Olympus OnSite’s Innovative Approach to B2B Marketing (CASE STUDY)

Objective

Olympus, a precision technology leader who delivers innovative solutions in healthcare and consumer electronics worldwide, was facing a challenge. Olympus product introductions rely heavily upon hands-on experience and education in innovation centers to illustrate the latest in technology benefits, but sales requires professionals to be lured away from workplaces – a timely and expensive commitment for any customer. This left Olympus Innovations with limited awareness and an even more limited audience. They set out to overcome this obstacle with a campaign that takes their new products directly to the customer. The directive: “Be Bold. Be Innovative.”

Approach

In response to this challenge, Olympus partnered with Craftsmen Industries and experiential marketing company EMG3 to create the OnSite Mobile Tour, bringing Olympus’ latest innovations directly to industry professionals. The tour brought a nearly 1,000 square foot mobile showroom featuring a functional surgical operating theater and product displays to a number of cities across the United States and Canada.

A few of the surgical and medical devices displayed included endoscopes, microscopes, chemistry analyzers, and blood typing machines, while the consumer products highlighted on the tour included binoculars, dictation devices, and cameras. These state-of-the-art tools offer solutions for healthcare professionals to keep gastroenterology suites, operating rooms, laboratories or research facilities current with the best technology. This highly visible mobile medical van or expanded trailer attraction serves as a hands-on educational experience for their customers, most of whom are doctors, researchers, and healthcare administrators.

Results

In total, the Olympus OnSite tour ran for 5 consecutive years and visited 98 cities. During its inaugural tour alone, which ran from October 2004 to November 2005, it made its way to 40 cities, spanning across 23 states. During this time they traveled 32,000 miles and met with more than 1,100 healthcare professionals who represent upwards of 300 organizations. This kind of exposure and direct communication with their customer base led to a 270% ROI. In addition, the tour won a number of awards, including the Event Marketer Grand Ex Award for Best Mobile Marketing Program, B2B, the Silver Ex Award for Vehicle Design, and the Reggie Silver Award for Event Marketing Promotion Marketing Association. 

Experiential marketing product showrooms like the Olympus OnSite tour are invaluable to B2B brands who struggle with convincing their audiences that hosting or traveling to a traditional showcase event is worth their time and money. Instead, bringing the products to them in an exciting and captivating way allows visitors to tour the exhibit on their own time, while still getting all the benefits of a traditional showroom. Craftsmen's fully customizable 980 square foot double expandable trailer is an excellent vehicle for these types of events, offering the most spacious mobile showroom in the industry, and unmatched trailer graphics wraps helping you stand out from your competition.