a story about an ice bucket.
Drydene Oil is a manufacturer of high performance engine oils, greases, hydraulic and transmission fluids that increase the life and efficiency of your equipment. It was a warm summer day when the founder of Adform Creative, Eric Waskey, walked into Drydene Oil’s headquarters in north Baltimore with an idea. Waskey met with Trip Dryden, the owner's son, and presented him the idea - an ice bucket, which represented the shape of a drum of oil, custom printed with the Drydene Oil logo, to be used as a client gift. Trip was impressed with the ingenuity of the idea and asked Waskey to leave the sample bucket with him so he could show it to his father. Later that afternoon, Trip called Waskey and placed an order for 150 ice buckets - the first of many reorders to follow. This ice bucket became something of an icon for Drydene Oil over the course of many years and graced the front cover of the product offering Adform Creative managed for them.
Seeking First to Understand.
Drydene Oil had clients across the country that they awarded points to based on their spend. Adform Creative worked with Drydene Oil to develop a brochure of branded merchandise which was circulated to Drydene Oil's clients. The points they earned by spending with Drydene Oil could be redeemed against the products in this brochure. Clients that did the highest volume of business with Drydene Oil could earn the ice bucket as a gift - making this the focal point of the brochure served as an incentive. On occasion, Drydene Oil would put up co-op money so their clients could co-brand merchandise with the Drydene Oil logo, as long as they met the minimum order quantities specified in the brochure.
Painting with Product.
Some of the products Drydene Oil's clients could use their points toward included flashlights, pens, pencils, key rings, and tape measures.
Page from Drydene Oil brochure.
A Platform That Delivers.
Drydene Oil's branded merchandise was stored, picked, and shipped from the Adform Creative warehouse, just as quickly as client orders were placed. The warehouse also gave the Drydene Oil sales team easy access to a readily available inventory, without having to bother their marketing team with requests for a logo approval or additional supplies. With fulfillment being handled by Adform Creative, administrative tasks were minimized, giving the Drydene Oil marketing team freedom to concentrate on more pressing tasks. Adform Creative relieved what can be an overwhelming, labor-intensive, and manual process of managing branded materials, resulting in a powerful impact for the Drydene Oil brand.