Cintas Launches First National Brand Campaign in 87-Year History
Author: Kate MaddoxSource:
'Ready for the Workday' Shows Evolution from Uniforms to Facility Services
Cintas is a company that got started in the Great Depression as a laundry service for businesses. Now, 87 years later, the company is launching its first national brand campaign to show how it has expanded its services to meet the business needs of its 900,000 customers.
"As Cintas has evolved over time, in addition to adding uniforms, we have added facility services, first aid and safety," said Jamie Samide, senior director of marketing at Cintas. "Most people don't knowall the things we do, and all of these thing are hard to articulate and explain to our customers and prospects."
The campaign, called "Ready for the Workday," includes TV, radio, print and online and was created by Ogilvy Chicago. The brand strategy and tagline were developed by Lippincott.
"We've done some regional TV ads and we have done some national radio advertising, but this is truly the first integrated national brand campaign in the history of Cintas," Mr. Samide said.
A 60-second TV spot, which broke this week, shows how Cintas helps a variety of businesses, from small mom-and-pop shops to large hotels, with the question "Are you ready?"
"Are you ready to open? Ready to compete? Ready to welcome?" different business owners and employees ask as Cintas helps them by delivering uniforms, providing cleaning services and offering safety gear and training.
"You think your customers can't tell the difference between who's ready and who's not?" asks a business owner in the spot.
"The heart of the idea is readiness. Cintas' customers are people in the trenches, preparing for a successful work day, running businesses, dealing with unexpected issues," said Chris Wall, vice chairman, North America at Ogilvy & Mather.
"There is a powerful emotion in what it means to be ready," Mr. Wall said. "It is a big, populist, human truth of America that unites all kinds of businesses doing all kinds of different things -- restaurants, manufacturing plants, shop floors, hotels, hospitals and medical clinics, office buildings. It is optimistic but realistic -- you cannot succeed unless you are ready."
The TV spot is running on broadcast and cable networks including CNN, ESPN, the Discovery Channel and Fox. Print ads are running in targeted publications such as Hotel Business and Industrial Equipment News. Online ads, including videos, are running on sites such as USA Today, Washington Post and Fox Sports. The campaign also includes national radio. The budget was undisclosed.