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Case Study: Engelhard Corp., Iselin, NJ
By Kate Maddox, BtoB
March 20, 2003
 CHALLENGE: Engelhard Corp. is a $6 billion chemical company that manufactures materials and pigments for industries from aerospace to agriculture. One of its product lines is MetaMax, a concrete additive that enhances the performance of cement-based products. The product has two primary target audiences: architects and industry professionals, such as pre-cast manufacturers and ready-mix companies.
"The marketing challenge was to create awareness among architectural specifiers about this product, so they would specify it for construction, and also create awareness among the ready-mix and pre-cast companies that use the product," said Tony Reed, market development manager at Engelhard.
Another challenge was creating a campaign that would be easy for one person to manage. "I'm acting as both marketing manager and salesperson," Reed said. "I use my computer as a significant business tool, so I needed someone to devise a campaign I could manage, track, and store electronically."
SOLUTION: Engelhard turned to Gráfica, an interactive agency based in Chester, NJ. Reed said he chose Gráfica, because the agency could create an email campaign that would deliver immediate results to analyze performance. "When people click through, and those who are interested register, it immediately goes to my computer, and I'm able to track who is receiving it and what kind of response rate I'm getting," Reed said.
Engelhard launched two email campaigns with Gráfica. The first went to a list of 11,800 architects and architectural specifiers obtained from Architectural Digest magazine. The second went to a list of 28,200 architects, specifiers, pre-mix companies, and ready-mix companies, obtained from Architectural Digest, Concrete Products, and Concrete Construction magazines. The emails contained text and HTML ads that encouraged users to click on a link that would take them to a landing page containing case studies of Engelhard users. The email also featured a registration page for people interested in being contacted to learn more about Engelhard products.
RESULTS: The first campaign resulted in 345 clicks (a 2.9% click-through rate) and 87 registrations (a 25% conversion rate of those who clicked). The second campaign resulted in 560 clicks (a 1.9% click-through rate) and 159 registrations (a 28% conversion rate of those who clicked).
Even more important, "The leads were very solid leads," Reed said. "It allowed me to follow up with qualified prospects who were interested in the product."
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