Manufacturer launches first national ad campaign
Tomberlin reaches 95 million households with commercial and TV episode
By Karin Gelschus
Contributing writer
Tomberlin has teamed up with nationally recognized outdoorsman Jimmy Sites to produce a national ad campaign during Sites’ TV series, which has an international distribution of 95 million households.
Highlighting its electric UTV Vanish, Tomberlin launched a commercial and has gotten airtime on Jimmy Sites’ “Spiritual Outdoor Adventure” series. Sites endorsed the Vanish and featured it in a special episode called “Tomberlin Times,” said Nat Newsome, marketing, Tomberlin Group.
“His outreach and message reaches millions of people who match our core demographic,” Newsome said, “namely people who share a love for the outdoors and have similar beliefs.”
Sites’ outdoor series is in its 10th season, and the Tomberlin campaign will have airtime on all 26 episodes this year.
Making connections
Sites and the Tomberlin staff connected at an industry event in Las Vegas last year, says Newsome.
“We have followed Dr. Sites for several years and had the opportunity to meet him at the 2010 SHOT Show in Las Vegas,” he explained. “Instantly upon meeting him, we realized our organizations shared similar beliefs and core values.”
The companies have built a strong relationship and enjoy working together.
“Jimmy is an avid outdoorsman, and this past spring we had the pleasure to host him on a hunt at Rivercross in South Georgia for opening day of turkey season,” Newsome said. “Jimmy became an immediate advocate of our Vanish electric UTV, believing it to be the best electric vehicle he’d ever hunted in.”
With Sites’ backing of the Vanish, Tomberlin staff and Sites continue to work together and develop their marketing strategies.
“We could not find a better spokesperson to deliver our message of providing the safest, best performing vehicles in the market,” Newsome said. “Jimmy said in our TV spot after experiencing the quietness and range of the Tomberlin Vanish, ‘This ain’t no buggy.’”
That’s a key marketing message for Tomberlin as buggies often refer to traditional golf carts that have been manipulated to operate in environments for which they were not originally intended, says Newsome.
“[‘Buggy’] was originally coined by Matt Morrett, the world champion turkey caller with Hunter Specialties,” said Newsome. “‘Buggy’ is not the case with the Vanish.”
Marketing success
As part of Tomberlin’s core marketing strategy, the company focuses on building and maintaining strong relationships, says Newsome.
“We measure return on investment not in dollars or units sold, but in the depth and integrity of the personal relationships we develop,” he said. “We believe national celebrities such as Jimmy Sites, Hank Parker and Craig Morgan bring credibility to our brand, and the value of their endorsement of our products is immeasurable.
“The people who have become ambassadors of our brand have done so because they believe in our products,” Newsome added. “They believe in the direction and vision of Tomberlin.”
With Sites’ support and Tomberlin’s exposure on “Spiritual Outdoor Adventures,” the Vanish E-UTV has gotten increased recognition.
“The Vanish E-UTV is one of the hottest products Tomberlin has ever introduced, with demand continuing to grow,” Newsome said. “Of more value to Tomberlin than the product support itself, we are simply a huge fan of Dr. Sites. No doubt we are a better company as a result of his influence on us individually and as an organization, and for that, we will be forever grateful.
“Besides that, he’s a funny, funny guy.”
The “Tomberlin Times” episode is scheduled to air Oct. 19 on the Pursuit Channel.
