CLEVELAND, Aug. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Parker Hannifin (NYSE: PH), the global leader in motion and control technologies and systems, has launched its first-ever electronic advertising campaign. The ad series, headlined "Engineers See the World Differently," debuts in the U.S. this month on national cable television networks. The spots are part of a global advertising campaign the company launched in January 2002, under the "Parker, Anything Possible" brand banner, covering the company's $12-million annual expenditure in electronic and print advertising running in the Americas, Europe, Australia and Asia.
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The TV ads are a humorous nod to engineers as enablers of innovation, with three 30-second spots that point out how engineers are always focused on their work. To view the new ads and learn more about the products behind them, go to www.parker.com . To access a pass-along electronic postcard featuring the spots and links to product information, go to http://www.parker.com/TV/ePostcard.asp .
The campaign targets engineers who design, specify and use technology, a concept that was inspired by engineers from Parker and customers who participated in focus groups to develop the ads, said Lorrie Paul Crum, Parker's vice president of corporate communications. "In the focus groups, we realized that it's because engineers can always be counted on to see things differently -- to ask 'why not?' -- that they make extraordinary things possible," she said.
"We chose humor to make the ads memorable; not a common approach with engineers. Sure, they like technical specs, but they also have a passion for what they do. They joke about their families complaining that wherever they go, they become easily distracted with how things work. So we created ads they can relate to and laugh with, betting they'd build brand equity for Parker."
The TV spots were produced by Brokaw, Inc., Parker's agency of record based in Cleveland, Ohio. The ads are slated to air nationally on cable programming known to draw a business-to-business audience, including CNBC, History Channel and Discovery/TLC. Links from the company's web site and e-mail distribution will be used to extend the campaign beyond television with promotional items and stories about the real-life inspirations behind the featured Parker technologies.
"What's unique about this campaign is that it uses television to reach an industrial audience, and it celebrates engineers as the unsung heroes of innovation," Crum said. "Among the media engineers pay attention to, TV was an untapped opportunity. We were able to pinpoint a list of programs engineers invariably watch."
"Parker has a very defined audience that is traditionally reached through industrial and engineering trade magazines," said Brokaw Executive VP and Creative Director Greg Thomas. "But highly targeted cable programs like TLC's Junkyard Wars and History Channel's Modern Marvels give us an efficient way to engage that audience in a very memorable way."
In a global market estimated at $50 billion, Parker products are used in a variety of motion and control applications, from air conditioning, to automation, to aircraft. "We literally have more than 420,000 customers, yet most aren't aware of the depth of engineering knowledge and the breadth of motion and control technologies we have to serve them," explained Crum. "The ads support our long-term strategy to build Parker's reputation as the one company that brings innovative and comprehensive solutions for any type of motion-control application."
With annual sales exceeding $6 billion, Parker Hannifin is the world's leading diversified manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems, providing precision-engineered solutions for a wide variety of commercial, mobile, industrial and aerospace markets. The company employs more than 45,000 people in 44 countries around the world. For more information, visit the company's web site at www.parker.com or its investor information site at www.phstock.com
SOURCE Parker Hannifin Corporation
08/07/2003
CONTACT: Media, Lorrie Paul Crum, Vice President - Corp. Communications of Parker Hannifin, +1-216-896-2750, or Lcrum@parker.com; or Patrick Gallagher of Edward Howard & Co., +1-216-781-2400; or Kristin Wilson of Brokaw, Inc., +1-216-685-4526; or Financial Analysts, Pamela Huggins, Vice President - Treasurer of Parker Hannifin, +1-216-896-2240, or phuggins@parker.com
