David Parham, Marketing / Advertising / Public Relations (USA)

I met with David a few times in my past life when I ran my industrial 3D animation studio back in the day… I built-up a database of over 50K industrial companies, one by one, and send them out e-mails in cycles and David at the time, working for Orbitform Group, hired my company to produce a series of 3D animations showing how the orbitforming process occurs – I’ve included the embed in the videos fyi. It was great fun and I still remember when we met how excited he was about his Running Race Promotions company. Awesome guy and was a pleasure to do business with… if only everybody was as passionate as David this world would be awesome!

Some key takeaways:

• Don’t try to bullshit your way through a sale, it will bite you back.
• Proven facts and testimonials… still the best way to market your product.
• Follow your passion and everyday you will be living a dream, not a job!

You can find him at Running Race Promotions http://www.runningracepromotions.com, I’ve included links for the various companies he worked with below.

What is it about the industrial sector, first with Sweepster then Orbitform (how we met) and now Caster Concepts that you enjoy producing marketing and handling PR for?

I came from the health care field with mild-mannered marketing based on PR and promotions. With industrial marketing there were other “for profit” companies doing exactly the same thing and reaching for the exact same clients.

To me it’s very exciting to try to gain market share. I consider myself blessed with the opportunity to be aggressive and competitive in the name of good old-fashioned American capitalism.

You were incredibly successful in 2007 handling SEO and SEM for Orbitform (http://www.orbitform.com), bringing-in 56M$US that year alone in new quotes – how has the online advertising game changed since then?

I noticed on Twitter a tell-tale comment just last week, “It’s 2014, the day’s of sending out a press release are over. As they just get deleted with other spam in a heartbeat.” So the advent of online watering holes has essentially replaced most publications (print and online) in manufacturing and design. Busy engineers can’t be bothered with head trash and only accept relevant peer proven propaganda.

What are some of the marketing strategies that time and again, prove successful? What are some things that you see many manufacturing companies do to promote themselves that makes you want to shake your head in disbelief, knowing they are barking up the wrong tree?

Truth talks. The only insightful banter is based on facts and backed up by scientific analysis. Successful application articles and real-life product testimonials are still some of the best ways to prove something matters. It seems some early web traffic tactics are still used and unfortunately are still successful. I believe the field of industrial marketing is extremely fun and see the challenge of “getting the word out” the reason to get up in the morning.

I really like the concept behind orbitforming, it’s such a cool idea and it’s an incredibly powerful method of “welding” two metals together that otherwise couldn’t be either due to tolerances involved or compatibility. What did you learn about the industrial sector while you were at Orbitform Group?

In order to expand a limited and select industrial market we began an orbital awareness program – to reach people who didn’t have a clue what orbital forming was. We educated and explained the process to allow people to discover their own new and unique ways to use the process. Some uses included making parts for satellites and saddlebags!

Jon: My company produced the following set of 3D animations for Orbitform… still look great after all these years!

You are currently working at Caster Concepts (http://www.casterconcepts.com), can you tell me what makes their casters innovative in the industry? I though casters were a dime a dozen. Can you give me an idea of what you handle at the company and the success you’ve had there?

Industrial casters are more than meets the eye. Caster Concepts only makes the very biggest ones, for loads over 1000 lbs and up to 50,000 lbs. It is a highly engineering product and about 60 percent of the casters we build are custom made. Unlike consumer casters, they aren’t used for furniture, medical, and other low capacity situations and hence are unique by size and strength. We are experts in heavy duty industrial caster and wheels, ergonomic casters, maintenance-free casters, and polyurethane casters.

Caster Concepts just had its best year, we added over 20,000 sq ft to the facility, including powder-coating, our top engineer has a doctorate from MIT and also leads our sister company, Conceptual-Innovations. We move bags of gold and silver at Fort Knox, engines for the newest airliners, and halftime shows at NFL games. Most importantly to me; we are using the most advanced sales and marketing automation products available to reach new customers.

You are incredibly passionate about racing and run Running Race Promotions to help athletes and companies come together for mutual beneficial relationships. Where did the idea come from and how has it gone so far?

RRP has been going for about five years now and is helping races around the country on many different levels. On any given weekend there are 100’s of races around the country, all raising money for worthy causes and in need of more participants. As a runner I enjoy being able to help races reach more runners and raise awareness.