Project Overview
Melanie Powers is an accomplished leader in the home services industry. With a background in Interior Architecture from Columbia College, she began her career as a project manager in HVAC. Rising as President and CEO of Goodberlet Home Services, Melanie expanded the company’s services to include plumbing and electrical, driving a 600% growth in revenue. Her strategic vision and dedication to excellence continue to inspire success in the field and pave the way for female empowerment in a predominantly male industry.
Founded in 1982, Goodberlet Home Services stands as the premier one-stop destination for comprehensive comfort solutions. From water heater repair to drain cleaning, furnace maintenance, and electrical installation, it covers the entire spectrum of home services. As the gold standard in the industry, Goodberlet Home Services operates with a unique Goldilocks approach by combining the knowledge, experience, and availability of larger companies with the personal touch and attention to detail of a smaller operation. Proudly female-owned, it prioritizes customer relationships and approaches every job with care, consideration, and meticulous attention to detail. At Goodberlet Home Services, excellence is not just a goal but a commitment, making it the perfect choice for all your home repair needs.
The Problem
Before starting this campaign, Melanie wanted to enhance customer recognition within territories where Goodberlet Home Services primarily operates — Indiana and Illinois — while increasing organic growth. During initial talks with our team, she expressed that her goal was to position Goodberlet Home Services as a premier destination for comprehensive home comfort solutions with a reputation for excellence and a commitment to both large-scale and personalized service.
Our team knew Goodberlet needed to increase its visibility to potential customers and establish credibility as a reliable HVAC company. To ensure Melanie and her company could harness and maximize their potential for organic growth by appearing on Google and creating a reputable platform, we needed to increase their online presence nationally and within their respective territories while positioning Melanie as a thought leader within the industry.
Melanie’s leadership and Goodberlet’s extensive range of services — from HVAC to plumbing and electrical work — uniquely position them as leaders in the HVAC industry. To strategically grow their online presence, drive further growth, and solidify their position as the go-to provider for home repair needs, we had to carefully craft a comprehensive strategy for their media coverage campaign.
The Strategy
Our team began Melanie’s campaign by setting two primary goals: to expand customer recognition and to establish Melanie Powers as a thought leader, ensuring credibility and expertise. To achieve these objectives, we secured opportunities for Melanie to provide insights on a range of topics, including best HVAC practices, women in business, common HVAC issues, and female leadership. This approach resulted in Melanie being featured in top-tier outlets like Yahoo Lifestyle, Southern Living, USA Today, and TIME, as well as several TV appearances.
Next, we took advantage of trending news cycles focusing on topics related to home improvement, seasonal house preparation, and HVAC industry developments. This allowed us to increase visibility and relevance for Melanie and Goodberlet, engaging audiences with timely and valuable content aligned with their interests and needs. We also targeted trending topics directly related to Goodberlet’s territories to secure local coverage in outlets like The Chicago Journal and WHBF.
Additionally, to highlight Goodberlet as a one-stop destination for home services, we targeted top-tier home outlets, which led to Melanie becoming a regular contributor to publications like Homes & Gardens and Family Handyman. To further solidify her stance as a thought leader in the HVAC industry, we took advantage of the unique aspect that Goodberlet is a proudly female-owned plumbing, construction, electrical, and HVAC repair company. This led to publications in outlets like HR.com and Women Daily.
The variety of coverage increased media awareness, allowed organic growth, and drove traffic to Goodberlet’s website, which altogether increased the company’s visibility and Melanie’s credibility.
Business Impact (Results)
As a result of our comprehensive media campaign, Melanie has since been published in multiple syndicated outlets, including CNET, U.S. News & World Report, Better Homes & Gardens, and Apartment Therapy. Moreover, we secured several features for Goodberlet Home Services in relevant outlets like Hype Magazine and Newswire.
Overall, our team’s strategy helped Melanie achieve her goals of increased brand awareness, credibility, and customer engagement for Goodberlet. Along with receiving local coverage in outlets closer to the company’s headquarters — one of Melanie’s top priorities for PR — we also helped her garner national recognition as a thought leader in her industry through a growing media presence and increased engagement.
Over the course of six months, Otter PR secured coverage for Goodberlet Home Services and Melanie Powers, reaching a prospective audience of over 4 billion and leading to over 12 million views. The growing media presence our strategy created continues to increase brand awareness, spark interest, and drive traffic for Goodberlet, establishing the company as the HVAC industry’s gold standard.
Tags: thought leadership
