Published September 2007

Big Bold Type

By Ken Wysocky (page 62)

Drain cleaning and plumbing service trucks pack a big marketing punch for a contracting firm in Amarillo, Texas.

The power of brand recognition is vividly reflected in the eye-catching drain cleaning service truck owned by Scottco Mechanical Contractors Inc. in Amarillo, Texas.

If the sleek Isuzu NPR cab doesn’t grab your attention, then the huge “Uh Oh!” — spelled out in large, bright-red adhesive letters, certainly will. That’s “Uh Oh!” as in, “Better call Scottco” — the slogan in a long-running, highly effective ad campaign that has endeared the company to customers in the Texas Panhandle and Western Oklahoma.

“An ad agency came up with the ‘Uh Oh!’ slogan years ago,” explains Jim Craig, service manager at Scottco, which serves customers within a 60-mile radius of Amarillo. “We’ve stuck with it because it’s gone a long way for us.

“I can’t tell you how many times, in a parking lot or a grocery store, I’ve had children see my Scottco hat and say, ‘Uh Oh, better call Scottco.’ When they see the name Scottco, they remember the ‘Uh Oh.’ You’d be surprised how many kids pass that slogan on to grown-ups. We love it!”

The drain cleaning truck and some two dozen other plumbing service vehicles are an integral part of the ad campaign. The trucks’ high visibility has enabled Scottco to drastically reduce its phone book advertising.

The drain cleaning unit is a 2001 Isuzu NPR cab and chassis with a Hackney big-box bed. “We chose the big-box mainly for the advertising value,” Craig observes. “It’s like a billboard on wheels compared to a typical service van. It’s way more visible. Plus it’s much more spacious than a van.” That means it can carry more equipment and supplies and save technicians from making multiple trips to our supply house.

Another nice feature of the truck is a lower bed. “In most big-box trucks, you need to climb up several steps to get into them,” Craig points out. “But this bed is only one step up. It also has a pullout ramp, so you can run a heavy sewer machine in and out pretty easily. Without that, a sewer machine would be pretty heavy to lift up there.”

The drain cleaning truck carries an array of basic parts, plus a General Speedrooter 91 sewer and drain machine, a smaller sink and drain machine; a General 2900 waterjetter, and a Gen-Eye Junior robotic pipe inspection system, all from General Pipe Cleaners. Scottco plumbing service trucks carry about $4,500 worth of spare parts.

The Isuzu NPR trucks cost $40,000 to $45,000, but Craig considers it money well spent. The trucks have increased service technician productivity by about 20 percent because fewer supply house trips enable them to perform more service calls per day.

In turn, more service calls increase the trucks’ visibility all the more. Thanks to the trucks, Scottco’s advertising and its business are definitely on a roll.