Irwin branches out from States to Australia, Europe

Marcus Marshall is typical of racers everywhere. He wants to race, no matter what kind of car -- or what country -- he's in.

Marshall is from Australia, and he was here in the United States checking out NASCAR's way of doing things and promoting his sponsor's biggest marketing program at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. It's the same one that his "teammate," Jamie McMurray, is pitching for in the States.

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Irwin Tools had so much success with its Ultimate Tradesman Challenge last year that it took it one step farther this year, adding Australia and New Zealand to the mix. The winner from the Australia-New Zealand competition will meet the American finalist at Phoenix in the fall for a chance at $1.26 million and a Roush Ford F-150 custom truck.

"It's kind of a cool concept and it's really taken off in Australia already," Marshall said. "This is our first year with this competition and it was already run here last year and it was very successful, so that's the main reason I'm here."

Marshall drives the Irwin Tools Ford Falcon in the Australian V-8 Supercar Series -- the NASCAR of racing series Down Under -- and is promoting to his countrymen the enormous opportunity they have to compete in the Ultimate Tradesman Challenge, with its huge prize package and ancillary benefits.

"Internationally, Irwin continues to appear bigger than we are," said Eric Pinkham, vice-president of motorsports and event marketing for Newell Rubbermaid, parent company of Irwin Tools. "We're not one of the biggest tool companies, but we are certainly one of the finest, and we out-hustle and outsmart and really outwork the competition. Taking some of the shrewd investment lessons we've learned in the U.S., we have looked at our Australian and New Zealand business, and we got into racing there and in Europe.

"In Australia, we're in the V-8 Supercar Series, the premier series there. We have a fantastic driver, have a great business there and some of the same elements that lend themselves well to really taking the U.S. playbook and having little or no learning curve."

This global strategy was developed right here at home in NASCAR, and the model has proven effective both in Australia and New Zealand and Europe, where the company sponsors Porsche Super Cup driver David Saelens.

"What we have learned over the years by racing in the U.S. -- Newell Rubbermaid has been in racing since 2001 -- we finally said, 'look, we're a global company, fantastic brands, but specific to the tool business, we have learned a lot of good things and experienced some success here with this NASCAR deal.'

Bruce Quigley

The tool man

In November, Bruce Quigley topped 9,000 other entries to win the Irwin Ultimate Tradesman Challenge.

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"Unlike some industries, like food, technology, clothing, they vary greatly from country to country, region to region. When you look at tools, there's still one way to cut a piece of wood, one right way to drill into metal. Country to country, where we market our products, we should be able to employ the same strategies.

"That's what we're doing. We are very much into event marketing, end-user product demos, trade shows, marketing events. The one high-profile ingredient that ties it all together is racing."

The Ultimate Tradesman Challenge is the event that has tied the company's successful marketing program in the U.S. to its new ones abroad, Pinkham said.

"We're able to leverage the U.S. investment as a prize to the Australian winner," he said. "They are promoting the same wonderful prize package at little or no incremental cost to that business. It's a global synergy. Later this year or early 2009, the UTC will begin in Europe."

The UTC, which generated more than 9,000 contestants nationwide last season, is the mechanism that makes all the other stuff work. Pinkham revealed that the number of competitors had ramped from 9,000 to 14,000 this year, a 55-percent increase.

"We took a step back, and said, if we are going to invest this heavily in motorsports, how can we tie it into all of our business functions -- marketing, sales, PR, event marketing --the UTC was the facilitator. That was the promotion that draws upon the motorsports assets, our drivers, it takes over retail promotions and event marketing themes. It's now the common song that everyone is singing.

"We've got everyone, every business function, in synch with that one common vision. It really is achieving good things for every business function. In this economy, you not only need a rally cry, to focus on everyone's morale, but you need to put points on the board."

With the current housing crunch, the tool industry is facing a difficult time. But the UTC is designed to be the bridge between boom times and tough times.

"When you hear about people making reactive shifts here or there, those are business decisions that should not reflect a company's commitment. With the motorsports activities that we have, there's a nice morale piece in there. When times are tough, you can still turn the TV on and cheer for Jamie McMurray, see all the great things Irwin is doing and it can make you feel great about who you work for."