Let go of the ladder and step up to a modern work platform

Ladders can be dangerous. Just ask the 200,000 Americans who end up in emergency rooms annually after ladder-related accidents. The physical and financial costs are especially high among facility managers and maintenance professionals. Ladders are involved in more than 60 percent of falls and are a leading cause of workplace deaths, lost work days and high liability insurance.

Early in 2008, JLG prepared to market an alternative to the wooden or aluminum standby. The LiftPod is the first personal and portable lift of its kind, creating a new category between ladders and scissor lifts.

But challenges stood between this lightweight lift and its potential customers. First, JLG needed to convince customers who had never seen the LiftPod that it was as convenient as a ladder. In addition, JLG's traditional heavy-equipment customers were not likely LiftPod buyers, so the company needed to reach new markets.

Recognizing the need for an innovative brand-building and marketing campaign, JLG and Padilla engineered a "seeing is believing" campaign to give the LiftPod maximum exposure, including trade shows, media and the Internet. To date, the campaign has attracted more than 1,100 leads, 7,000 Web hits and 13.5 million media impressions.