Mills Advertising case study
Mills Advertising loves Automotive
Not just cars, not just bikes and trucks and not just the big brands that drive the market. Mills Advertising loves Automotive in detail, from inside the engine to the outside paintwork to the OEM and the IAM and the-everything-in-between.
So, a passionate team then? “Fanatical might be a better way to describe us,” say Loes Mills and Zsofia Pioker, owners and directors of this Eindhoven-based international marketing agency. “We are persistent, results-driven, goal-oriented performers who know what our clients need because we take more time to listen,” says Loes. “And then enough time to think and act to get s**t done,” adds Zsofia, without asterisks.
As with any energetic duo, the full force of these agency heads is only clear face-to-face; they talk in turns, supporting their argument, moving the point and making their love for the work an inescapable fact.
Wolf Oil Corporation
Is an emerging leader in the lubricants industry, an independent company that serves OEMs and the independent aftermarket with its two brands Wolf and Champion. With more than 60 years’ industry experience, the company has an ambitious growth trajectory, covering 100 countries and expanding its distributor network worldwide. With plans in place, products in the pipeline and partners on the starting line, one thing was missing: Public Relations. “Automechanika is the go-to show for the aftermarket,” explains Loes, “and Wolf needed an approach that would maximize its reach at the show. Which is where we came in.” Like Wolf Oil Corporation, Mills Advertising is a small powerhouse in its industry. With more press connections and media-buying contacts than many of the ‘big boys’ in European advertising, it has built an enviable reputation for expanding niche client profiles through its media outreach as much as its creative productions.
Zsofia picks up the story: “We took the ‘Wolf-at-Automechanika brief’ on July 3rd. One week later we presented an ideas platform for a press conference. We know the industry and the media, so we recommended a way to combine that with the Wolf offer. Bring the press together with the top names in Wolf, get them in a room, show the media what’s coming next, and they’ll tell the world.”
“Show the media and they’ll tell the world” – it can’t be that simple?
“Wolf Oil Corporation had never held a press conference” says Loes, highlighting a potential bump in the road. For her and Zsofia and the team however, bumps become bridges. “Mills has been organizing press events since the 80s,” explains Loes. “We have the people, the know-how, the contacts and the experience to make it happen, and to make it look easy for first-time-clients like Wolf.” And that’s what they did. After July 10th, the Mills machine kicked into gear, harvesting the information from Wolf Oil Corporation that would form the basis of the press conference. “We move fast here,” says Zsofia, “and our clients know that when we’re handling things, the pace steps up. When you’re dealing with a global press, you’re dealing with time zones as well as publication schedules, multiple languages and cultural differences. But at the heart of it all, the press wants facts, and they want headlines, they want meat for their stories. Our job was to hunt for that meat and have it ready for them to feast on at Automechanika.” On the German media side, we had excellent helpers from DP in Dusseldorf. Those guys are like us; but made of German material. A perfect cooperation with great results was thus guaranteed.
Meat for the feast – Mills goes fact-hunting
“If you ask a journalist ‘what makes a great story?’ they will always tell you, but many clients are so close to their own products that they often won’t know” says Zsofia. “Our job as an agency is to help the client see what’s likely to make an article, and what won’t make the grade. It can be tough, because of course clients want everything they do to be the news. We know journalists, so we know what to look for. That’s how we helped Wolf. We interviewed garages and wrote Case studies on their new Champion Service Point offer. We talked with their product specialists and wrote press releases on what’s coming up. And we put together a press kit with the right information in a way that made it easy for journalists to grab like a buffet the facts they needed to make great stories about our client. Perfetto!”.
Invites to the press were sent out on August 27th. On September 12th, the client presentation kicked off the event in a pre-booked conference room. A themed lunch and press-kit was waiting for the 32 journalists who attended, from eleven countries, ready to feast on the news and bring it to an international readership.
Jounalists attendance
32
Immediate press coverage
33
Follow-up requests for interviews/factory visits:
50
The PR shortlist:
what Mills did for Wolf Oil Corporation
Press Conference
Invitation design & writing
Mailout to own pan-European database of Automotive OE and AM journalists
Follow-up on invites
Development of press material & giveaways/goodie bags
Event organizing
Event assistance / presence
Follow-up with attendees/no-shows Presentation materials
Presentation with very short turnaround time Face-to-face interviews
Co-ordinating schedules for one-on-ones Press materials
Conducting interviews and writing case studies
Writing press releases
Language adoptions
Creating press kit
“These are exciting news. This material is more than just one article! There’s so much to tell about this great company.” Romain Thirion, Journalist at Apres Vente Automagazine & website - France
Lubricant players don’t normally take the time and give us their updates. I really appreciate the fact that Wolf did. And what news!? Great information about our market and about the whole European strategy. Petr Levinskiy, General Director & Publisher of Novosty Avtobiznesa & Gruzovoy Portal magazines - Russia
Why did Wolf Oil Corporation choose Mills Advertising?
Loes Mills, Director & Owner:
“ Because we’re not shy at being great. We know the industry, our network is global, our people are professional and we give the client what they need.”
Zsofi a Pioker, Director & Owner:
“We’re unique, disruptive, clever and fast. We’re your agency. And we get s**t done.”