Zooby Promotional | Case Studies

Advertising on Thomas positions Zooby in front of customers searching for products in thousands of categories

The Business

Zooby Takes Customers on a Journey to ‘Planet Possible’

From pens and mugs to fidget toys and foam fingers, branded promotional items are all around us, but unless you’ve been tasked with ordering these items for your business, you may not have stopped to think about where they come from. Zooby Promotional, based in Dallas, Texas, has specialized in providing customers with quality branded products since 2006.

“With 17 years of experience in trying to solve problems, we really have the contacts within the industry to make some unique things happen,” said Zooby co-owner Brett Kershaw. “When people want us to do something that might be out of the norm, we can do that. And that's why our tagline is ‘Planet Possible,’ because over time, we've developed the partners, knowledge, and all of that to guide our clients into a world of possibilities.”

Zooby works with clients in more than 40 US states and three countries, including national clients such as Petco, Microsoft, and Chase Bank. Kershaw said the company’s largest client base is made up of mid-market companies that are “larger than small, but not giant corporations. That's kind of our sweet spot.” Many of Zooby’s mid-size clients have been working with the company since the beginning, including Carolina Biological Supply and Kinetrol, and Kershaw counts these enduring customer relationships as one of Zooby’s greatest achievements.

The Problem

Zooby Promotional Faces Issues Acquiring New Customers

While Zooby has a proven track record with its long-time customers, bringing in new business presents a challenge for a company that offers so many different products to customers in a limitless range of industries. Zooby offers thousands of promotional products, from shirts and cellphone accessories to custom-branded puzzles and cowboy hats.

Kershaw, who runs Zooby as a two-person operation with co-owner Barbara Cowen, has gone through some trial and error with advertising and customer outreach.

“I did some Facebook ads and had zero sales results out of that, but that wasn’t an enormous sampling,” he said. “I've done email projects that are just really on my own, and those actually get some good results. But that's extremely time-consuming. I have to craft the email ad to target the right audience, and if you have a 20% open rate, that's pretty good.”

When none of these experiments were able to deliver consistent results, Kershaw reached out to Thomas to connect Zooby with the right audience.

The Solution

Creating A Strong Digital Presence on Thomas Leads to Increased Sales

To reach customers seeking the wide variety of goods Zooby offers, Kershaw took advantage of Thomas’ marketing and advertising capabilities. He was already well-acquainted with the Thomas brand, having worked as a salesperson for Thomasnet before founding Zooby.

Kershaw started working with Thomas in 2020, and now Thomas manages all of Zooby’s advertising. Zooby is a Thomas Verified Supplier, and its Thomasnet profile features a product catalog and company overview video. The company is listed in more than 2,500 Thomasnet categories, which means that when customers come to Thomas to search for suppliers in categories from machining to metal fabrication, they see Zooby’s name. By opting for the Premium Vertical Sponsorship package, Kershaw ensures that Zooby will show up at the top of those search results.

Having a presence in so many categories on Thomasnet makes Zooby visible to all types of customers.

The Results

Generating Consistent Leads Advertising on Thomas

Advertising with Thomas has fueled growth for Zooby and increased the company’s web traffic. “In the past 12 months, Zooby has had 32,000 people see its program,” said Chris Brobyn, an account executive at Thomas who manages Zooby’s account. That exposure on Thomas drove 16,000 people to the Zooby website over the past year.

Visit Zooby Promotional's Thomasnet Profile.