break the rules, you can bring the product
alive while informing the viewer.”
Looking Back to the Beginning
This ability to stretch the rules and
walk a fine line for Pro Tool’s campaigns
goes back to the very beginning of the
partnership with Garnett and Atomic
Direct. Pro Tool’s initial decision to work
with Atomic came about because the
agency had no reluctance in doing things
differently.
The initial campaign for Drill Doctor
debuted seven years ago. The key to the
campaign was to convert viewers to the
complicated Drill Doctor through the
detailed explanations and demonstrations
only possible in a long-form message.
They reasoned if they could “
show-and-sell” through a half-hour program, the
small company might be able to afford
TV advertising.
“The luxury of covering so many different applications in 28 minutes opened
a large, national market for us,” says
Pro Tool’s Crawford. “Hot buttons can be
different for each buyer. You never know
which application will trigger a purchase.”
With an analytical background gained
from degrees in applied mathematics
and a career in aerospace, Garnett relied
heavily on data to determine how to
proceed. Using a focus group approach,
Atomic Direct divided the product’s features into separate components of communication, testing them one-at-a-time
in a sales presentation given to groups of
eight to 10 people.
“We look for the strongest trends and
themes to determine whether it makes
sense to proceed and, if so, the final di-
pating in similar activities.
Early morning time slots from 5-9
a.m. proved best. “During the week, we
get them when they’re shaving, or during mid-morning weekends when they’re
drinking a cup of coffee and reading the
newspaper,” says Garnett. “Plus we target
weekend afternoons when they’re done
mowing the lawn and come in to relax.”
Blodgett further defines his target market as heavy tool-use homeowners. Nearly
half of all Drill Doctor users also own arc
welders. For product kick-offs, Professional Tool Manufacturing has often used
radio in connection with DRTV. “In
particular, we’ve chosen Paul Harvey on
ABC radio for his credibility and appeal
Pro Tool worked with DRTV
agency Atomic Direct to find
the best time slots for the
long-form Work Sharp and
Drill Doctor campaign. Lessons
learned from past Drill Doctor
campaigns proved that DIYs
tended to watch and respond
best to infomercials airing
early morning on weekdays
or mid-morning weekends on
channels such as Discovery,
Sci-Fi, History and USA.
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rection of the sales pitch,” says Garnett.
“Our industry has been remiss in appreciating the power of research.” Elements
such as the best type of presenter, environment, demonstrations, interviews and
testimonials all emerged from the trials.
In 2001, the campaign launched on
national cable. Outdoor, Speed and
National Geographic — channels that
appeal to active men — were used, as well
as special interest channels Discovery,
Sci-Fi, History and USA.
Interestingly, while it might be assumed that Home & Garden Television
(HGTV) would offer a good medium for
tool workers interested in home repairs,
redecorating and remodeling, Garnett
has not found that to be so. He explains
that, much as cookware campaigns often
do poorly on the Food Network, viewers
seem to watch more for entertainment
value than for a direct interest in partici-
to one of our targets, the 50-plus year-old
consumer,” he notes.
Agency Partners Provide Boost
Atomic Direct manages all of Pro-
Tool’s direct sales channel, coordinating
it with the print advertising handled by
Motivational Design, a Portland, Ore.-based graphic design firm. And while
Atomic is ultimately responsible for
media purchases, they rely on Zephyr
Media to handle the actual buys. “Atomic
is more of a strategic operation,” says
Garnett. “We guide clients by bringing
together all of the right resources.”
Los Angeles-based Medallion Fulfillment and Logistics reports to Atomic and
is responsible for the customer service,
order processing and shipping of DRTV
and Web site orders. Both media are fully
integrated, with the same pricing of-
