More than 20,000 readers subscribed to the company’s ARC magazine in its first year
Craig Coffey and his marketing team are playing the long game at Lincoln Electric.
The Cleveland-based manufacturer of welding equipment is engaged in a pitched battle with Miller Electric Manufacturing, a faceoff of red versus blue that can be tracked all the way back to the very minute a novice has the mere thought that it might be nice to buy a torch.
“In North America, buyers are very brand loyal,” said Coffey, manager of the marketing communications team at Lincoln Electric. Once they choose the red or the blue tool, they tend to stick with it and carry it forward into their professional careers. “It’s hard to convert someone after the fact.”
“Welding is like being in a motorcycle gang,” Coffey said. “Maybe 1% of the population welds. If we just go after them, it doesn’t make sense. But there is pent up demand and interest. We use our magazine to attract, entertain and educate a new community of welding professionals.”
That focus on rebuilding a welding industry, on catching the eye of the alumni of high school shop classes, art studios and autoshops, drives the magazine’s content strategy. “We’ve got to inspire people,” Coffey said. “We’ve got to make welding cool again.”
Lincoln Electric handles most content creation, design and production in-house, but the company also contracts journalists – both writers and also photographers – to create a cover story for each issue. “The content of the magazine has to stand on its own,” Coffey said.
Each issue contains expert tips from Lincoln Electric sources, advertisements for Lincoln Electric tools and all-around brand messaging. The magazine launch itself coincided with the launch of two new products. But ultimately, the publication is not about short-term gain. “People become loyal to brands that give them more than product,” Coffey said.
