Summary
Berthing gigantic ocean-going vessels is a complex, dangerous process. SafeTug is a revolutionary software aid by Trelleborg Marine & Infrastructure (TM&I) that enhances safety and efficiency.
Tugs use 360° thrust and 360° visibility, so Stein IAS proposed demonstrating SafeTug’s benefits in an immersive 360° video and VR experience.
Leveraging the client’s industry connections, the Stein IAS video production team gained access to Teesport, the UK’s third largest port, to record the berthing process of a 57,000 ton tanker – the Agathonissos.
Breathtaking wide-angle shots, and a great view of the docking process, enabled the film-makers to tell their story accurately and artistically.
The result is a really cool 360° video which can be viewed using a VR headset and perfectly demonstrates how SafeTug enhances safety and efficiency.
The video was promoted using a highly-targeted campaign integrating email social and trade media ads. Oracle Marketing Cloud automation enabled email lead nurture.
Altogether 701 unique users watched the SafeTug 360⁰ Video, beating the target of 500 out of sight. As the total addressable market consists of around 6000 buyers and influencers, this campaign engaged 12% of its total addressable market, something very few global marketing campaigns achieve.
About Trelleborg Marine & Infrastructure
TM&I has around a thousand employees worldwide, and is one business unit of Trelleborg Group which has 24,000 employees. The group is known for polymer engineering and TM&I is one of the more diverse business units, now moving into the new category of port automation, where it competes with long-established marine industry specialists.
TM&I supplies the world’s ports with engineered solutions. Products include fenders, mooring equipment and SmartPort port automation hardware and software.
The story starts back in 2015. As marine industry players jostled for position in the ‘race to be second’ and industrial technology providers made their first moves, TM&I stuck its neck out and committed to owning the port technology category. This was a risky strategy. In an immature market with a skeptical, risk averse audience, TM&I could easily have hung back in its successful brand position as the high-quality supplier of premium port equipment.
Objectives of the campaign
TM&I were convinced that if it could get the game-changing benefits of the product across efficiently, they could gain traction in the marketplace quickly.
The Stein IAS proposal persuaded their client to spend more than ever before on a single stage content campaign.
The objectives:
- 500 unique video views from a total addressable market of 6000
- Deliver 40 maketing qualified leads (MQLs) to the sales team
- A projected year one ROI of 10:1 based on average lead conversion rates.
The target audience
The product launch campaign would need to create awareness among tug masters, marine pilots, tug companies and harbor masters – an audience relatively immature in terms of smart technology adoption. Overall, it was calculated that the total addressable market of buyers and influencers for SafeTug was around 6000 people worldwide.
Media, channels or techniques used
The strategy here was to produce an experiential content piece, tailor made for this audience that would demonstrate the benefits of the product, and show them their working world as they had never seen it before.
Tugs use 360° thrust and their unique bridges have 360° visibility, so Stein IAS proposed demonstrating SafeTug’s benefits in an immersive, online 360° video and VR experience. This would be a highly original practical use of 360° video, and was the perfect way to let prospects experience how SafeTug improves safety and efficiency.
Stein IAS has a highly-skilled video production team and this is a key part of the agency’s offering. Thanks to a nine-year relationship with TM&I, the team has valuable experience filming in the marine environment.
Leveraging the client’s industry connections, Stein IAS gained access to Teesport, the UK’s third largest port to record the berthing process of a 57,000 Ton tanker – the Agathonissos.
Using specialised gear including a hired 360° camera array, the team filmed the docking process from the bridge of the lead tugboat. Drones were deployed to get aerial shots, and footage was filmed from the Agathonissos itself. Filming took place in rare, perfect conditions. This allowed some breathtaking wide-angle shots, and gave a great view of the docking process, enabling the film-makers to tell their story accurately and artistically.
The result is a really cool 360° video which can be viewed on desktop using the mouse to shift perspective, or on smartphone using cardboard VR. The video gives an immersive, interesting and thrilling experience and perfectly demonstrates how the SafeTug system makes a real difference to the safety and efficiency of the harbor approach and berthing processes. Put simply, it shows the docking process as it’s never been shown before, allowing the audience to see the benefits of SafeTug in action.
The SafeTug 360⁰ Video was promoted using a highly-targeted campaign integrating these channels:
- Email to 4000 known contacts with relevant job titles
- LinkedIn sponsored posts and InMail targeting similar job titles
- Organic social media – Twitter and Facebook
- Press advertising and coverage in the main industry publication: Tug and OSV Magazine
The digital campaign was orchestrated using Oracle Marketing Cloud automation, tracking all interactions through prospects’ IP addresses, enabling lead nurture using automated emails. These communications promoted the video to those who hadn’t watched it yet, and the SafeTug webpage to all those who had. The video was gated for new users, capturing new contacts for the database and opening the way for email nurture. Tracking used Google Analytics and Hotjar Visitor Recording to build a picture of individual users’ needs and readiness-to-buy. In this way the video played the key role in generating marketing qualified leads and actual sales ROI.
Timescales of the campaign
Production took place in summer 2018 with the campaign running during September and October 2018.
Results
Altogether 701 unique users watched the SafeTug 360⁰ Video, beating the target of 500 out of sight. As the total addressable market consists of around 6,000 buyers and influencers, this is a big number and a fantastic result.
Here are some key campaign metrics:
- Oracle Marketing Cloud emails generated 315 video plays
- The initial email generated a 24.68% unique open rate and 5.26% CTR
- Social and press channels harvested or reactivated 189 new contacts.
The campaign delivered 57 MQLs to the sales team, already exceeding its goal of 40 MQLs, with more in the pipeline. This gives a projected year one ROI of 20:1 based on average lead conversion rates, doubling the campaign’s most important target of all. This is the most successful product launch campaign ever for TM&I.
Soft benefits of the video include using it for sales enablement and internal training. The video will be used as a VR experience at 2019 trade events, just one way in which it contributes to the wider business strategy of leading the emerging category of port automation.
“The SafeTug 360° experience was our first ever practical use of 360° video and Stein IAS pushed us to create our most successful product launch ever. As well as creating truly amazing content and an immersive experience for our audience, the campaign created instant awareness across our target market and produced exceptional results.”
