Innis Maggiore Succeeds in Positioning Sta-Kleen as Industry's First Dry-Erase Urethane
CANTON, Ohio (August 17, 2010) - The strategic and creative teams of advertising and PR agency Innis Maggiore established indelible positioning for a client's breakthrough dry-erase urethane upholstery.
The Mitchell Group asked Innis Maggiore, the nation's leading agency in the practice of positioning, to position new Sta-KleenT dry erase urethane upholstery as the best choice for hospitality, healthcare, institutional and other applications where high fashion and stain- and wear-resistance are critical performance factors. Mitchell, based in Chicago, developed Sta-Kleen to deliver on designers' and specifiers' affinity for great-looking, natural-feeling, stain-resistant upholstered furniture and decorative items.
"The obvious positioning for Sta-Kleen was the first true dry erase urethane upholstery," said Lorraine Kessler, Innis Maggiore principal client services. "Being 'first' means everything in a new category for a product that has everything its customers want. Competitors will enter the market, but Sta-Kleen will forever be the 'first' in high-fashion urethane upholstery in patterns that feel like real leather and resist stains from ink, food, body fluids, and other agents."
Innis Maggiore developed an integrated media, public relations, web and trade show strategy, and dramatized Sta-Kleen's positioning through an iconic character known as The Erasable Man. "We succeeded in establishing a solid connection between the iconic Erasable Man and the fact that stains like ink, mustard, blood and even indelible marker can be completely dry erased from Sta-Kleen," Kessler said.
Wearing a suit tailored from brightly colored Sta-Kleen faux leather, The Erasable Man was featured in "teaser" and "reveal" trade publication ads, in an aggressive schedule of appearances at two key hospitality and contract industry trade shows, in PR materials and in video on the Sta-Kleen website.
Innis Maggiore is the nation's leading agency in the practice of positioning, building strong brand positions for companies in competitive markets. The advertising and public relations agency had 2009 capitalized billings of more than $21 million. Key clients include Alside, Aultman Health Foundation, Bank of America, Gerber Poultry, Goodyear, GuideStone Financial Resources, Nickles Bakery, Parker Hannifin, Progressive Foam Technologies, RTI International Metals, Republic Engineered Products, and Shearer's Foods Inc. Innis Maggiore is a member of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the National Investor Relations Institute and the Public Relations Society of America.