Motivation, Audience Segmentation, Seamless Execution, Points Based Loyalty, Engagement Strategy — A Plumbing Manufacturer Built a Contractor Database of 2,700+ End Users

A six-month sweepstakes with monthly prizes and a Harley Davidson grand prize gave the brand direct visibility into the contractors specifying its products.

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Key Takeaways

A national plumbing manufacturer wanted a deeper understanding of contractors, its primary audience, and stronger brand distinctiveness in the market.
The core problem was distance from end users — a common issue for manufacturers selling through distribution.
A six-month promotional sweepstakes with a registration and tracking site produced profiling data for over 2,700 new end users, alongside email open and click rates of 100% and 91.7%.

Who is the Client?

A national plumbing manufacturer selling through a network of distributors and wholesalers, with contractors and engineers as the people actually specifying and installing its products.

What were they trying to achieve?

The manufacturer wanted a deeper understanding of contractors, its primary target audience, and better communication with them. Alongside that sat a broader goal: increasing brand awareness and distinctiveness in a market where products are often selected on availability rather than preference.

Why couldn't they reach their end users?

The company was challenged with bridging the gap to its end users — a prevalent problem for manufacturers. Selling through distribution means the people fitting the product are several steps removed from the brand making it.

Closing that gap needed two things: a reason for contractors to identify themselves, and clean, manageable data plus a marketing plan capable of handling what came back.

What did 360insights implement?

HMI, now part of 360insights, implemented a six-month promotional sweepstakes targeting the client's contractor and engineer base.

Promotion ran across email and paper, publications and independent ads, boosted by the client's own network of distributors and wholesalers — all within the client's existing budget.

The prize structure ran monthly sweepstakes with tiered winners, building toward a grand prize of a new Harley Davidson motorcycle. A registration and progress-tracking website handled entries and, critically, captured customer information as participants engaged.

What results did the program deliver?

The program produced detailed profiling data for over 2,700 new end users — contractors the manufacturer previously had no direct line to.

Email performance was exceptionally strong, with open rates reaching 100% and click rates of 91.7%.

Beyond the data, the manufacturer established a significantly stronger market presence and a better understanding of the audience specifying its products.

Reviewed by Zoe Kelly on September 24th, 2026