BROIL KING BARBECUES

MARKETING SIZZLE THAT SELLS GRILLS

     Last evening I enjoyed a rack of delicious ribs at the annual Ribfest event in Victoria Park.  In attendance was the Broil King roadshow, with their young, enthusiastic, trained barbecue experts demonstrating their line of Made in Canada barbecues to an audience who probably love to barbecue themselves.  Showing up at Ribfest was no coincidence.  According to Ted Witzel, President of Broil King, their 10 demonstration crew members travel around the province all summer long, doing over 100 events like Ribfest with the objective of making their flagship Broil King brand more and more known and respected by the consumer.(Check out their website, www.broilking.com for a list of these events)  When you visit Broil King's 150,000 sq. ft. office/ factory on Kumpf Drive, where they assemble over 80% of the barbecue's they sell,  you quickly see the in house marketing resources the Witzel's have invested in.  They have recruited a young, talented team of advertising, graphic design, and marketing specialists who cost effectively put together most of their own marketing media including Sizzle Magazine, Product Line Brochures and handouts in newspaper formats for their dealers across the country, Direct Mail campaigns, and T.V. advertisements.  Their latest T.V. campaign that aired a couple of months ago at the beginning of barbecue season, featuring Rob Liking the P.H.G.(Doctor of Grilling) in 4 different humorous ads, has been a real hit that generated a lot of buzz on their website and store traffic.(You can see these ads on the Broil King website)  This T.V. ad campaign, which Broil King does on a regular basis, was not as expensive as one would think according to Ted Witzel, especially since a lot of the script work was done inhouse.  As an aside, Broil King's use of T.V. advertising to reach their mass market reminded me a lot of Greb Shoe's successful use of the same media back in 1960 that generated such pent up consumer demand for their new line of comfort shoes called Hush Puppies.

     K.W., as small a city as it is, has always been known for its nationally and internationally  recognized brands including Bauer, Sorel, Kodiak, Dare, Ingo, Forsyth, MTD, and now Blackberry, Dalsa and Open Text.  So its no coincidence that Broil King continues to flourish by investing a tremendous amount of time and resources into their marketing efforts to build their brand and name recognition.  As with many other national consumer product companies Broil King sells through both  independent retailers and Big Box stores throughout Canada, as well as exports to 28 countries around the world.(Barbecuing is beginning to catch on in England and Europe.  In fact, a friend in England recently bought a Broil King barbecue online at the same price as in Canada and it was delivered in 3 days!)  The independents, which include Home Hardware, have exclusive rights to sell the Broil King line, while the Big Box chains sell their Broil Mate, Sterling, and Weber lines.  Keeping Broil King for the independents is an important part of the Witzel's marketing strategy, generating loyalty from their retailers, and maintaining brand pricing and integrity. 

     While they don't have their own company stores, Broil King does have a select group of Certified BBQ Expert retailers throughout Ontario who are specially trained and supported by Broil King's barbecue education staff to sell the their line exclusively.(In fact, continuous training of all their retail partners' sales staff is a very important component of the Witzel's sales strategy.  Knowledgeable retailers can effectively promote the long term features and benefits built into every one of their barbecues that will give the buyer a lifetime of enjoyment.)  These retailers are both passionate and knowledgeable about barbecuing and the Broil King product line.  In fact, when you talk to the Witzel's, both Ted and his brother Terry(their other brother Tim manages the T.A. Appliance division), its obvious that they themselves are passionate about barbecuing as an activity that can truly help create special family moments and memories.  Recently, Ted's wife Andrea along with a friend, authored and published a book called Gathering Around the Grill, celebrating with photos and recipes the art of barbecuing.  They also have created a separate online company called The Perfect Steak, where you can order fresh steaks delivered to your door.  Finally, Broil King markets a full line of barbecue accessories under the GrillPro label to compliment their barbecues.  

     After my visit to Broil King, which included a great barbecue lunch and a complimentary copy of Gathering Around the Grill, it became obvious to me why this 3 ^rd generation family business that began in 1906 under the name of Onward Manufacturing, still continues to thrive and manufacture in Canada; nothwithstanding the fact that many of their competitors are importing from Asia.  They combine efficient manufacturing and distribution operations with a well oiled design and marketing team that creates effective links with the end consumer, telling the Broil King story and continuing to build their brand not only in Canada but in the U.S. and around the world as well.