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Full Steam Ahead
By: Audrey Sellers, Associate Editor
Issue: June 2010



With Tugboat, Inc. (UPIC: tugboat) as a company name and offices in sunny Napa, California, inspiration for a self-promotion campaign came easy—at least according to Kara Long, who helped design a crafty self promo for the distributor.

“We wanted functional products and ad copy that tied back to our Tugboat brand,” she says. “We wanted to ‘float’ some ideas by our prospects.”

Long and her team compiled a list of 100 prospective clients within a 100-mile radius of the office and used online networking and database websites to identify specific buyers. Hoping to impress this group with unique, stylish and fresh ideas, Long didn’t expect instant orders—she simply wanted to get a foot in the door.

“Even if prospects didn’t have an immediate need for our services, we wanted our products to create a favorable impression and help Tugboat be top of mind when there are future merchandise needs,” says Long.

Tugboat launched its self-promotion campaign last summer, which included a three-part mailing sent to prospects in boxes wrapped in Tugboat-logoed packing tape.

The first gift was an acrylic tumbler resembling a fast-food soda cup. “This was sent with a glossy card that read, ‘Thirsty for fresh ideas?’ and included our logo and website on the back,” Long says. “It was intended to get the attention of prospects and ‘whet their appetite’ for future mailings.”

Next up was a personalized desk calendar that incorporated each prospect’s name into the calendar art. Included with this product was a card that read, ‘Now that you’ve got your calendar in front of you, we’d love to schedule some time…’” It also included three stats touting the effectiveness of promotional products.
The last gift, a liquid-filled USB drive, was inserted into a logoed presentation folder along with Tugboat’s corporate brochure and a formal letter announcing that Tugboat would love to “Float some ideas” with prospects.

“A true sign of an effective promotion is when prospects call to say thank you for the great products,” says Long. “We received four phone calls and several e-mails without even following up first. Everyone we spoke with absolutely loved the products. Our response rate was 26 percent, which far exceeded our goal.”
Above: The Tugboat team gathers for a group photo.