3M Corporation Automotive Aftermarket Division

Client’s Business: This division manufactures and sells a variety of automotive products to body shops and enthusiasts for car repair and remodeling. Products are wide ranging and include items from adhesives and tapes, abrasives, paint/coatings to auto glass, mechanical service items and safety products, among others.

Target Audience: The entire 3M Automotive Aftermarket Division Distribution Channel from the 3M sales representatives through the end users.

Desired Action: Motivate various audiences in the 3M distribution channel to either sell more, purchase more, or use more of the 3M products.

E Group Solution:

Driving Your Thirst for Racing, a unique program developed by E Group that:

  • Brought in the power of two top national and global brands well aligned with the target audience: NASCAR and Coca Cola.
  • Included a wide range of NASCAR/Coca Cola/3M branded items including apparel, gifts, outdoor, house wares and electronics as incentive items distribution channel members could buy with points earned from purchasing, selling or using more 3M Automotive Aftermarket products.
  • Included sweepstakes and chances to win items including a Ranger boat to free Coca Cola products and other prizes.
  • E Group managed all elements of the program including program creation, all co-branding, licensing, royalties and negotiation – actually getting Coca Cola to participate in the program for free and tied in with Coca Cola’s current “Thirst for Racing” consumer promotion running nationally. Additional E Group services included item sourcing, warehousing, point tracking, program management, item fulfillment, and ongoing program enhancement.

Results: Increased sales of all 3M Automotive Aftermarket products, motivating the top 20 percent through participation in the program. 3M just re-launched the program utilizing a web-based system and in the first month of the program saw participation triple over the paper-based program. A great example of the power of the Internet!

Uniqueness: A triple-branded, all-encompassing program that generated results. This program was very complicated because it involved 1. the entire distribution channel from 3M sales representative to channel partners, body shops to end users and 2. the full 3M Automotive Aftermarket product set including hundreds of wide-ranging products managed by various Product Marketing Teams throughout the 3M division. The program was designed to allow each 3M Product Marketing Teams to leverage the core program and tailor sub-programs to generate great results for their respective products. For example, the tape products groups conducted an end user peel-n-win sweepstakes that tripled product sales for the duration of the promotion.