Cintas Corporation
Cintas Corporation is a highly skilled company that provides a variety of services for businesses all over the world. While Cintas Corporation provides a variety of services and products, is the slogan “The Uniform People” that comes to my mind. Cintas has branded themselves across the nation as “The Uniform People” and “The Service Professionals.” There are many people that have no idea what company you are talking about when you refer to Cintas, yet if you say “The Uniform People” or refer to the trucks, you see that grin run across their face.
Branding
Cintas is in the process of changing their marketing brand from “The Uniform People” and “The Service Professionals” because they are so much more than just uniform providers. It is true that their largest division is the Rental Division, which includes uniforms. They have seen great success with their retail-inspired products that provide the consumer with a comfortable, professional, and worry free uniform. Since they are so widely known as “The Uniform People” they have some work on their hands because their current marketing tag lines are so well known. I believe that social media will play a large role in helping re-brand their company because they have evolved into much more than just “The Uniform People.”
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10180196/1/cintas-changes-slogan.html
When I think about Cintas Corporation and their branding, I think big white truck and of course the tag line below. Their trucks are always white with the red and blue logo. I think about the floor mats and the uniforms, whether that consist of someone putting on a uniform to work on cars, a hospital, or in an office. Yet, when looking at their social media, the branding I am so familiar with isn’t dominate.
Social Media
Cintas Corporation has and uses several forms of social media including LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter, and Facebook. All of their sites are easily accessible for a company, business owner, or user buyer. It seems they are using their social media to create awareness of their products, safety goals/accomplishments, and how they are helping their community. While this is great because Cintas truly values safety of their employees and customers, I think a consistent message and appearance would help create more awareness of the company in general.
Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
For example you can see below that some users may get confused when going from their Twitter or Facebook to LinkedIn. Their LinkedIn has the traditional red, white, and blue logo with the big white truck. Their Twitter and Facebook both lack any evidence of the “big white truck;” something they are known for. Their Twitter and Facebook both use a blue and white logo, and a picture of thread. The thread is completely applicable to their Rental Division, but it is not consistent with their pervious branding. Their pages are easy accessible on all forms of media, but I think it would benefit them to have a consistent logo and appearance on all social media platforms.
Google+
In analyzing their Google+ account we can tell that they have decided to focus on other social media platforms. While they still do have a presence, it would be beneficial to at least keep the images consistent. If they are going to have a Google+ account, I don’t believe there would be anything wrong with having more presence incase they find that their target market is accessible through this avenue.
Target Market
So you may be asking whom Cintas Corporation is trying to create awareness to, and this is a great question. Cintas Corporation has more than one target audience, but in general who uses the product the most? Considering the Uniform Division generates the most revenue, and is their largest division, men ages 18 to 40 in the working class are going to be the majority of users. This is important to recognize because they are the ones wearing the clothing, and have an influence on purchasing decisions. While these men ages 18-40 consist of the majority of user buyers, they are not the decision makers. It is important to distinguish between the two because they will want to reach both target markets with different platforms and different messages.
According to Adweek, 36% of users are ages 25-44 on Facebook and 37% on Twitter. This allows us to draw the conclusion that it would make the most sense to attempt reaching the user buyer target market on Facebook and Twitter. In looking at Cintas’ Facebook and Twitter (the majority of the posts are the same) only one post out of the first ten cater to the discussed target market. The majority of their posts focus on the safety, how Cintas cares, and what seems to be more of a “Corporate” market. The one post that does pertain to their target market only has 60 likes and 17 shares, where a picture congratulating the new CFO on his retirement has 257 likes, 7 comments, and 15 shares. It seems that their may be a disconnect in the type of activity on these platforms, if they are trying to reach this specific target market.
Cintas also wants to target the decision makers who are going to be making the final decision in purchasing the products. This target audience is going include a variety of demographics because they could be working with an auto body shop owner, the facility manager at a hospital, or a board of executives at Lilly. The best platform to reach this market seems to be LinkedIn. In a sales/buyer situation the individuals want to ensure a professional encounter to help build trust. Utilizing LinkedIn to reach this target marketing will also allow them to find and connect with decision makers across many different industries.
Overview
Overall, Cintas Corporation has a great foundation to build off of. In researching their industry and their social media, you can quickly learn that Cintas values safety, their employees, and their customers. If Cintas tweaked their social media content to better focus on their ideal target market per specific platform, it could render to more awareness and more success. Cintas should also consider using social media to maximize their efforts in awareness of their new slogan.
blgardner0 