Wilkins Marketing Strategy Session Official

“Here is the strategy: Vertical Brand Utility. We do not rebrand. We reposition .”

He turns to face the room. “For 90 years, we’ve sold to engineers who read data sheets. For the next 90, we sell to human beings who are afraid of making a mistake. The strategy isn’t ‘make Wilkins cooler.’ It’s ‘make Wilkins easier to trust in a hurry.’”

Mara kicks off. She clicks a slide titled The Awareness Cliff . “Brand recall for Wilkins in the consumer home improvement sector is 11%. That’s below ‘store brand generic’ at 14%,” she says flatly. “We are the invisible giant. We sell 2 million gallons of industrial epoxy a year, but on Amazon, our one-star reviews come from dads who say, ‘This industrial tube didn’t come with a nozzle.’ We’re selling a jet engine to people who want a bicycle pump.” wilkins marketing strategy session

The problem is stark. Wilkins, a 90-year-old manufacturer of industrial adhesives and sealants, is the undisputed king of the B2B factory floor. Engineers trust Wilkins. But when those same engineers go home to fix a leaky pipe or build a birdhouse, they reach for a competitor’s duct tape or superglue. Wilkins is the workhorse, not the show pony. The mandate for the session is brutal: Make Wilkins matter to the consumer without losing the industrial fortress.

“Our value is zero failure rate. A roof tile stuck with Wilkins stays stuck. That’s boring, but true. If we put a cartoon lizard on the package, the factory guys will think we’ve gone soft.” “Here is the strategy: Vertical Brand Utility

The room divides.

After 90 minutes of heated debate (Arthur had to stop James from throwing an eraser), three distinct initiatives emerge: “For 90 years, we’ve sold to engineers who

Wilkins Headquarters, 12th Floor Strategy Room, 8:00 AM