The spring season campaign is fully integrated, combining major national press, radio and online advertising with the distribution of a special gardening product brochure. The campaign theme is then continued in Dealerships themselves with complementary point-of-sale and local press ads. STIHL is also once again running an incentive product prize draw; with entry points only in Dealerships its main aim is to drive customers into stores.

The theme of the spring consumer campaign: "Bring your garden to life" is aimed at inspiring gardeners with the message that using great tools gets great results. High quality, high impact imagery shows a garden literally coming to life, with statues and topiary figures using a selection of STIHL tools.

Delivering the maximum number of potential customers to its Dealerships, the campaign has multiple elements :

Press and online campaign
A series of large high-impact adverts run in major national press including the Express and Daily Telegraph weekend supplements plus major gardening titles including (RHS) The Garden and Gardeners' World magazines. A complementary online campaign runs ads on major high-traffic sites including telegraph.co.uk, and a high quality themed gardening tools brochure has been inserted in almost one million copies of the Daily Telegraph.

Radio advertising
STIHL radio ads are broadcasting on Classic FM during the popular Saturday morning Alan Titchmarsh Show, telling millions of listeners about STIHL garden tools. The STIHL radio ad uses humour to attract attention, with the deep and distinctive voice of Brian Blessed literally bringing a "garden to life". An established and fondly-thought character of British film, TV and theatre, Brian Blessed's voice carries just the authoritative tone STIHL wants to reflect its brand, whilst the humorous script fits perfectly with his famous comedic persona. "Gordon's alive" or is that "Gardens Alive!?" The ads are running now until mid April.

Driving business in stores
STIHL has produced a comprehensive package of complementary materials for its 650+ Approved Dealers, enabling them to capitalise on the interest generated by its national campaign, both in local press and in their own stores.

Using the same creative as in its national campaign, eye-catching advertising templates are available for Dealers' local press and a combination of posters and impactful point-of-sale grab customers' attention when they go into stores. The only place to enter the STIHL free prize-draw is in-store in Approved Dealerships, so smart Prize Draw entry boxes and entry forms have been provided for in-store display.

Commenting, Sean Larter-Conway, Marketing Manager of STIHL GB says : "We invest many thousands of pounds each year in major marketing campaigns, and this spring's campaign continues our strategic goal of driving enthused potential customers into our valued Dealers' stores. The STIHL and VIKING brands have powerful appeal, so we want customers to know where they can find our tools and then experience our brands' quality the moment they step into stores."