Hannibal Industries is a diversified, value-added metal fabricator, located in the Los Angeles area, offering storage solutions to its customers.  The company is the largest U.S. manufacturer of steel pallet rack west of the Mississippi River.  In 2013, the company was ready to develop a White Paper on its new patent pending steel pallet rack system called TubeRack.  This product is stronger, safer and has a lower cost of ownership than anything that is currently available on the market.  

The company retained Master Plan Communications (MPC) as its public relations agency of record and challenged it to create a buzz in the material handling industry with the launch of the TubeRack white paper.

MPC, after thoroughly researching the technology and the TubeRack product line, developed a public relations plan for the launch that involved a 2,000-word White Paper (standard) with photos, a news release about the document and sales materials inviting industry officials and Hannibal’s customers to obtain copies.

To the delight of everyone at Hannibal, the White Paper announcement was very well-received by a wide variety of media, including the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Beyond the Dow, CBS, Supply Chain Brain, Material Handling Industry, Material Handling Network, MH&L Logistics, Material Handling Wholesaler, Industrial Info, Market Intelligence Center, Deal Breaker, Financial Content, Money Show, Newsday, Oil and Gas Journal Online, Value Investing News.

The White Paper release and link also appeared in local and regional newspapers, including The Sacramento Bee, The Riverside Press-Enterprise, the South Bay Daily Breeze, The Columbus Dispatch and Buffalo News, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, LA Daily News, Lexington, Ky. Herald-Leader, San Jose Mercury News, Oakland Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, San Mateo Daily Journal and many others.

More than a hundred media outlets (print, broadcast and online) ran the story, generating more than 7.5 million impressions.  The TubeRack White Paper and the accompanying news release were, by far, the most widely viewed marketing communications tool Hannibal had ever created.    MPC further benefitted from its efforts on behalf of Hannibal with added credibility, increased agency awareness and additional referrals for new business opportunities.