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Keeton PR Case Study

Industrial Constructors / Managers (ICM)

ICM ACE award
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The Challenge

Industrial Constructors/Managers, Inc. (ICM), a Colorado-based general contractor specializing in industrial construction and plant maintenance, wanted to increase brand awareness in order to facilitate growth. ICM is is known for taking on the most challenging projects and completing them safely, on time and on budget, hence their motto “We Love a Challenge.”

ICM was founded in Southern Colorado and was already well- known in that region. ICM acquired Precision Industrial in 2019, which enabled the company to expand its reach into Denver and Northern Colorado. In 2020, ICM was poised for growth, but needed to share its story and capabilities more broadly to gain brand recognition to help fuel growth throughout Colorado, the Rocky Mountain region and beyond.

Results

  • 90% increase in revenue
  • 316% employee growth
  • 18 awards won
  • 100+ media placements yielding 6 million impressions
  • 2400% increase in social media followers

The Solution

In 2020, ICM hired Keeton Public Relations to create and implement a strategic PR plan that would positively position the company in the industry and help it gain recognition as a strong leader in its various verticals, including industrial construction, food and beverage, aerospace and more. The goals of the PR program were:

  • Enhance the recognition of the company to help ICM win more new client contracts.
  • Help spread the word about ICM’s high employee satisfaction,
    commitment to safety and quality, low turnover rates and general
    “family feeling” of the company.

Keeton PR, together with the ICM team, implemented several strategic initiatives to help the company achieve its goals, including:

  • Created a robust media relations plan, pitched successful projects and thought leadership topics to a variety of publications and helped position ICM as experts in the industry.
  • Created and managed an awards program to identify and submit both ICM and its employees for various industry awards.
  • Built and launched a comprehensive social media strategy that included both organic and paid posts meant to amplify news coverage and ICM content, including employee profiles, community involvement and executive introductions.
  • Created and implemented an email newsletter reaching both internal and external audiences.
  • Developed an internal communications program including targeted, specific SMS campaigns to communicate directly with employees.

The Outcome

Over the past five years, the ICM PR program has helped the company achieve recognition that has led to impressive growth. ICM has won 18 notable industry awards, including the prestigious AGC Gold ACE Award. The company’s revenue has increased from $33M to $63M while working with Keeton PR, and ICM’s employee count has grown from 65 employees to over 250 today.

ICM’s leaders have been featured in over 105 publications, including the following highlights:

  • Modern Contractor Solutions: Using ingenuity to help solve the skilled labor shortage
  • Construction Executive: Best practices for planned and unplanned outages
  • Civil & Structural Engineer: ICM facilitates improvements to aerospace test facility thanks to ‘on the go’ construction and welding
  • Constructor: Lessons learned working on a Native American reservation in rural Arizona
  • Colorado Construction & Design: Tips for running an effective safety program

ICM has won 18 industry awards, including:

  • Association of General Contractors ACE Awards Gold Level (highest level)
  • Association of General Contractors ACE Awards Silver Level (multiple wins)
  • Association of General Contractors ACE Awards Bronze Level (multiple wins)
  • ColoradoBiz Fastest Growing Companies
  • ColoradoBiz Top Company Award
  • ENR Mountain States Top Young Professionals
  • Denver Business Journal Fast 50
  • Denver Business Journal Top CFOs
  • ENR Regional Best Project Award

The company’s social channels have seen impressive growth. Followers have increased by 2400%, and impressions have increased by 4400%.

ICM’s email newsletter program continues to perform well above industry benchmarks with an average open rate of 50%, well above the standard 20% open rate. And the employee SMS program has grown to not only include safety topics but internal administrative updates, with a less than 1% opt-out rate.

Results

  • 105 media placements
  • 6 million impressions
  • 18 awards won
  • 90% increase in revenue
  • 316% employee growth
  • 2400% increase in social followers
  • 4400% growth in social impressions

Client Testimonials

“We’ve never seen success like we have in the five years we’ve worked with you."

Ed Myers ICM President

“Hiring Keeton PR was one of the best choices we’ve ever made."

Rick Goodmay ICM Director of Client Relations