKV and Werner’s challenge was to leverage the importance and emotion of the net cutting ceremony to extend Werner’s brand messaging beyond the professional contractor and into the vast DIY market.

Insights
So how did we turn a few minutes on the court into a lasting impression for millions of American Do-It-Yourselfers? First, we drew a strong connection between the drive for excellence on the jobsite and the push for excellence on the court. The presence of a Werner ladder symbolized people who are committed to doing the job right. Or… Werner is the ladder for those who “Rise Above the Rest.”

Challenger Brand Behavior
To maximize Werner brand exposure, GKV recommended and executed a fully integrated campaign to support and surround the NCAA Final Four sponsorship before, during, and beyond NCAA tourney climax. This consisted of: A five-week national radio promotion with ESPN Radio’s Mike and Mike in the Morning Radio show and their Sheets of Integrity Bracket Challenge, cable television programming through CBS College Sports, digital advertising on multiple sports properties and other relevant sites, online scoreboard sponsorships through ESPNAudio.com and NCAA.com, plus unique on-site events at NCAA tournament locations, including the Final Four weekend.

A GKV-built microsite served as the focal point for online and offline efforts and featured interactive games, user contributions in the form of photos, video clips from Mike and Mike, and coaches cutting down nets (including Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski), plus information on Werner’s history with the championship game. And of course, links to Werner’s product sites.

Results
The “Rise Above The Rest” campaign generated over 1 billion total impressions. Werner’s corporate website traffic increased by 88.6%. How successfully did we seed the Werner brand into the public conscious? College coaches interviewed on ESPN after being eliminated from the tourney literally said they wished they could have climbed “the Werner” this year!