WALLED LAKE, MI: Armaly Brands, a manufacturer of consumer and commercial sponges, has selected Airfoil to serve as the PR agency partner for its Brillo business.
The agency, which was hired following an informal review, is managing the account from its Detroit office, said Leah Haran, SVP of client services at Airfoil. The contract will run for one year. Budget information was not disclosed.
Haran added that when the firm pitched for the account, it approached Brillo with a plan to differentiate it in the market and become more of a challenger brand in its category.
“It's a brand that is well-known, and it has a lot of other products and product line extensions, other than the soap pads that it is most known for,” she said. “So we think we could help them expand that share of voice.”
Prior to Airfoil, Brillo worked with Lambert, Edwards & Associates.
“We appreciated the opportunity to support Armaly Brands through the acquisition of Brillo and to be part of the brand's resurgence over the past several years," said Jeff Lambert, president of Lambert, Edwards & Associates.
Armaly acquired Brillo in March 2010 from New Jersey-based Church & Dwight, which also owns and operates Arm & Hammer. The Brillo brand was previously owned by Purex Industries and Dial.
With a team of six staffers on the account, Airfoil will work to get more traditional media and blogger coverage of Brillo.
Airfoil's team, which began working on the account in mid-September, also wants to expand its work in digital and social media for Brillo to increase brand awareness. Haran said this work could fall into the earned, owned, or paid categories.
Airfoil said it has won more than $750,000 in new business in the last two months, including Gas Station TV, SME Rapid Conference, FuzeBox, and MetroMile.
