Tradies are the new, affluent cohort that deserve our attention.
DPR&Co recently partnered with Workwear Group to develop a campaign for the 100-year-old KingGee brand. Aside from the honour of working with an Australian apparel icon, the project was a profound learning experience for our team.
As is normally the case, our work began with a comprehensive research process. Along with establishing the standard control metrics around awareness and purchase intention, our journey of discovery shed light on a paradigm shift in attitudes among a group that had once been seen as ‘lesser’ than their university educated counterparts.
What we found was a cohort of tertiary educated people who were more than proud to call themselves tradies. Their jobs are now more skilful, their workforces more diverse, their expectations higher, and their workplace behaviour more professional. In many cases, post apprenticeship, they are big earners who like the good things in life. Most aspire to work for themselves and build wealth. And they are more gender and ethnically diverse than ever.
We’d seen hints of this shift previously, while delivering trades-focused campaigns for Apprenticeships Victoria and members of Victoria’s TAFE sector. But the depth of this shift led us to frame our thinking within the context of what we called ‘the rise of the tradie’.
KingGee’s ‘You Wear the Crown’ campaign was our response to the societal shift that’s taken place over recent years.
5 things we learned about marketing to tradies
Similarly, they are inspired by the success of others in their field. ‘Rising to the Top’ is an expression we found to be highly resonant. These are people on a mission to succeed.
If you’re looking to inspire a trade or trade-related audience, we’d be thrilled to help.