The Build-A-Brochure concept was developed by JGSullivan Interactive (JGSI) and provides the York Unitary Products Group (UPG) with a fast, cost-saving alternative to traditional print material.

“York dealers now have the ability to electronically create a broad range of customized selling, which can be downloaded, printed locally, or e-mailed to a customer,” said JGSI president John Sullivan.

Matt Peterson, York UPG vice president of sales and marketing, said, “This is a significant step in our efforts to provide effective marketing tools for our dealer group. Build-A-Brochure will ensure the York UPG brand message is consistently communicated, and its product information is always current and accurate, while enabling the dealer to customize the message to suit his needs.

“Our dealers tend to be smaller, private business owners who are selling their company to the consumer as well as York products. Build-A-Brochure helps integrate the York brand image with the local dealers’ own unique marketing message. It’s the best of both worlds.”

The basic design of the brochure features built-in marketing, sales, and warranty pages, as well as a selection of cover photos and new product updates.

In addition, dealers have the opportunity to add their own logos, photographs, and custom text to completely personalize brochures for their local marketing needs.

When the brochure is created, a dealer can then print out the brochure immediately, send it to the consumer as an e-mail attachment, or make it available to a commercial printer for large quantity print production.

DEALER REACTION

Washko likes the fact that the brochure includes her company’s information as well as York’s, eliminating the need to hand out two brochures.

“It isn’t just a manufacturer’s brochure,” she added. “We can personalize it with [Funk’s] information as well as the name of the person [estimator] who will be handing out the brochure.” Washko said that she found the system easy to use. “Creating the brochure is a user-friendly process. We were walked through the process. We built our first brochure in an hour.”

Washko said her company wants to test market the brochure by giving it to an estimator as he visits customers, usually five or six visits a week. After that, Funk Electrical plans to do a mailing with the brochure.

“This is all new to us,” Washko said. “This will help explain who we are to customers and answer questions they might have.”

Steve Gill also had a pleasant experience with the Build-A-Brochure program. The installation manager for Action Air Conditioning & Heating, a Vista, CA, Coleman dealer, has had specific plans for the program since he started working with it.

“We are planning to distribute the brochure at an upcoming home improvement show,” he said. Gill plans to build the brochure with information about Action’s products and services, then send it electronically to the local printer in time for the show.

Gill will also be utilizing a unique feature of the program — sending a brochure via the Internet.

“We can set up the program to e-mail each brochure to a customer,” he explained. “We don’t have to mail anything and the customer has a .pdf file that they can download immediately. We are the first company in the area to be doing this.”

Gill added that the program is flexible enough to allow for including specific information geared toward a particular market — air conditioning, heat pumps, the Coleman brand, etc. “You can build it directly to what the customers want.

“We’ve already bid some residential jobs thanks to the program. Some of our customers think this is a neat idea — and it allows us to get our foot in the door.”

JGSullivan Interactive is a marketing and software development firm specializing in Internet programs, site development, and print-on-demand applications for Fortune 1,000 clients. For more information, visit www.JGSullivan.com or www.build-a-brochure.com.

Publication date: 04/15/2002