Recognizing An Award-Winning Service
Our work started when Scan Mailboxes came up on their 5th Anniversary and we were tasked to create a new website and some promotions around the milestone. We quickly saw that they offered a white-glove concierge service and they were providing a steady, reliable service that had low customer turnover.
Overcoming Challenges: Finding an Angle
Scan Mailboxes was advertising in a variety of places, including video display ads at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The mailbox space is heavily competitive and while Scan Mailboxes offers a much more custom, concierge service than a mailbox, the keywords and digital advertising space put us up against huge companies like USPS, UPS, FedEx and other chains. We decided to start working increase our share of earned media recognition. We began looking for opportunities for recognition, first reaching out to media outlets. We successfully got a nice story placed on KXAN but as a local company in Austin, the opportunity to make news was few and far between.
We began looking for awards that we could apply for in different places such as the Mayor’s office, Better Business Bureau and among vendors who Scan Mailboxes frequented. There, we began to find much more success. Winning awards came with several key components that we benefited from.
First, it adds to the credibility of a business whose core foundation is built on trust. Secondly, the organization giving the award will create a case study, video or other recognition. Then that story is promoted through the Awards channel, bringing brand recognition to a new audience. Telling a story yourself is one thing, having someone else say it on your behalf is an entirely different experience.
Tell the same story differently every time.
Scan Mailboxes considers themselves to be a concierge mailbox solution, and their customers feel the same way. They pride themselves on their ability to support all of their customers virtually and in person, providing them with daily support as they manage their mail and provide them with instructions on how to handle them – open and scan, shred, forward, hold for pickup, deposit check and more. They offer the kind of fast and convenient service for people who travel extensively or need a more comprehensive mailbox solution for themselves or their business.
They do it all with a team that’s entirely Deaf.
That last point was the one we made sure to drive home every time. We would customize the message to carry more local weight when applying for the Austin Mayor’s award for example, emphasizing the job creation of 15 Deaf individuals in a community that carries an 80% unemployment statistic. When applying for the Zenefits award, we chose to emphasize the human resources and payroll functions and how these cost savings were being passed onto our hiring practices. Speaking to the BBB, we understood the value that we offered other businesses that were looking to expand their footprint into Austin.
By tailoring our message to each market, but retaining the core identity of Scan Mailboxes’ DNA – we were able to help Scan Mailboxes find continued success in each new award application. We don’t win every time, but each new application is an exercise in finding new angles and new opportunities for exposure.
Start Planning Ahead
The next time you learn about an award, go ahead and apply for it. If you see a list of award winners somewhere, look for the next deadline and start thinking about your angle. By planning ahead and applying for multiple awards, you’re likely to earn invitation to events where you can build your network of contacts and if you’re fortunate enough, you’ll earn recognition along the way.
Contact us at CHILMARKeting to learn more about how we can help your business with your storytelling.
