Magnets as a Collectors Item –A Case Study
The second of our ‘How to Get the Most Out of Your Magnets’ case studies looks at longtime Magnets.com customer RockAuto, a Madison, WI based online auto parts supplier.
Founded in 1999, RockAuto ships thousands of auto parts from over 100 manufacturers to customers on every continent except Antarctica -including APO/FPO addresses. In fact, the company sells so many products it’ll soon be possible to build an entire car using parts from RockAuto!
Since 2003 the company has been including a branded business card magnet with all customer orders. In 2005, to generate greater interest and brand recognition RockAuto decided on a slightly different strategy. “It dawned on us that creating a collector series of 2”x4” magnets with the RockAuto name and an image of a customer vehicle, shipped with each order, would remind our customers that we’re a resource for pretty much any and all auto parts,” says Jessa Torvik, marketing manager for RockAuto. “Additionally, allowing our customers to submit their vehicle for consideration on future magnet series certainly generates further buzz and excitement.”
To date there are over 50 different RockAuto collector series magnets, with well over 350,000 magnets being sent to customers each year. In fact, all it takes is a simple Google search to see just how popular the collector series magnets have become –there are numerous message boards and Web postings with customers displaying their collection and seeking missing ones.
“At the end of the day we were looking for a simple, fun, cost effective means of getting a tangible branded item into the hands of our customers,” says Ms.Torvik. “Seeing what the collector series magnets have become does a great deal for our name recognition, brand, and overall sales efforts.”
Stay tuned for additional Magnets.com custom case studies!
