Fitzgerald Picks Up a Pair of Pentair Subsidiaries

An integrated ap-proach enabled Fitzgerald + Co. to win the combined advertising account of power tool makers Porter-Cable and Delta Machinery, subsidiaries of Pentair Tool & Equipment Group.

The Atlanta-based IPG shop bested Blatt-ner/Brunner, Pittsburgh; Price/McNabb, Charlotte, N.C.; and SBC, Westerville, Ohio, in a review. Consultant Jeff Tritt with RCG in Cleveland oversaw the competition. Neither Porter-Cable incumbent Sossaman and Associates in Memphis, Tenn., nor Pittsburgh’s JBL, which handled the Delta account, participated.

Fitzgerald will provide advertising and branding strategies for both firms, which share distribution centers and headquarters in Jacksonville, Tenn., but operate with separate marketing staffs.

“We’re handling them as two accounts,” said Paul Gilberto, agency senior vice president of brand planning. “But we think there are synergies between them.”

Pentair is on a growth track, said Chuck Harden, director of marketing for Delta.

“As a company we felt we had reached a size where we wanted to make five leaps forward,” he said. “The agencies we had weren’t able to take us to where we want to be.”

Porter-Cable, which makes portable electric and cordless power tools for professionals and do-it-yourselfers, will increase its advertising budget from $3 million to $6-8 million, according to P-C general manager Bob Kibbe.

Plans for P-C call for an ad campaign using broadcast, print, point-of-sale, Internet and direct mail.

“We expect the agency to have more input with the p-o-p materials and come up with an affinity program that will help the brand engage with the end user,” said Harden.

Delta manufactures woodworking and stationary equipment. Its ad budget is undisclosed.

“Delta’s more of a challenge,” said Gilberto. “It’s a broader line of product with an awareness that spans from professionals to novices.”

Pentair products compete against Black & Decker’s DeWalt and Sears’ Craftsman lines.