icengineworks™

Automotive Social Media Strategy + Design System

Details

Icengineworks™ is an automotive fabrication tool created to streamline one of the most infamously difficult design processes: exhaust header design. It replaces the archaic and wasteful trial-and-error method with a new, tactile, and intuitive concept-to-final-fabrication approach. Using injection-molded plastic blocks, similar to Legos, fabricators can confidently explore design layouts for their creations without the risk of costly mistakes. Cutting and assembly tools then enable builders to accurately replicate their designs in final metal, eliminating guesswork.

Services

Brand Strategy

Creative Leadership

Year

2020

icengineworks™ faced the challenge of being a category innovator in their industry. With no direct competitors, they struggled with customer education and discoverability. As a small business, their resources were stretched thin with a limited budget, yet the need for consistent product marketing through a reliable channel became evident.

icengineworks™ urgently needed a way to consistently place their product in front of prospective customers to build trust and familiarity. Together, we decided on Instagram as their primary platform due to its image-centric nature, which suited the attractive and colorful design of their product. Our research showed that many existing customers were already posting images using their icengineworks™ tools, sparking interest among viewers but without a direct link back to our account, leading to the loss of potential leads. This indicated a clear desire from customers to share their experiences, lacking only a dedicated platform to do so. As a lean operation, icengineworks™ was concerned about the sustainability of producing in-house content consistently due to their team’s limited bandwidth.

We developed a strategy focused on crowd-sourcing content, ensuring long-term success by creating mutual benefits for the icengineworks™ community and the brand, incentivizing participation and amplifying reach. To streamline outreach, we crafted a set of scripts for icengineworks™ to use when requesting content from customers. Recognizing the variation in quality and style of user-generated images, we established a standardized post-processing workflow to enhance image quality, making posts more visually appealing. Additionally, we formulated a replicable, back-tested caption format that aligned with icengineworks™’ brand voice while celebrating community contributors, fostering cross-promotion. As anticipated, this approach became a powerful traffic multiplier: community members spotlighted in posts frequently reshared the content, further extending reach within their networks. Over the course of our work with icengineworks™, the brand achieved a 400% increase in social media following and two consecutive years of record sales (+20%)—all with a $0 ad budget.

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