Custom Magazine

Background:
Since ER Marketing was founded in 2001, the agency team has worked to serve and support business in the building industry with an insider’s perspective and expertise in the trade. With a deep bench of creative, digital and account service talent, ER Marketing always considers meaningful methods to connect with clients, prospective clients and interested stakeholders. The entire team looks for the means to share how the agency understands its purpose—to use what it knows best to help clients in the building sector benefit from what they know best. In the spirit of connection, ER Marketing created The Channel, a vehicle to distribute information its audience might find germane and timely.

Challenge:
Although the building products industry is an advanced arena where digital messages thrive, research on the market for agency-generated content showed there was still a place in B2B for the tangible, portability and pass-along value of a hard-copy publication offering useful information. The key was establishing quality control that would keep the publication consistent in substance and design, so recipients could learn to expect—and rely on—the publication to deliver relevant content.

Solution:
Armed with the knowledge that there existed an audience for a direct mail piece with substance, ER Marketing originated a tabloid publication in January 2022. The initial run was 350 copies and the cadence was set to unfold quarterly. Agency leadership, working with the creative team, determined the publication would consistently run three full-length articles on aspects of marketing that leaned into the building industry, but had value for B2B audiences in general. A section called “Quick Hits” would offer industry facts and figures in easily digestible snack size and a section called “Game Changer” would highlight a product, process or person in the building industry that influences it in an innovative and impactful way. An agency-promotion case study would wrap the publication’s content, as well as a Construction Dad Joke (just what it sounds like).

Summary:
Clients and stakeholders received The Channel well, with feedback since its inception. As of Q2 2023, The Channel has grown from its original 350-copy run to a 500-copy run, with requests for additional copies coming from unexpected places. In April 2023, ER Marketing won gold for The Channel from Hermes Creative Awards, which are administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP), one of the largest, oldest, and most respected evaluators of creative work in the marketing and communication industry. The Channel now stands as another meaningful way ER Marketing connects with clients, prospective clients and interested stakeholders.