“A lot of people don’t know how to tell their own story, and a lot of people also don’t like to brag about themselves or champion their own message, but we get to do that for them,” said Scott Emerine, co-owner and co-founder of Branding Iron Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations.
Emerine and his partner, Marne Brobeck, are the creative and strategic minds behind some of the passionate, compelling, and emotional stories told in the aviation industry. Since the formation of Branding Iron, they have been diving deep into the aviation sector, immersing themselves into their customers’ world, and sharing the stories that impact the industry.
“Choosing the right words and creating compelling visuals is extremely important. Rewarding the viewer with a ‘wow factor’ is our way of shining a positive light on our clients as we help build and brand their company image,” Brobeck said.
For aviation clients, the firm skillfully takes the technical products or services their customers offer and transforms them into thought-provoking and true stories of aviation.
“We have some clients who sell radios, for example, and if you look at an ad that shows just a radio, it doesn’t tell much of a story,” Emerine explained. “But if you look at somebody whose life is being saved because that radio was able to communicate where that person was, that’s the point of difference for us.”
“We work to draw on emotions by showing the person who benefited from this technology, whose life was saved by it,” Brobeck added. “Infusing emotions into ads eliminates our customers’ products from being viewed as a simple commodity.”
Branding Iron is a full-service marketing, advertising and public relations firm with deep roots in the aviation sector. In fact, Emerine and Brobeck have a combined 40-plus years of experience in aviation, bringing their customers a uniquely valuable service. They understand the business well and know how to position their clients for success.
“Our clients don’t have to educate us on what’s going on in the aviation world. We have many years of experience in this field, and that speaks volumes,” Emerine said.
From night vision goggles to maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services to flight data monitoring, avionics, fire suppression, and more, Branding Iron works with a wide spectrum of rotorcraft customers, big and small.
“We could walk into one of our client’s hangars, and more than likely, the aircraft sitting there will have at least three or four of our other customers’ products in it,” Emerine said. “I’ve walked into a hangar and seen our customers’ windows, radios, night vision goggle equipment, and even medical interiors. There is a lot of cross-pollination in the industry, which has enabled us to better serve all of our customers.”
When it comes to marketing and public relations, Branding Iron offers a full suite of services, including branding and imaging, media placement, tradeshow and event support, website design, crisis communications, search engine optimization, and more — all delivered from the firm’s Tennessee headquarters.
But a unique draw for Branding Iron is the company’s ability to scale up or down its service offering to deliver a truly personalized marketing strategy for its customers. Branding Iron has adapted its scope of services to match the changes that take place in the industry.
“Most of our customers don’t see us as an outside vendor. They actually see us as an extension of their team,” Emerine said. “We listen to what our customers need, and our team works with their team to accomplish their goals based on their specific objectives.”
Many of their aviation customers have remained with Branding Iron for five or more years, putting their trust in the firm to skillfully build their brand identity.
“One of the things that I’m most proud of is the length of time that we keep our clients,” Brobeck said.
The longest relationship for Branding Iron and an aviation client spans 14 years.
“There have been instances where we helped a customer grow their market share and grow their brand awareness to the point where their largest competitor was an industry leader and bought them out,” Emerine said. “We’ve experienced that multiple times where we’ve helped our customers get to that next level.”
Emerine and Brobeck attribute Branding Iron’s success and longevity to hard work, faith and focusing on their customers.
“Our loyal customers have allowed us to achieve what we set out to do 16 years ago — offer unbeatable, superior customer support, with creative solutions to meet our clients’ brand marketing needs,” Brobeck said. “Many people like to attribute a company’s growth and success to a singular event that defines the company. For Branding Iron, a consistent focus on superior customer service, and putting the clients’ needs first is what has defined us for almost 16 years.”
“We want to thank all of our customers who have put their trust in us and given us their business for the last 16 years,” Emerine added. “Without them, we would not be who we are today. We started as a small firm with no clients and a dream to become one of the most recognizable aviation marketing firms in the world.”
